The Teaching Collection includes kits, books and storysacks for use in a variety of educational settings. If you are looking for inspiration and practical ideas for teaching, learning and home educating, this is the place to look.

You will find the collection on level 1 of The Hive, at the 'Studio end' of the children’s library. Resources are organised into several areas: books; kits in crates; resources in bags on the rail; and big books in their own units. Within each area, resources are organised using the same system used for non-fiction books on level 3.

You can use the library catalogue to search the collection, using The Hive Teaching Collection filter found at the top of the screen, however browsing the collection in person is highly recommended.

While you are visiting, don’t forget to explore the children’s library. Here you will find picture books, early readers, children’s non-fiction, dual language books and dyslexia-friendly texts.

Themed booklists and inspiration for teaching

We are excited to add some brand new picturebooks and resources to our Teaching Collection in 2023/24! Developments to the stock and space are currently underway (November 2023). Here are some excellent links to themed booklists to inspire your learning and activities with children:

• CLPE Booklists covering topics such as autism awareness, kindness, Black history, environment, refugee and migrant experience, and a range of authors.
• Bishop Grosseteste Library themed booklists including climate change, and equality, diversity and inclusion.
• The Education subject guide section 'classroom and teaching ideas' has more suggested links to book review sites.

Borrowing from the Teaching Collection

Most resources are available to borrow for a minimum of two weeks. We are currently revising the loan periods for items in the Teaching Collection to increase their availability to a range of borrower types. You can find out more about what you can borrow on Library Services' borrowing and access pages.

1. Find: To find the resources you need, use the library catalogue to search the collection by keyword or title. You can use the filters on the left of your results to find certain types of resources. For example, a kit is likely to be a crate or bag of artefacts. If the item is available, note down the shelf number and find it on the shelves, asking any member of Hive staff if you need some help.
2. Check: Before borrowing, check the contents of kits or bags using the contents list found inside the resource. If anything is missing, please let a member of staff know. You may still be able to borrow the item but, when it is returned, we might consider replacing individual items or the whole pack.
3. Borrow: please speak to a member of Hive staff if it is too large to fit in the issue machines.
4. Return: When you return the resource to The Hive, check the contents first and bring it to a member of staff for return. It is really important to let us know of any missing or damaged items at this point, so we can decide if the item should be made available or replaced. If you have any concerns, please email us.

Suggest a resource

We welcome your suggestions for specific resources or topics to include in the Teaching Collection. For some inspiration, please use this collection of websites for suppliers and providers of educational resources.