Birmingham Newman University Library: Education (Undergraduate and MA courses): School Experience Collection

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School Experience Collection

The School Experience Collection (SEC) can be found on Level 0 in the library. This collection is aimed at students on school experience placements. It includes:

Fiction, Picture Fiction and Big Books collection
Religious, historical and other artefacts
Topic kits and children's non-fiction titles
Lesson planning resources, pictures and posters

Borrowing information

All SEC items have a loan period of 7-days, and automatically renew 26 times unless there is a reservation on them or a problem with your library account. School Experience Collection items have extended loan periods for Privilege Scheme members.

When an item is due back, you will be notified to return it within 7 days. Failure to return the item within the 7 days after notification will result in your library account being blocked.

You are still expected to return items on time if you are on placement. Get in touch with us to discuss your circumstances if you are finding it difficult to get into the library to return your library items.

Using Library Search for SEC resources

To find resources in SEC using Library Search, simply:

Type your key words into Library Search and press Enter.
Filter by Library Location - tick 'School Experience Collection' in the filters on the left of the results page.
Filter by Material Type - tick 'object' to show Artefacts, tick 'Book' to show all other resource types.

Artefacts

The School Experience Collection also contains a selection of artefact boxes. Use these artefacts to create interactive learning opportunities with your students. Click the buttons to browse the collection.

Artefact	Shelfmark
Alphabet Objects Collection	372.4
Word Building Puzzles and Flip Stand	372.4
Phonics Collection - Phase 2-5	372.4
SEND Programme Large Sensory Grapheme Cards	372.4
Super Sentence Tub	372.4
Writing Pyramids KS2	372.4
Sight Word Bingo	372.4
Blooms Taxonomy Dice Set	372.4
High frequency words and phonics talk balls	372.4
Talking Tubes	428
Rhyming Bingo game	428
Talking Tins & Activity Book Set	428.4
MFL French Make a Face Puppets	448
MFL French language vocab – Flip Book	448
MFL Spanish Teddy – colour cupboard and clothes pack	460

Artefact	Shelfmark
Number Skittles	510
Decimal & Fractions Kit	510
Money Matters – Mr.Numbervator	510
Snap & Learn Number Bugs and Counting Cookies & Jar	510
Foam Dice with Pockets	510
Giant Soft Dice	510
Geometric Shapes – Primary Maths	510
Handling Data Lotto	510
Hip Hoppin’ Hundred Mat	510
Counting Beads	510
Number Mountains game	510
Place Value Board – Teacher and Student Pack	510
Plastic Spinners	510
Gingerbread Sort and Snap	510
3D Shape Bag	510
Magnetic Fraction Action	513
Teaching Clock Set	538.27
The Planets Felt Bag	529

Artefact	Shelfmark
Christian Communion	230
Easter	232.96
Christian Symbols	280
Buddhism	294.3
Monks Robe	294.3
Hindu Gods	294.5
Hinduism	294.5
Hindu Wedding Set	294.5
Sikhism	294.6
Sikh 5Ks	294.6
Sikh Gurus	294.6
Judaism	296
Islam	297
Islamic Board – 99 names of God	297

Artefact	Shelfmark
Play People Kit	361.9
Recycled Items	363.7822
Quality Circle Time Kit	370
Let’s Talk Social Skills game	370.114
Fired Up or Calming Down?	370.153
Worry cards: Little Tin of Big Worries	370.153
Feelings Fans	370.153
Giant Beads and Patterns and Interlocking Squares	370.155
Threading Sets	370.155
Early Years Bag of Mini Bean bags	370.155
Children’s Mini Whiteboards	371
Fiddle and Think Jar	371.9
Talk Ball Set	372
Attention Trackers	372.1102
You Can Do It!	372.21
Bee Bot	004

Artefact	Shelfmark
The Globe	912
Geography Flip It Set	551
Let’s Play Weather Hand Puppets	551.6
Fossils	560
Rainforest	574.5264
Insect and Mini Beasts	595.7
Butterfly and Frog Life Cycles	597.8
Map Symbols and Talk Ball	912
French Artefacts	914.4
Spanish Artefacts	914.6
Chinese Artefacts	915.1
Indian Artefacts	915.4
Mexican Artefacts	917.2
African Musical Instruments	916.651
Bellaphone and sticks	916.651
Didgeridoo	919.4

Artefact	Shelfmark
History of Slavery	306.362
Dinosaur and Fossil	368.19
Stone Age Flint	930.1
Ancient Egypt	932
Tutankhamun Mask	932
The Rosetta Stone	932
Stone Age to Iron Age	936
Ancient Rome	937
Ancient Greece	938
WW1 Memorabilia with Soldiers Jacket and Helmet	940.3
Bayeux Tapestry	942
The Tudors	942.05
Great Fire of London	942.066
Victorian Toys	790
Victorian Washing Set	942.081
WW2 and Evacuees	942.084
Plague Doctor	942.1066
The Vikings	948.02
Benin	966.92
Mayan	970.3
Aztec	970.3

KS1 and KS2 Fiction

The fiction collection comprises of titles aimed to support literacy and independent reading. The titles range in reading age, from KS1 all the way to KS4. Please speak to your Librarian for more guidance on age appropriate titles.

The titles are arranged alphabetically by Author surname. For example, the shelfmark FIC MOR refers to a book written by Michael Morpurgo in the SEC Fiction section.

We have also categorised the section by themes. Use the links below to browse the lists of KS1 and 2 level books categorised under each theme:

Yellow - Social issues
Green - Behaviours, emotions and attitudes
Pink - Life transitions
Blue - Identity
Purple - Adventure, mystery and graphic novels
Red - Science fiction and fantasy

Curriculum Material

The SEC has resources covering subject areas across the primary and secondary curriculum.

Lesson Plans

Examples lesson plans are available in a variety of different subjects, including English, Maths, Modern Foreign Languages and Humanities.

We also have a variety of curriculum course books and schemes of work. These offer suggestions on how to plan your lessons.

Please speak with your librarian for support on how to locate and use these resources.

Topic Books

A variety of resources on primary-level topics are available. These range from historical periods to social justice issues.

Please speak with your librarian for support on how to locate and use these resources.

Last reviewed: 16 September 2025