Calibre Learning

Resource type: Books, ebooks and audiobooks

Price band: Free

Key stage: KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4, KS5, Adult, EYFS

Region(s): All of UK

Calibre Learning is Calibre Audio’s dedicated school portal. It allows primary and secondary schools to manage access to Calibre’s free audiobook lending service to support any pupil who struggles to access print.

A print disability can be longterm or temporary and includes sight loss, dyslexia, ADHD or any physical or neurological condition that makes holding or reading a printed book difficult. While schools are asked to declare the learning need or reading challenge for individual students, there is no requirement for a formal diagnosis.

A Calibre Learning account allows schools to create individual accounts for eligible pupils and provides access to:

A library of 23,000 titles, including 4500 audiobooks to support both learning and reading for pleasure for children in EYFS through to A-Level.
A dashboard that allows schools to monitor pupils’ reading habits and reading history.
A facility to upload books, such as set texts or class reads, to an individual student’s account.

The audiobooks can be played through the Calibre website or streamed via interactive whiteboards, Chrome Books and iPads. They can also be accessed via the Dolphin Easy Reader and Libby apps, or members can sign up to the USB memory stick postal service to receive their audiobooks via Royal Mail.

Cost: Free.

About Calibre Audio: Calibre Audio is a UK charity dedicated to making reading accessible, inclusive and available to all by providing access to thousands of audiobooks to anyone with a print disability.

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A full demonstration of the secure platform and its features is provided when schools sign up. Further support sessions for members of staff and/or parents are also available.
Student logins can be shared with parents and carers so that students can access the audiobooks at home and over the school holidays.
A free USB postal service means audiobooks can be used in homes that do not have easy access to the internet.
The audiobook library can be searched by category, author or narrator and new titles are added regularly. Samples of all the texts are available to listen to before borrowing.
Audiobooks are automatically returned on their due date, ensuring that there are no late fees. They can also be returned early or renewed as needed.
Schools can share their recommended reading lists and Calibre will try and source any titles that they do not already have in the library.
Calibre audiobooks are either commercially sourced or are recorded in-house using trained voice artists and professional sound recording engineers to ensure high quality listening.