The Dam – Our Whole-School Book

One story. One community. Many voices.

At Kielder Primary School and Nursery, David Almond and Levi Pinfold’s beautiful picture book The Dam is our whole-school book.

Set in the landscape that would become Kielder Water, The Dam has a very special connection to our school, our community and the place our children call home. It tells the story of a father and daughter travelling through a valley before it is flooded to create a reservoir. As they visit the empty homes, they fill them once more with music, imagining the people, stories and memories held within them.

For our children, this is not simply a story about somewhere far away. It is a story about here.

Why The Dam?

We wanted a book that could bring our whole school together while helping children think deeply about some of the ideas that matter to us at Kielder:

• identity and belonging

• our relationship with place and landscape

• community and memory

• change, loss and renewal

• the importance of stories, music and creativity

• the voices of people who came before us

• our responsibility for the places and communities we inherit

The book also gives us a powerful opportunity to explore Kielder’s unique history while making connections across English, history, geography, music, art, oracy and personal development.

A shared experience from Nursery to Year 6

Every child at Kielder encounters The Dam, from our youngest children in Nursery to our oldest pupils in Key Stage 2.

Children return to the book at different points during the year through carefully planned whole-school experiences. Each experience begins with the story but develops in different ways according to the children’s ages and stages.

They might explore the landscape around them, talk about what makes somewhere feel like home, investigate the history of Kielder, respond through art or music, collect words and memories, or create their own writing.

Because our children experience the book together, it gives us a shared language and shared reference point across the whole school.

Learning beyond the classroom

One of the greatest strengths of The Dam is that its landscape is our landscape.

Whenever possible, learning moves beyond the pages of the book and into the environment around us. Children can walk through Kielder, notice its trees, water, buildings, sounds and changing seasons, and consider the stories contained within the landscape.

This helps our pupils understand that their local area is not simply the backdrop to their education: it is part of the curriculum itself.