Fur play

Harry Harrington is a special teddy bear. His owner Chrissie Clark has developed a huge personality for this furry friend who helps improve standards in the classroom

Asmall blue teddy bear with a larger-than-life personality has made a huge impact at Harrington Infant School in Workington, Cumbria. Harrington Bear was bought for the bargain price of 1.49, but he's since become invaluable to the reception class children and the star of a series of books.

It was decided that Harry should go home with a different child each weekend to help develop their personal and social skills. I made Harry a school jumper, nightshirt, hat and sleeping bag. After much hunting I found a suitable rucksack into which the bear and all his accoutrements would fit.

His belongings have rapidly increased as children and their families have made and bought him a host of items including an apron to stop his fur getting sticky when he's baking, a pirate outfit, a raincoat and even a hot air balloon. The children are encouraged to look after Harry very carefully - dressing and undressing him, brushing his teeth, tucking him into bed and playing with him.

Harry's school holidays are spent with me so that we can make books for use in the literacy hour, the first of these being Harry Harrington's Christmas Adventure.

My long-suffering family spent many hours helping pose Harry at various Edinburgh landmarks - shops, cafes, the Botanic Gardens (squirrels don't think much of blue bears!), the midnight carol service, and tucking into turkey at home. They even managed to find space beside their stockings for Harry's and played pass the parcel with him before lunch.

The end result of all this madness was a lovely big book which was thoroughly enjoyed by the children when they returned to school.

Harry's next starring role came when I decided to write a book on the topic of change, exploring a caterpillar's metamorphosis into a butterfly - Harry Harrington's Big Surprise.

I tailored the book to the literacy objectives and chose suitable vocabulary and sentence structure, which I knew would provide enough material for questioning and stretching different abilities. I also used different coloured text to make sharing the book easier.

It tells the story of Harry meeting a caterpillar, watching it grow and thinking he'd offended his new friend when the caterpillar disappears. Harry is very surprised when his friend reappears as a butterfly. I made props and new outfits for Harry and took photos in my garden.

I decided to develop the idea and make a storysack to accompany the book. The photographs have also been used to make Harry snap, Harry lotto and Harry picture/sentence matching cards to suit all abilities within the class. These have been successfully used in the literacy hour, resulting in a better understanding of the life cycle of a butterfly and also providing a stimulus for some excellent story writing and good shared reading sessions.

Harry Harrington's Space Adventure includes simple facts about the solar system to be read during our earth and space topic. Harry undertakes astronaut training in the washing machine for months so that he can go in pursuit of his friend Panjir the Panda's favourite football, which is ultimately found orbiting Pluto.

All the children love Harry. I have found it very rewarding to observe the positive reactions and animation of some children who find learning and motivation hard but have been stimulated by having Harry to stay or involved in work in the classroom. I've also had positive feedback from parents who say their children have enjoyed Harry's visit to their home - and so have they.

There's no end to Harry's escapades. He's been a mascot at an Everton football match, helping them to a 3-1 victory against Bolton Wanderers, stayed in a caravan, ridden in a police car and even flown to China. He's also been on numerous bikes, trains and boats, and most of the pubs in Cumbria have served Harry Sunday lunch. His adventures have led to him being splashed on the front cover of our local newspaper and being interviewed live on Radio Cumbria.

The uncle of one of the children owns a book wholesale and distribution company and offered to help me publish Harry Harrington's Big Surprise. We were all excited to take delivery of 100 copies which Harry and I proudly signed for the children and we've since had more copies printed.

Harry is an asset. I shall continue to use his appeal to help improve standards in the classroom.