Why Virtual Approval Sets Are Changing the Way Schools Choose Books
If you’ve ever spent an afternoon unpacking a physical approval box—sorting through titles, checking levels, making piles for “yes”, “maybe”, and “not this time”—you’ll know the process is equal parts exciting and time‑consuming. There’s something lovely about holding the books in your hands, but there’s also the reality: schools are busier than ever, budgets are tighter than ever, and decisions need to be made quickly.
That’s exactly where Virtual Approval Sets from Laburnum House Educational step in.
These curated, ready‑to‑browse online collections are quietly transforming how schools discover new books. We take the best bits of an approval box—the curation, the discovery, the reassurance that everything has been hand‑picked for quality—and make the whole experience faster, clearer, and far easier to share across a team.
What Are Virtual Approval Sets?
Think of them as a digital bookshelf that arrives instantly. Each set is curated by specialists who understand what schools actually need.
You can browse the titles, check levels, read summaries, and then either:
- add individual books to your basket, or
- use the Bulk Add button to take the whole set in one go.
It’s the same approval experience, just without the cardboard, the courier, or the scramble to get everything back in the box by Friday.
Why Schools Love Them
1. They save time
No waiting for deliveries, no unpacking, no repacking. Everything is there the moment you need it.
2. They’re curated with purpose
Each set is built around what schools are actually asking for—seasonal refreshes, reading for pleasure, book band top‑ups, or targeted support like dyslexia‑friendly reads.
3. They’re budget‑friendly
Every title comes with Laburnum’s discounted school pricing, so you can build a brilliant library without the usual price tag.
4. They’re easy to share
SLT, literacy leads, and librarians can all browse the same set from wherever they are. No more “the box is in Year 4’s classroom”.
5. They support strategic library building
Because the sets are refreshed termly, they help schools keep collections current, diverse, and aligned with what pupils actually want to read.
6. No risk of rogue invoices, you get as long as you need with no pressure
This is one of the greatest worries regarding approval sets, can you return them in time or will you just get hit with an invoice for all the books sent in to school? Now there is no chance of receiving an invoice for all the book on approval because you missed a return deadline. You are only invoiced for what you actually want to buy.
A New Way to Build a Library
Virtual Approval Sets aren’t replacing physical books—they’re replacing the friction around choosing them. They give schools a way to browse widely, select confidently, and order quickly, all while keeping the focus on what matters: getting great books into children’s hands.
For busy literacy leads and librarians, they’re becoming an essential tool. For schools trying to stretch budgets further, they’re a smart way to make every pound count. And for pupils, they mean shelves filled with fresh, exciting, relevant reads.
It’s a small shift with a big impact.
How do they work?
We have made the process as simple and streamlined as possible. This is how the process works.
1. We will email you a link to the latest online catalogue to browse. Click on the link and you will be able to flip through the pages to see what is included this term.
2. We will also send you a link that takes you directly to the virtual pack contents on our website.
3. This is where you can place your order. If you like everything you see in the pack just click on the red button that says ‘Bulk add category to basket‘. Everything has now been added to your cart. You can checkout from here or you can continue to browse and add extra books if you wish. If there only some select titles you would like then you simply click ‘Add to cart‘ next to the book you would like. When you have finished you can checkout from there.
4.We will then dispatch your order the same day on a next day service (orders over £75 are free delivery). We will invoice the school to allow payment. No credit card necessary at the point of purchase.
You can see the current virtual approval sets here:
Primary Set<<<<<<<<<<<<
Secondary Set<<<<<<<<<<
