Read Together! Home Reading Grants
In August 2006 over 370 schools, nursery establishments and community groups were awarded Read Together! Home Reading grants, for projects encouraging young people to read at home.
Read Together! encourages parents and carers to read with their child from a very early stage. As part of the initiative, the small grants scheme provides start-up costs for sustainable projects that encourage home reading. Staff costs, travel and subsistence are not funded.
Research into the Read Together! advertising campaign has shown that 85 per cent of those surveyed thought the campaign had made them think more about the value of reading with their children, while 56 per cent said it had encouraged them to read more with their children.
Since it was launched in 2002, the grants scheme has invested nearly £2 million in over 1700 home reading projects. Administered by Learning and Teaching Scotland, the scheme is part of the Executive's drive to improve child literacy.
High Carntyne Parent and Toddler Group
This group has been running for over 15 years and meets three mornings a week. With 30 children registered, the average attendance is 20 at each session.
The grant will allow the group to buy a selection of board books, chosen because of durability and sturdiness, which parents and carers can borrow to take home and read. The plan is to have the books on display during the sessions and to use a simple sign-out/sign-in system, managed with parental help. There will also be the opportunity to discuss the books read with other parents and carers.
Westerhouse Nursery School and Family Learning Centre
Westerhouse Nursery School and Family Learning Centre in Easterhouse, Glasgow, has been running a ‘Bed-time Story Club’ for children aged 3–5 for several years. Every week each child chooses a book to be taken home in a special bag, to be read together by parents and children. As the Centre has recently had an under-3s unit added, this grant will allow the Story Club to be extended to the 49 families with children under 3, sharing 27 FTE places. The Centre also plans to purchase a selection of audio books to overcome specific barriers faced by some families in the area.