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Guest post by Fiona McLeod, Acting Minister for Children and Young People
World Book Day is a great opportunity to celebrate the joy of reading.
In November we also hold our own Book Week Scotland, a national week-long celebration of reading led by the Scottish Book Trust and supported by our national arts development body Creative Scotland. Of course, every day is a good day to pick up a book, but these annual events are a great time to renew or even start a love-affair with reading.
As a former librarian, books have always been a hugely significant part of my life. I am constantly amazed at the power of an idea and where it can lead in any creative endeavour – but also the importance of reading and the impact that books can have upon us in so many different situations during our lives.
I was struck by this most recently when I heard first-hand from parents about Elke Barbour’s books on child bereavement and how these had helped them and their children through such a distressing time. The value of books clearly go beyond just reading for pleasure, helping people make sense of tragedy and loss.
When I was wee I was a voracious reader and well remember sneaking a torch up to bed so I could read under the covers. For my friends, the stories we read didn’t just stay in between the covers of the books, we loved playing the parts and developing the stories- being bossy I was always George from Enid Blyton’s Famous Five!
I loved reading Mairi Heddiwicke’s Katie Morag books to my son and my bookshelves are still full of these books to this day. In my current role in government, I’m clear about the importance of encouraging a love of reading from children’s earliest years.
As well as laying the foundations of early literacy, early book-sharing between wee ones and their parents is critical for helping to develop nurturing and loving relationships. That’s why the Scottish Government provides funding to the Scottish Book Trust for the Bookbug gifting scheme that sees every child in Scotland – from birth to primary one – receive a pack of free books and goodies.
I was delighted to attend the reception for the Scottish Children’s Book Awards last night, and to meet some of the authors whose books had been selected and voted for by around 28,000 young people across Scotland. The Awards, as well as the Bookbug initiative and our PlayTalkRead campaign, help us to help parents create a supportive, loving environment for the development of early literacy skills.
For mums and dads who are thinking about how to get the best out of books for their little ones, PlayTalkRead provides several ideas, including 30 things to do with reading and top books for little ones.
Of course, we know that reading for pleasure leads to improved educational attainment, regardless of background. There is a strong relationship between reading for pleasure and achievement.
The First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Education have made clear that raising attainment and closing the gap in educational outcomes between the most and least advantaged children is a key priority for the Scottish Government. We all have a role to play in ensuring our children can achieve their very best and for our part, we will introduce a new literacy and numeracy campaign in early primary school. Building on the success of PlayTalkRead and Bookbug in the early years, Read, Write, Count will seek to ensure the best possible start to school for all our children, particularly those living in disadvantaged circumstances.
We will also work hard to connect with parents and carers so that they feel equipped to support their children’s learning, particularly those who may have had negative experiences of education themselves.
Read, Write, Count will launch formally in August this year, with various events earmarked in the lead up to this to help raise awareness of the campaign and its aims. So, watch this space!
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