This week, I was delighted to help launch the Share a Story campaign in time for the celebration of World Book Day on Thursday 1st of March. This year the campaign is focusing on encouraging parents to read to their child for ten minutes every day and is being led by Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
Improving children’s literacy is vital to their success at developing reading and listening skills. Storytime allows them to learn a wider vocabulary and feed their imagination. Reading for pleasure is a great joy that not everyone is taught to experience. Making reading more attractive to young families can lead to more quality time together, not just better chances in life.
A number of our local schools have shown real initiative to get pupils reading by setting up the Pendle Reading Challenge. Last month, I was one of the ‘Dragons’ in a Dragons’ Den event, which saw 50 student ambassadors from 18 schools reach out to businesses and ask for support in funding their reading programs. They have already secured support from the Pendle Leisure Trust, the British Dyslexia Association, Burnley FC, Lancashire Fire and Rescue and many more.
Lancashire County Council’s Libraries service have set up the Lancashire Reading Trail to help young Lancastrians develop their reading skills whilst learning more about their county’s heritage. I was amazed to hear about Ellissa Pickles (6) reading 50 books at Barnoldswick Library in just six months in order to earn a gold award as part of their challenge.
I was delighted that Barrowford Library was recently reopened after an unnecessary closure, allowing children there to take part in these programs. 26 libraries were closed across Lancashire under the previous administration but the County Council now plans to reopen as many as possible.
England now ranks eighth in the Progress on International Reading Literacy Study, up from 19 in just one year, largely due to the change to phonics in 2010, so great improvements are being made. However, Pendle is lagging behind the national average in the improvements we’ve seen.
That shows there is more to do and a big challenge for our schools, libraries and parents to give the next generation the best start in life and in reading.