www.wiltshire.gov.uk
Wiltshire County Council’s National Year of Reading Steering Group
Q: What do these people have in common?
- A disaffected young person who has left school unable to read?
- A parent who struggles to find time to spend with their child?
- An elderly person who feels isolated and alone?
A: They could all have their lives transformed by the National Year of Reading in Wiltshire…
Did you know:
- Less than half of Dads (42%) regularly read a bedtime story to their children?
- Watching TV is the most common pre-sleep activity among children?
- A staggering 45% of teenagers have been told off by an adult for enjoying something which is not deemed to be ‘proper reading’
- Over 20% of the working population in Wiltshire have literacy skills which are below that expected of an 11 year old?
But did you also know:
- A massive 80% of teens have written their own story, film, play or song?
- There is an explosion of digital reading, with four out of ten top teen reads being online?
- 450 people being helped to live independently at home in Wiltshire receive a housebound library service from a regular volunteer? And there’s room for more…
- Bookstart and Bookstart Plus give all babies and young children packs including books at ages 9 months, 18 months, and 3 years?
This year is the National Year of Reading (NYR). The purpose is to celebrate reading in all its forms, to build a greater national passion for reading in England. So many things are linked to an enjoyment of reading - the development of skills, better performance at school, a greater understanding about the community around us, and health – both physical and mental.
The County Council has put together a steering group, and we are working with partners across the county to make a difference, in particular to young people leaving school, to older people and to families with young children. Just some of the projects we have kicked off so far –
- Together with Age Concern, encourage older people to help with the Summer Reading Challenge in libraries and schools, promoting intergenerational learning and understanding.
- Together with our own social care teams and Link volunteers from Community First, serve more people who are housebound by bringing books directly into their homes.
- Together with the Adult Learning Team, host a series of ‘How to Read to your Child’ sessions with parents in Children’s Centres. This will be targeted and may well encourage some adults to improve their own literacy skills.
- Together with our Youth Service, and with young people themselves, identify what young people want to read, and in what setting, building on our experience with The Lounge in Salisbury.
- We will also be exploring how we serve those young people who leave school with poor reading skills. If you have any ideas, please let us know…
We plan to start small, in pilot mode, to see what works and then build on our successes into next year and beyond. This is not just a one year project – we aim to make a long-term difference in the lives of the people of Wiltshire. We’ve started strongly, and in May we were selected as the National Year of Reading’s Local Authority of the Month for our work.
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, do please get in touch. We can be reached by e-mail at yearofreading@wiltshire.gov.uk
If you are a local business, organisation, or group who would like to get involved, we would also love to hear from you!
In the meantime, why not think about the following?
- Use Learning At Work Day (22nd May) to spend 10 minutes sharing your favourite books with your colleagues
- Think about how working with libraries, schools, youth services, or other partners could improve services to your clients or customers – then tell us!
- Make a reading pledge – whether it is to join the library, try a book recommended by a colleague, or read a story to your children
 Bedtime Reading - Photographer: Sim Canetty-Clarke |
 Flower Seller Reading Novel - Photographer: Sim Canetty-Clarke |
