The National Literacy Trust have teamed up with Suffolk County Council to launch an exciting new literacy campaign; Get Suffolk Reading. This campaign is a ten year commitment to raise literacy levels across the county and equip children and families with the literacy skills they need to succeed in life.
Launching on International Literacy Day, families are invited to get involved in a month of exciting launch activity for all ages. Schools are invited to get involved by encouraging children to win their teacher’s height in books. All Key Stage Two children can also collect a free book from their nearest library. To receive their book, parents need to complete a short form on the campaign website. Books can be collected from local libraries during Libraries Week, between Monday 4 and Sunday 10 October.
Children are also invited to a series of exciting virtual author events across September, with the new Get Suffolk Reading Facebook page providing regular updates, and a special campaign celebrating early years workers will launch next week featuring local illustrator Polly Dunbar.
Get Suffolk Reading brings together the expertise of the National Literacy Trust and a wide range of local partners to deliver a county-wide literacy campaign, supported and enhanced by localised programmatic and campaign activity in Haverhill, Lowestoft and Stowmarket. Working in close consultation with local communities, three main priorities are increasing parental engagement in during the crucial early years, supporting wellbeing through engagement with literature, and raising aspirations and increasing employability skills.
“We’re so excited to launch our first ever county wide campaign in Suffolk. By working with schools, businesses and other amazing charities we can collectively have a lasting impact on literacy levels throughout the county over the next ten years. Our national Take 10 event in May asked people to stop for 10 minutes and read to improve their wellbeing, and saw over 6,500 people from libraries, schools and businesses in Suffolk take part, highlighting the appetite for increased literacy activity. I can’t wait to see what we go onto achieve over the next ten years.”
Jonathan Douglas, Chief Executive at the National Literacy Trust
"Promoting literacy and encouraging and supporting children to start reading from an early age is a vital part of what we do, therefore Suffolk Libraries is delighted to support Get Suffolk Reading. Literacy is particularly important now as we know many children may have fallen behind during the pandemic. We're looking forward to working with the National Literacy Trust in future on this fantastic programme."
Krystal Vittles, Head of Service Delivery at Suffolk Libraries
Get Suffolk Reading is led by the National Literacy Trust in partnership with Suffolk County Council. For more information visit getsuffolkreading.org.uk.