Literacy news
Children's radio: a vital medium
1 Jul 2009
Before children can learn to talk, they must first learn to listen. However in today's screen-driven, keyboard culture not a lot of conversing is happening. Susan Stranks says: "a resulting pandemic of 'lazy listening' is infecting young and old alike". What better way to nurture the importance of listening than by presenting radio programmes specifically designed for children to listen to? Susan reminds readers that many radio programmes for children have been cut back in recent years. The battle reached the highest levels in June 2009 when Members of the House of Lords called for a new public service network for young listeners.
In fact, in a debate led by the Rt. Hon Baroness Massey, about the well-being of children and families, Baroness Warnock called for children's radio to be factored into the Government's £40m Every Child a Talker scheme.
The experiment for London families, abracaDABra!, proved that children welcome radio made especially for them. Parents confirmed that daily listening to stories, songs, rhymes, fun and games encouraged talking, imagination, concentration and memory. Susan suggests that radio can bring balance to screen and keyboard activity.
BBC trustees have called for practical partnerships with independent and voluntary organisations to address a public service broadcasting funding gap of up to £235m a year and the blueprint for a children's radio network in potential partnership with the BBC has been sent to Government, Ofcom, Digital Britain and the BBC Trust and Executive, pending the appointment of a Communication Champion and Communication Council, due in Autumn 2009.
The working title for this service is "Sound Start" and it will provide daily fun, games, songs and stories for children, together with help and guidance for parents, in a free and accessible form. The service will pilot alongside the Government £52m programmes of Every Child a Talker and the SLCN Action Plan, with an evaluation of radio's role in children's play and learning to be published in the National Year of Speech, Language and Communication in 2011–12.
(Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists Bulletin, July 2009)
Most read
Related content
- Poetry’s the pill: the experiences of a spoken word educator in Blogs by Guest blogger
- Buzzing about books - using talk and peer recommendation to hook pupils into reading in Blogs by Susie Musgrove
- Young people and literacy have changed their relationship status to ‘it’s complicated’ in Blogs by Guest blogger
- Can teaching speaking and listening change behaviour in secondary classes? in Blogs by Sally Melvin
- How to use the new football season to get your kids reading for pleasure in Blogs by Jim Sells
