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Bookstart, run by national charity Booktrust www.booktrust.org.uk, was the first
national baby book-giving programme in the world. Bookstart
began in 1992 with 300 babies. By 2001, there had been over
one million Bookstart babies (Bookstart Partnership Report,
2003). The programme works through locally-based organisations
to give a free pack of books to every baby, with guidance
materials for parents and carers.
The Bookstart pack is usually delivered to families at babies'
7-9 month health check with their health visitor. The pack
includes a canvas bag contains two board books and a book
of nursery rhymes, advice on sharing books with a list of
good books for babies, information about libraries and an
invitation to join. Informal library events such as rhyme
time or story time can also be offered.
Schemes throughout the UK order materials through Booktrust
and distribute packs locally. These schemes are usually co-ordinated
by the library service, but sometimes through local education
or health services. Bookstart activities are often linked
to multi-agency approaches to reach those parents who are
socially isolated, through initiatives such as Sure
Start. In Gateshead, for example, the nine month hearing
check has taken place in the library.
Many parents do not feel comfortable going to the library,
so having Bookstart events there helps parents to see the
library as a place to enjoy and borrow books for their babies
and young children. They also realise that their children
do not have to keep quiet all the time and, very importantly,
they do not have to pay fines on children's books. By introducing
books to babies and their parents (usually the mother), Bookstart
is an opportunity to stress the importance of books from a
very young age as well as helping parents to see the value
of talking and listening to their babies.
Bookstart packs often include a few extra touches to encourage
parents to see reading and sharing stories as a fun thing
to do. For example, the pack is a colourful bag, and some
areas are able to include additional materials such as an
audio story cassette. There may also be an incentive to join
the library, such as a voucher that can be exchanged for a
library video loan or for a local swimming pool session. In
some areas, there are local home visiting schemes to help
parents understand how they can provide early literacy support,
or Storysacks libraries
for parents to borrow to use at home. There may also be family
reading groups or targeted support to help bilingual families.
In England, two additional packs in England are available
- Bookstart Plus for 18-month-olds, and My Bookstart Treasure
Chest, aimed at three-year-olds. As well as books, these packs
- a satchel and a cardboard treasure chest for the child -
contain colouring pads and crayons. They are designed to encourage
language, conversation and building relationships, as well
as promoting the first steps towards writing - putting marks
on paper.
For more information visit www.bookstart.co.uk
The Bookstart programme is delivered through a multi-agency, public/private partnership. In October 2003, it was announced that Bookstart in England would be centrally funded by the Sure Start Unit from 2004/05. This funding support from government, and ongoing sponsorship support from children's publishers and Red House Books, means that a Bookstart Pack is available to every baby in the UK. In Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales funding is provided by the devolved administrations. If parents cannot get a bookbag locally - some areas have not yet set up their scheme - they can contact Bookstart: www.bookstart.co.uk
The Booktouch programme for blind and partially sighted children
from 0-4 years was launched in April 2003. Booktrust worked
with the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) and
the charity ClearVision to develop Booktouch packs. These
consist of a Bookstart canvas bag of books, guidance leaflet
for parents about sharing books with blind or partially sighted
children, a list of recommended books and a helpful list of
support agencies. The books in the pack are especially chosen
to suit each child from a range of touch and feel books and
Braille books.
For more information visit
www.bookstart.co.uk/Parents-and-carers/Packs/Parents-Booktouch
In August 2006, book publishers Pearson announced plans to
extend the government-funded Bookstart scheme to one million
children when they start school by giving each child the gift
of a free Puffin picture book.
The Booktime initiative will run for three years from October
2006, initially distributing free books to 250,000 children,
rising to 400,000 in 2008. The programme is the brainchild
of Wendy Cooling who helped initiate Bookstart, which now
gives free packs of books to every child twice before they
start school.
It launched in 2006/07 with Hairy Maclary's Bone by Lynley
Dodd, who has waived her royalties. Children will receive
their book in a drawstring bag, with a parents' guide to shared
reading. Further information will be distributed to teachers,
and participating schools will receive two free books.
Booktime promotes reading for pleasure by encouraging parents and carers to read aloud with their children and help foster a love of books at a key stage in their child’s education and development. The programme gives children the gift of a book pack shortly after they start school with a guidance booklet for parents and carers on shared reading .
The book for 2007/08 was Funnybones, by Allan and Janet Ahlberg, published by Puffin. Booktime is delivered via schools in partnership with local authority and library services across the UK. Schools and libraries will receive free supporting materials, including an activities resource pack
The initiative is delivered by
Booktrust, through 70 local authorities across England, Scotland
and Northern Ireland.
For more information visit www.booktime.pearson.com or read the Booktime case study from the Family Reading Campaign.
Following the announcement by the Chancellor in December 2006, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) is funding a national programme called Booked Up aimed at encouraging Year 7 children to read for pleasure.
Every 11-year-old in England in Autumn 2007 will be able to choose their own free book from a list sent to their school. The scheme will also provide an accompanying website, children’s magazine and a range of add-on activities. The books will be delivered to schools in partnership with distributors Red House.
Bookstart
in Cardiff
The Bookstart coordinator in Cardiff has worked with the Cardiff
Playbus and used the bus to visit an asylum seekers' residence,
where it proved extremely popular. She has also used the bus
to visit traveller sites in the city and lend children library
books; this was a pilot initiative which is being evaluated,
as interest in the books waned after an enthusiastic start.
Talking to health visitors has enabled the coordinator to
produce a simple information leaflet for the health visitors
to hand out at babies' first immunisation, highlighting the
importance of sharing books and rhymes with babies from the
earliest of ages. She has worked with the local director of
health visitors to include reference to the importance of
Bookstart in their new clinical procedure guidelines. The
trial with the Travellers Book box scheme is currently under
evaluation.
Bookstart
through Sure Start
Thanks to an inner city programme Aylesbury Plus in Southwark,
London, parents receive a 'goody bag' from health visitors
when they make their second visit after birth. The goody bag
includes not only baby books but also a toothbrush and paste,
a piggy bank for the family and advice about different local
services that can help. Many of these first time mothers are
very isolated on the estate so the health visitors set up
a first time mothers' group with sessions run with Sure Start
by LLU+ (part of London
South Bank University). Several parents have since undergone
further training and one parent has taken a LLU+ 'Peachers'
course to enable her to help parent groups for Sure Start.
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