BookTrust

It was fantastic to meet with our Early Years Partner Advisory Group again this morning to discuss some really exciting projects and how we can continue to collaborate in the future. We know our Early Years partners are experts and have real understanding of the needs of the children and families they work with, so the Group meetings are always fantastic, inspiring opportunities to get their insights and feedback. Today, we shared an update on the #ReadingRights campaign that we're working on with Waterstones #ChildrensLaureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce and spoke with the Group about our new strategy, listening to how we can better support them and continue to enhance our ways of working together. Plus, we got their feedback on a new book for one of our programmes - stay tuned to find out more about that in the coming months! If you'd like to know more about our Early Years Partner Advisory Group, here's what happened when Frank Cottrell-Boyce joined them at a recent meeting: https://lnkd.in/enufdnyG

Bennet grew up in kinship care and now works with Kinship to support other families. They told us what a huge difference having access to stories can make to children experiencing vulnerability, and how a book of their own can be an "anchor". Don't forget, we'll be at the #NAVSH Annual Conference on 4 and 5 March, so if you're attending, come and see us on stand 41 to find out more about our work with kinship families. And read more of Bennet's story here: https://lnkd.in/eHAmfqna #Kinship #KinshipCare #SharedReading #ReadingTogether #SharingStories #BenefitsOfReading

We're at the Hartlepool Literacy Summit today! We're so proud to work with Hartlepool to encourage families to get reading from the earliest possible age, because research shows sharing stories has immediate and lifelong benefits for children. We know that there are an increasing number of children starting school in Hartlepool without the language skills they need to thrive, but studies have found that early shared reading can have a real impact on speech and language. That's why we design our #Bookstart Toddler and Pre-schooler programmes with and for low-income families, to support them to overcome barriers to reading and sharing books together. Here's an example of our work in action in Hartlepool: https://lnkd.in/eDRgEvX2 #HartlepoolLiteracyforLife

"We're facing an emergency around children and reading, and I think we can fix that." Our #ReadingRights Summit with Waterstones #ChildrensLaureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce brought together stakeholders from a range of sectors to swap ideas about how we can support children and families through shared reading. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/e9qTdb-t #SharedReading #SharingStories #ReadingTogether #EarlyYears #BenefitsOfReading

Interesting research from National Literacy Trust released today on the role of audio for 8-18 year olds. With our focus on the early years, we know that under 7s really enjoy reading and listening to books with their adults. These interactive shared reading moments help children to experience the benefits of reading. In the early years, reading books together with adults supports children’s development and can help drive reading for enjoyment through childhood: ➡️ Physical closeness and shared attention supports bonding and attachment, concentration, decoding and sense making ➡️ When a child sees an adult enjoying a story, they enjoy it too, driving positive associations with reading ➡️ Interactive reading helps relationships form and supports children's language, cognitive, and socio-emotional development. Find out more: https://bit.ly/3Xhk9oy https://lnkd.in/eMMXmqVt

We're excited to be at the NAVSH Annual Conference next week! Come along to stand 41 to hear more about our work with children from vulnerable family backgrounds, including our support for kinship families. We've been collaborating with Kinship to bring free online workshops, story sessions and books to kinship families, helping them to experience the benefits of sharing stories. You'll also be able to talk to our team about our #StoryExplorers and #LetterboxClub programmes, designed directly with and for children, families, and the professionals who support them. Sharing stories strengthens bonds and creates joyful moments of connection - come and chat to us next week or find out more here: https://lnkd.in/ecPGvcKr #NAVSH #VirtualSchools #KinshipCare #FosterCare #Adoption #ReadingTogether #SharedReading #BenefitsOfReading

"Children’s fiction widens our perspectives and urges us to defy our own biases about children facing challenging circumstances." Our #WriterInResidence Patrice Lawrence has put together a fantastic list of children's books that adults should read to help them empathise with young people and what they're going through. Find her recommendations here: https://lnkd.in/e4UDfDR8 #ChildrensBooks #ReadingTogether #SharedReading #Empathy #ReadForEmpathy #SharingStories

Books can be a really excellent way to support the development of fine motor skills in the early years. Interactive features such as sliders, flaps and trails - and even turning the page - encourage everything from hand-eye coordination to pincer grip. We've put together a list of fun books that could support these skills: https://lnkd.in/deEXEgQR #ChildrensBooks #EarlyYears #ChildDevelopment #FineMotorSkills #ReadingTogether #SharedReading #StoryTime #SharingStories

📢 Calling all of our early years partners across England, Wales and Northern Ireland! We want to hear your views, so take our Partner Survey - and as a thank you, we'll enter you into a prize draw. Find out more about the survey and take part here: https://lnkd.in/epRjtm5w #EarlyYears

Our research shows nearly a third of children do not have multiple reading influencers in their lives. It's essential we support as many people as possible to share stories with young children - helping them to enjoy the lifelong benefits of reading: https://lnkd.in/eKFrsY3J #EarlyYears #Research #ReadingResearch #ChildDevelopment #ReadingTogether #SharedReading #SharingStories #BenefitsOfReading