Tackling literacy issues is at the core of a current initiative in some of Wales’s Strategic Regeneration Areas. Funded by the Welsh Government and co-ordinated by the Welsh Books Council, ten areas have been earmarked as reading communities in an innovative scheme aimed at promoting reading and literacy amongst 7 to 11 year-olds, their families and the wider community.
The communities in south and mid Wales are Tredegar; Ammanford; Pontardawe; Gurnos, Merthyr; Penywaun, Aberdare; Townhill, Swansea, and Penparcau, Aberystwyth. The communities in north Wales are Peblig Ward, Caernarfon; Rhyl West Ward and Llangefni. Each community has its own co-ordinator who arranges a whole range of activities including setting up reading clubs, organising reading breakfasts, establishing a network of volunteers to act as ‘reading buddies’, arranging workshops for parents and carers that will enhance their reading and storytelling skills, and distributing ‘top tips’ leaflets for parents, entitled ‘Make Time to Read’.
A great deal of progress has been made during the first phase of the project and there is clear evidence that the work is starting to bear fruit. On the Gurnos estate in Merthyr, adults who had previously been reluctant to admit that they needed help with their basic skills have now joined the list of people waiting for literacy support from Louise Powell, the Reading Community’s co-ordinator. Louise said, ‘The Reading Communities project has already started to open doors for some members of our local communities. This initiative reaches far beyond the boundaries of encouraging local residents to read more books. In the Gurnos, and in other communities across Wales, this project has had an impact on the social and economic well-being of everyone involved.’
The co-ordinator of the Pontardawe Reading Community stresses the value of the work done by the scheme in the local schools. Paul Doyle said, ‘Projects at schools have created a more vibrant and enthusiastic approach to books and reading. Teachers are becoming more active in developing new reading activities and coming to me for support and advice and to instigate new work. There is certainly an air of being more ambitious in what we can offer to the children and an appreciation that doing it together gets more done.’
Melynda Standring, the Reading Communities co-ordinator in Rhyl, gathered feedback from the parents that had been involved in some of the activities organised by her. As a result of the work within the Reading Community, 80% of the parents said that they would ‘do more activities with their child that would help improve their reading’, and 100% said that they ‘will provide a better reading role model for their child by reading more themselves at home’.
As a result of a ‘Treasure Island’ event in Tredegar, the Reading Communities co-ordinator, Damian Briggs, received a message from the parent of a Year 3 pupil which said that her son reads far more than he used to and that he now reads to his younger brother every night.
Leighton Andrews, Minister for Education and Skills, said, ‘Improving literacy is at the heart of everything we are doing to raise standards and levels of achievement. We want all children to develop a love of reading, and the Reading Communities are putting this into action.
‘Reading with a child for just ten minutes a day can make a huge difference to their overall ability and confidence. We can see examples of this coming out of the Reading Communities, with adults also benefiting and re-discovering the advantages and joy of reading.’
Elwyn Jones, Chief Executive of the Welsh Books Council, added: 'We are keen to support the Government's drive on literacy to ensure that children and adults across Wales have an equal opportunity to develop their reading skills.'
Each Reading Community co-ordinator has also been working closely with RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme) to seek volunteers and establish ‘reading buddy’ schemes within their areas. Under this initiative, adults are trained to help and support children with their reading through regular visits to schools. Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer should contact Barbara Locke, Barbara@rsvpwales.fsnet.co.uk, 02920 390 477.
The Reading Communities project has already started to open doors for members of these communities, and it will now be possible to build on the new confidence which is becoming evident amongst residents.