• Campaign to raise public awareness of the 20% of children leaving primary school unable to read
• Interactive campaign to increase participation of children and parents with the issue
• Access to advice and guidance from Westminster-based literacy charity, Real Action
• Online survey gets children to give details of their reading habits, favourite books and access to reading materials
• Links to reading schemes run by public libraries
Joanne today launched an online literacy campaign, urging the Government to tackle the high number of children leaving primary school every year unable to read properly. The interactive campaign, run online through Joanne's new website, asks children to fill in a short questionnaire outlining their reading habits, their favourite book and their access to books and reading materials. Joanne plans to use this information to work with the award winning, Conservative led, Westminster Council to attain maximum parent and child engagement in the library facilities.
Westminster City Councillor Daniel Astaire welcomed the campaign: 'It's not acceptable that children across the country are leaving school unable to read and write. We support Joanne's campaign calling on the government to provide the funding to support this local work. The 2008 National Year of Reading will provide a key opportunity for the government to make this commitment a reality.'
Joanne has also enlisted the help of specialist literacy charity Real Action which she has supported since her selection and whose work she recently witnessed first-hand when attending a beginners' class with Michael Gove MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Schools, Children and Families. The group, which is under threat due to funding difficulties, has achieved remarkable results teaching phonics to children in one of Westminster North's most deprived wards. 30 one-hour classes on a Saturday morning can advance a child's reading age by as much as 13 months. Joanne's website refers families to Real Action for advice and guidance and to the Learning Store in Mozart Street for its stock of books to browse and borrow.
Westminster City Council has projects of its' own that are designed to improve child literacy and attainment. Not only is Westminster home to many of London's best primary schools but libraries throughout the area now operate the BookStart scheme, which sees every new child given a collection of 3 separate packs of 'starter books.' In addition, this summer's Big Wild Read saw over 3,140 young people take part in over 120 separate reading events designed to encourage reading for pleasure and to promote under-5 reading sessions in all of our libraries.
Announcing the launch of the campaign Joanne said: 'Being able to read is not just one of life's most important skills, it is also the key to being able to enjoy a world of stories and play which is such an enriching part of any child's upbringing. It is unforgivable that one in five children leaving primary school still cannot read properly, thus limiting their life chances and future opportunities. Our campaign is going to raise awareness of this vital issue and put pressure on the Government to do more for the children being left behind.'
