Tens of thousands of books are being sent to schools in Wales in a £5m scheme to improve reading.
The programme will help improve key reading and speaking skills from a young age, the Welsh Government said.
Announcing the extra funding for the reading programme Education Minister Jeremy Miles said it would be equivalent to giving every school child a book and would alongside a targeted scheme of reading support focusing on early years and disadvantaged pupils.
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The scheme aims to fire up enthusiasm for reading, help develop oracy skills and general educational attainment.
It will include 72,000 additional books for reception age children at schools across Wales, 3,600 letterbox club packs, books and training for staff and one box of 50 books to every state school in Wales.
The Minister also confirmed a package of measures, including:
- Working with teacher education providers and school improvement consortia to carry out a review of provision to ensure practitioners get high quality support across Wales
- The National Network – a practitioner-led body to support schools implement the new curriculum – will prioritise reading and oracy in the spring. This will “facilitate high-quality teaching and consider the role of phonics in the new curriculum”
- Development of a “toolkit” to support teachers develop classroom practice
- A review of language screening tools, undertaken by Cardiff Metropolitan University and the Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit, to help practitioners identify issues in listening, understanding and speaking skills.
The Minister said: “Speaking, listening and reading skills play a fundamental part in our everyday lives.
“If we want to close the attainment gap between pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers, then improving reading skills is vital.
“We must ignite a passion for reading in children at a young age so that we can give them the habits and skills they’ll need later in life.
“Reading is essential in making sure learners have every opportunity to access the full breadth of the new Curriculum for Wales, the aims of which are underpinned by improved literacy and oracy among younger learners.”
He added: “I am delighted that I am able to demonstrate the life changing importance of books, reading and oracy by providing a book for every child and young person in Wales - as well as funding for more books in schools and families.”
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