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Press Release

Pilot reading campaign to give children a better start in one of England's poorest areas

7 December 2011

Children in one of England's poorest areas will benefit from a pilot reading campaign, aimed at giving them a better start in life.

'Switch off the screen and share a story' begins in Westminster's ward of Queens Park today, aimed at giving children a better start in life by supporting their parents to read to them regularly at an early age.

The pilot has been developed by Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust's (CLCH) Speech and Language Therapy team in partnership with Westminster City Council, and targets children under the age of three years old. If the pilot proves successful, it has the potential to be rolled out across other boroughs, accessible to a wide range of children. Evidence shows that no matter what background children come from, if they are read to and engage with books at an early age, this has positive effects on learning and language development, and gives them a greater chance of success when they reach school.

CLCH CEO James Reilly said: "Learning to communicate is the most important aspect of child development in the pre-school years, yet many children are going to school without the necessary language skills. Our Speech and Language Therapy team have launched this pilot to help address this need, supporting parents to engage with their children by reading and talking about books, strengthening communication skills in these crucial early years."

Children from lower income backgrounds have been found to be more likely to watch more television, are read to less frequently and have less access to books than their counterparts in higher socio-economic families. The pilot initially targets Queens Park, which according to some government measures, has the highest level of child poverty in England.

The pilot is in partnership with Westminster City Council's children's centres and library service, particularly through its Bookstart and Health Information programmes. It targets all families, including teenage parents, one parent families, families from workless households, and families where English is not their mother-tongue.

The first session begins on 7 December with a drop-in at Queens Park Children's Centre, which 30 families are expected to attend. CLCH Speech and Language Therapists have coordinated activities so that books introduced to parents during the session match key children's activities (eg playing in the sandpit). The team hopes this will encourage parents to have conversations with their children when sharing the books, rather than simply reading the story. The library service's Bookstart and Children's Reading Support Coordinator will also be on hand throughout the session. Similar sessions will run throughout January, across other Westminster areas.



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Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (CLCH)

Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (CLCH)

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