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Party On to Celebrate Bookstart Success
Photo Opportunity: Photographers are invited to attend the Bookstart
birthday parties at 11am On Tuesday 3rd October, at the Turnpike Centre,
Leigh or 11am on Friday 6th October, at Westfield Sure Start Children’s
Centre on Montrose Avenue. Contact Chris Dunbar on 01942 486937, or Sue
Smith on 01942 827507.
Bookstart, the national programme that encourages all parents and carers
to enjoy reading books with children from an early age, is celebrating
its first birthday in style this week.
The scheme, organised locally by Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust, Leigh
and Wigan Primary Care Trust and Wigan Sure Start, has resulted in
nearly 8,000 book packs being issued to pre-school children across Wigan
Borough to give them a head start in their reading and learning
development.
The Bookstart scheme is split into three different categories to provide
specially tailored book packs for each age group. The figures for
Wigan’s first year of involvement in the scheme are very impressive:
• Bookstart Babies (8 months) - 3773 book packs to babies in Wigan
Borough
• Bookstart Plus (18 months) – 2246 book packs to toddlers
• Treasure Chest (3 years) – 1973 book packs to three-year-olds
Sue Smith, Bookstart Co-ordinator for Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust,
said, “Research has shown that children who get to grips with books from
a very early age become confident readers when they start school and
also have a greater understanding of maths, so this scheme really is
vital to ensure that children in the borough get a head start in life.
We are delighted with the progress we have made over the last year and
will continue to ensure that all children in the area get their own
opportunity to step into the world of reading.”
To celebrate the success of the scheme’s first year, two big Bookstart
parties have been arranged for children at each end of Wigan Borough to
enjoy. On Tuesday 3rd October, a party will be held at the Derby Room at
the Turnpike Centre, Leigh. All under-fives and their parents and carers
are invited to this free event, which will take place between 9.30am and
3.00pm.
On Friday 6th October, to mark National Bookstart Day, Wigan’s Bookstart
team will be hosting a party at Westfield Sure Start Children’s Centre,
Westfield Community Primary School, Montrose Avenue, Pemberton. This is
a free event for all under fives and their parents and carers. The times
of this event are 9.30am to 11.30am and 1.30pm to 3.30pm. Booking is not
required for either party and parents carers are encouraged to drop in
at any time.
The parties will include lots of music, traditional party games, home
made hats and goody bags for all children. Party guests will be also be
able to help create a giant wall mural based on the classic children’s
book ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ by Eric Carle. An extra special treat
will be the launch of the Rhymetime puppet show - taking place at
various times during each day.
For further information about the Bookstart scheme in Wigan Borough
please contact Sue Smith on 01942 827507 or email
sue.j.smith@wlct.org
-ends-
NOTES TO EDITORS: For further information on this News Release please
contact Chris Dunbar, Public Relations Officer, Wigan Leisure and
Culture Trust on 01942 486937 or at
c.dunbar@wlct.org.
Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust: Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust is a
charitable trust working on behalf of Wigan Council to manage and
support leisure and cultural facilities, initiatives and events for over
300,000 residents in the Wigan Borough. See
www.wlct.org.
National Bookstart Scheme: Bookstart is the national programme that
encourages all parents and carers to enjoy books with children from as
early an age as possible. We want every child in the UK to develop a
lifelong love of books. Bookstart gives the gift of free books to
children at around eight months, 18 months and three years, along with
guidance materials for parents and carers. Bookstart also aims to foster
a love of books through a range of fun activities.
Bookstart is run by Booktrust, an independent national charity that
encourages people of all ages and cultures to discover and enjoy
reading. Amongst Booktrust’s other projects are the Orange Prize for
Fiction, National Children’s Book Week, the Children’s Laureate and the
Booktrust Teenage Prize. Bookstart is a public and private partnership
and benefits from sponsorship from over 20 children’s publishers, Red
House Books and central funding from Sure Start.
For information on the national Bookstart programme, contact Emily Butt
at emily@booktrust.org.uk or on 020 8516 2980 or see
www.bookstart.org.uk
Getting Wigan Active: Getting Wigan Active is Wigan Leisure and Culture
Trust’s vision to ensure that people across the Wigan Borough have the
opportunity to become more physically, mentally and creatively active.
It also aims to increase community activity and to encourage good
citizenship.
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