A campaign encouraging parents and carers to include reading, writing and numeracy in everyday activities has been expanded to children in Primaries 4 to 7. Read, Write, Count kits containing books, writing materials and numeracy resources such as dice and playing cards will be distributed to older pupils in 96 primary schools across Scotland this autumn.
The kits will help parents and carers introduce reading, writing and maths into simple, routine activities such as using cook books and measuring equipment together at home or doing distance challenges with pedometers, to help children strengthen their skills and build their confidence in literacy and numeracy.
Announcing the expansion during a visit to Inch View Primary School in Perth, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “We already provide support to encourage parents to develop literacy and numeracy skills – for babies through Bookbug, for toddlers through PlayTalkRead and children in P1 to P3 through Read, Write, Count. So I am delighted that we are expanding the scope of this support to include children right from birth to secondary school age.
“We know the positive impact that parental involvement and engagement has on children’s achievement, which is why it plays such a prominent role in our national plans to improve attainment and close the equity gap.
“With the first Maths Week Scotland due to launch next week, the numeracy resources within these kits will support our drive to make Scotland more positive in its attitude towards numeracy and help parents and families get involved too.”
Headteacher at Inch View Primary School, Suz McKenzie, said: “Every day is a learning day here at Inch View and that learning does not stop at the school gates. Supporting the Read, Write, Count initiative has so far had a huge impact on our younger pupils in the school. It has informed parents of how they can best support their child’s learning, to enable them to embed their numerical skills within the home environment.
“Research shows that children attain more at school and throughout life, when parents and teachers share the learning journey. Extending this resource to our P4-7 shall ensure that all pupils and parents have equal opportunity to benefit from learning set within these resources.”
Read, Write, Count was launched in 2015 to give practical support to parents and carers of Primaries 1 to 3 children to help them get involved in their child’s learning, particularly in literacy and numeracy.
The Primaries 4 to 7 kits have been developed by the Scottish Book Trust and Education Scotland.
Maths Week Scotland will run from 11 to 17 September.
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