Reading’s right for our preschool children

Study reveals growing popularity of using books with very young children

Hundreds more parents and carers in Scotland are using books to play, read to and engage with their very young children, according to a major Scottish Government-funded study carried about by ScotCen Social Research.

Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) – which has followed the lives of two groups of children from across Scotland for the last 10 years – shows a significant increase in the number of parents and carers who use books when engaging with their children at the age of 10 months.

Extensive research has highlighted the positive impact of reading to children in their pre-school years. Previously published GUS data has shown that children who are frequently read to in the first year of life score higher in assessments of cognitive ability at age 3-4.

The PlayTalkRead campaign was launched by the Scottish Government in 2009. It aims to encourage parents and carers to play, talk and read with their children from birth to boost their development and learning. The campaign uses advertising and social media and provides free items to support parents with the website receiving more than 130,000 visits in 2014-15. The roadshow features three buses which travel across Scotland delivering face-to-face sessions to parents and carers, offering them advice and support.

The Scottish Government-funded scheme Bookbug, which promotes reading to children, including babies, launched in 2010.

A new paper published to the mark the 10^th birthday of the landmark GUS study shows that the number of parents and carers using books when their child was 10 months old grew from 66% before the launch of Bookbug to 69% after the start of the scheme – the equivalent of more than 1700 babies being read to every year.

It will be published at an event at Edinburgh University tomorrow.

Children’s Minister Aileen Campbell said: “Improving literacy in our children and young people is a key priority for this Government and we know that learning begins long before school.

“Therefore it is extremely heartening to learn that hundreds more parents and carers across Scotland have embraced the crucial role books can play in helping children to develop and acquire important pre-school skills and attributes such as speaking, a sense of curiosity and a life-long love of books.

“In June this year we committed a further £2.7 million for pre-school programmes to improve literacy in children. This included the record-breaking PlayTalkRead campaign – whose website and outreach buses attracted 160,000 visits in 2014 and book gifting scheme Bookbug. We are also piloting plans to make every child in Scotland a member of their local library.

“Such valuable work, combined with the good progress reflected in the GUS report, leaves me in no doubt that the number of parents and carers using books to give their children the best start in life, will only continue to grow.”

‘Tackling Inequalities in the Early Years: Key Messages from 10 years of the Growing Up in Scotland study’ will be published in full on Tuesday, October 6.

Five star lifesavers!

Woman rescued from icy water off Gypsy Brae following boys’ prompt action

Officers in Edinburgh have commended the actions of five 11 and 12 year-old boys after they saved a woman’s life.

Last Sunday, at around 4.30pm, a woman entered the very cold waters at Gypsy Brae and started to swim out towards Fife, despite advice from Wacka Ceesay (11), Andrew Bell (11), Tyler Jay Anderson (12), Aleks Czernecki (12) and Kian McGee (11) not to do so.

When the boys were unable to persuade the woman against swimming, one of the lads raised the alarm with an adult and asked for the Coastguard be called.

Police and Coastguard arrived and the boys were able to identify the area where the woman was and provided footage of the woman entering the water to assist the emergency team.

The woman was rescued from the water and taken for treatment and is now recovering from her ordeal.

The boys were very helpful to police and they were taken for a tour of Drylaw Police Station as a reward – officers then took them home and praised them in front of their parents.

The boys told police that they knew what to do due to what they learned at The Risk Factory, a Police Scotland-sponsored interactive safety centre. The Edinburgh-based initiative is sponsored by local authorities and emergency services in the Lothians area, and is available to all local children in Primary 7.

Police Sergeant John Brock said: “This incident could have quite easily had a tragic ending. Due to the swift and conscientious actions of these boys a woman’s life was saved. Police Scotland commends them for their bravery and quick thinking. Thank you to these five boys for demonstrating outstanding community spirit.”

Stories with taste: Green Pencil writing competition launched

Tasty treats were on the menu at the launch of this year’s popular Green Pencil Award writing competition yesterday, when Carrick Knowe Primary School pupils were joined by leading children’s author Vivian French for a food-themed story workshop.

This year’s Green Pencil theme is ‘Food for thought: Scotland’s food and drink’. Entrants can write a poem or story about a favourite meal, or a memorable Scottish picnic, a drink they love or hate, or perhaps even invent a new Scottish food!

Or they could think about the journey of a vegetable from being planted as a seed to ending up as part of a delicious, nutritious meal.

Budding writers can get inspiration by visiting local libraries, which have lots of ideas and books to help, and also by asking in schools, which have resources available to support this award.

All entries can be made by following this link and should be no longer than one side of A4 – entries longer than that cannot be considered.

The closing date is Friday 9 October, with an awards ceremony at the Central Library in late November.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture and Sport Convener, said: “The Council has been running this competition for eight years and it grows in popularity each time. We have so many budding writers with fabulous imaginations in our schools, and reading the entries is always a joy for our library staff.

“Reading skills are such vital aspects to learning, but also a really fun way of doing so. Thanks so much to Vivian for bringing it to life so vividly for these lucky pupils. Good luck to everyone who enters.”

Ms French said: “I love the Green Pencil Award, because it encourages children to look at the world around them, and to think about things they might otherwise take for granted.

“It inspires curiosity, consideration, and critical judgement … essential ingredients for everyone – especially writers!”

City schoolkids tweet their streets

“My street is unique, old – an antique!”

School pupils from all corners of the Capital have created a mini-map of Edinburgh with a series of tweets about the city’s streets.

The ‘Tweet Your Street’ project, being announced tomorow (Monday 1 June) at the Central Library, sees the launch of an online map where children have started ‘pinning’ poetic tweets about where they live. A selection of tweets will also be on public display within the children’s area of the library.

The map is a result of a series of poetry workshops with P3-S1 pupils from across the Capital and the Edinburgh Makar Christine De Luca.

From the apple trees in Hope Terrace and the cobbles of St Vincent Street, to the cats that stroll along Easter Drylaw Place and the excitement of hearing the jingle of an ice cream van, the map of tweets reveals the essence of living in Edinburgh as a child.

“Walking past running cats

Lovely gardens outside flats

Everyone is full of grace

On Easter Drylaw Place”

(Age 12, Forthview Primary School)

Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture and Sport Convener, said: “These snippets of poetry provide a sweet and honest view of Edinburgh’s communities in the eyes of its youngest residents. In Edinburgh we have a long and proud interest in literature and poetry and it is great to see our pupils’ own writing talent thanks to this project.

“The memories of the street you grow up on stay with you. ‘Tweet Your Street’ captures these memories in a way that will hopefully spark other pupils and residents to view their own communities in a new light and maybe even tweet about it. The Edinburgh Makar Christine De Luca and these pupils have produced a brand new way of mapping Edinburgh and getting students interested in poetry.”

Christine De Luca became the Scottish Capital’s poet in residence, the Edinburgh Makar, and promotes Scottish writing and the Capital’s status as a UNESCO City of Literature locally and around the world. She was appointed as the city’s version of ‘Poet Laureate’ in 2014, and initiated ‘Tweet Your Street’.

Edinburgh Makar Christine De Luca said: “This has been a fun project to do. I’ve really enjoyed working with a group of committed, enthusiastic teachers. Writing a very short poem which captures something about your street isn’t easy, but reading the children’s poems proves it’s possible. Do read them and pass on the link to family and friends. The Central Library has been a great partner.”

All tweets will be available to view online at the Edinburgh Makar website from 11:30am tomorrow. Here’s a flavour of what to expect:

“In Craigour Loan

The people mingle

To the ice cream van’s jingle

They chat, giggle and play

Every sunny day”

(Age 8 Craigour Park Primary)

“My street is unique

Old – an antique –

It’s Newhouses Road

If you drive in

You have to drive back

You see

It’s a

Cul-de-sac”

(Age 9, St. George’s School for Girls)

St George’s girls fly the flag for Edinburgh

St George’s face thirty opponents in Euroquiz final

In which European city could you find the oldest amusement park in the world? Which European country has the ‘zloty’ as its currency? Do you know when the European Coal and Steel Community was founded?

These are examples of some of the tough questions that will face over 120 primary P6 from all over Scotland who will take over the Scottish Parliament’s Debating Chamber today (Monday 11 May).

Thirty schools have debated their way through a series of heats to represent their local authority areas in the Euroquiz final at Holyrood and the capital will be represented by Ravelston’s St. George’s School for Girls.

Deputy Presiding Officer and Euroquiz quizmaster Elaine Smith MSP said: “Euroquiz is a fun and engaging way for children to learn about Europe and Scotland’s place in the world. It’s wonderful that our children are growing up in Scotland so knowledgeable about our European neighbours and the level of awareness of the participants never fails to impress.

“I am delighted that the Scottish Parliament is once again hosting the final of Euroquiz and I look forward to welcoming the teams and their supporters to Holyrood.”

The Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET) has been running the quiz since 1993 and this is the eighth year the event has been held at the Scottish Parliament. The event is sponsored by the European Parliament and the Scottish Government.

Minister for Learning, Alasdair Allan MSP said: “It’s great to see so many children and young people from around Scotland participating in this year’s Euroquiz final and putting their knowledge to the test of all things European. I hope every team has enjoyed their experience this year.”

Each of the 30 Scottish schools taking part in the quiz have already won their local authority round and will be competing against the winners of all the other heats in the final. Bon chance, St George’s!

A live webcast of the event will be accessible via the Scottish Parliament’s website at – http://www.scottishparliament.tv/

May date set for Spartans’ sports day

Hundreds of local primary school children will be taking part in a major sports event being organised by Spartans Community Football Academy Event at Ainslie Park in May.

SCFA Youth and Community Worker Jamie Tomkinson said: “The Spartans Community Football Academy Sports Day will be held on the 20th of May. Eight local primary schools are involved – we reckon that will be around 350 P7s over the course of the day!”

Twelve different sporting activities will be delivered by local agencies on the day: Kabo boxing, Edinburgh Judo, Edinburgh Leisure, Fet-Lor, Granton Youth Centre and MY Adventure will all be supporting the programme – and Keith Cook, who is a five-time Commonwealth Games medallist, will share his fencing skills. NEN, North Edinburgh’s community newspaper, has been invited to cover the event.

“Lorna Cruikshank, one of our young volunteers, will deliver a hockey station and we have a local samba band coming along to create an atmosphere and do a show for the opening ceremony!” Jamie added. “Many organisations have come on board to support the day – Ainslie Park Leisure Centre are letting us use one lane of their pool for the triathlon and Nike, who were a major part of last year’s success, will be volunteering throughout the event.

“There’s a lot of organising to be done and we are putting the finishing touches to the programme but the Sports Day is going to be a lot of fun – we’re all really looking forward to it and I’m sure the P7s are too!”

Craigroyston initiative tackles bullying and violence

‘Law enforcement agencies and governments can only take things so far. The way to change attitudes is to identify and build on the assets you have in your communities. You guys – the students and young people – are the assets’ – Justice Secretary Michael Matheson

Craigroyston Community High School pupils who have learned how to tackle violence and bullying through a training initiatve shared their experiences with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice Michael Matheson yesterday.

The Justice Secretary watched a presentation on the Mentors in Violence Prevention(MVP) initiative and listened to the experiences of participants before chatting informally with students about their participation in the groundbreaking project.

Craigroyston staff and students explained that the Mentors in Violence Prevention(MVP) scheme is already having some success in changing unacceptable behaviour – early feedback suggests improved attitudes amongst those who have taken part.

MVP Scotland trains senior pupils to become mentors who, in turn, equip younger students in ways in which to intervene and prevent incidents that could lead to gender violence, which can be domestic abuse, sexting, assault or homophobia. Pupils are taught to challenge their own friends and peers about their behaviour if and when it’s appropriate.

It was first piloted in Portobello High by the Violence Reduction Unit in 2011 and has since been rolled out to 11 secondary schools in the Capital. The unit’s Chief Inspector Graham Goulden spoke to pupils during the morning’s visit about its work.

Chief Inspector Goulden (above) said: “The MVP programme is emerging as a great way to continue to safely discuss many issues that contribute towards abuse and violence in Scotland. It provides schools with an approach that supports learning, as young people are faced with a range of external influences that impact on their resilience, such as online media. Bullying is still an issue in our schools and also strips young people of control.

“At the heart of violence and abuse is a breakdown in relationships. Let’s use relationships in the form of friendships to counter all of these issues allowing young people to do their best at an important time in their academic lives.”

Forth Councillor Cammy Day – who is also Edinburgh’s Community Safety Convener – also attended the event and spoke about how MVP is an important part of the local anti-crime #StrongerNorth campaign.

He said: “MVP is a key feature of the #StrongerNorth initiative as it really engages young people by helping them to recognise unacceptable behaviour, and gives them the power to face up to it. These skills are helping them to change attitudes whether it’s in school, in their homes or when they’re with their friends.

“Most school children have a great attitude and are involved in many positive schemes, but we know that the bad attitude of even just a few can have a real impact on communities.

“#StrongerNorth and projects like MVP and Total Craigroyston are aimed at nipping unacceptable behaviour in the bud before it escalates into something worse, and it was fantastic to hear first hand today about how these schemes are really working.”

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson (above) said: “I was delighted to be invited along to Craigroyston Community High School to see the excellent work ongoing to tackle the issues of violence and bullying in schools.

“Since 2008, incidents of violence among young people have halved across Scotland, but it is crucial we are not complacent and education is key to ensuring our young people change the culture of violence in our society.

“The work being done through the Mentors in Violence programme by the Violence Reduction Unit to train these young people to deliver their own training is having a huge impact not only within the school but also throughout the wider community.

“The programme empowers young people by bringing issues such as bullying and violence out into the open to allow for full, frank and informed discussions around the risks and consequences.

“Most importantly, it’s giving our young people a confidence and sense of responsibility that will benefit them throughout their lives.”

Some images from the Craigroyston event (also on Facebook):

SCO music workshops at North Edinburgh Arts

Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Music Workshops

North Edinburgh Arts
Friday 30 January

5 – 9 years (2 – 2.45pm)
1 – 4 years (3 – 3.45pm)

Free

Sir Scallywag and the Golden Underpants

When King Colin’s golden underpants go missing and the royal bottom is bared, it’s Sir Scallywag to the rescue! Brave and bold, courageous and true, he’s the perfect knight for the job… and what does it matter that he’s only six?!

Join the SCO team for an afternoon of music making. Hear the story and learn songs and actions featured in the SCO’s upcoming Family Concerts with the help of the workshop leader and SCO musicians.

All children must be accompanied by a parent/carer.

A snack will be provided after each workshop.

Places are limited. The workshops will run from North Edinburgh Arts, but to book tickets contact SCO directly:

Telephone: 0131 478 8342
Email: anna.hainsworth@sco.org.uk
or on their website: www.sco.org.uk

First Minister’s New Year message

Nicola Sturgeon highlights priorities for coming year

Speaking from the maternity unit at Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The staff who work here are just some of the tens of thousands across our National Health Service who give up time with their loved ones over Christmas and New Year to care for the rest of us.

“We owe a huge debt of gratitude to all of them and to the many others who work so hard, not just over the festive period, but all year round to provide us with the best possible care.

“The terrible events in Glasgow last week reminded us again of how much we owe our emergency services. Day in, day out, our police, ambulance and fire services go beyond the call of duty to look after us.

“Our thoughts and prayers today remain with the bereaved and all those affected by last week’s tragedy; and our heartfelt thanks go to those who are rallying round to provide them with love and support.

“As we look forward to a new year, it is worth thinking about the babies in this maternity ward – and about the sort of country we want them to grow up in.

“These young children are lucky to have been born into an NHS that is free at the point of need.

“Your Scottish Government – a government that I am now proud to lead – is determined to protect that principle, and we will work every day to support and improve our public national health service.

“As the boys and girls here grow up, we also want them to benefit from high quality pre-school care. That’s why in 2015, we will significantly expand childcare for two year olds – and move forward with our even more ambitious plans for the future.

“And as these babies become young adults, we want to ensure that they have the opportunity to fulfil their potential in whatever career they choose.

“I am proud that this government restored the principle of free higher education – a principle I benefitted from as a young girl.

“Now I am determined that we will step up our work to close the attainment gap between schools in different parts of Scotland, so that more young people can take advantage of that free education.

“We will also continue to support a record number of modern apprenticeships, to give our young people the skills they need and help our businesses to innovate, export and expand.

“And we will strive to create opportunities for all. The baby girls in this maternity unit deserve the same chances in life as the baby boys – the chance to succeed in fields like science and engineering, and to become senior managers, board members, even First Ministers.

“The simple fact is that if we can give every child here a fair chance to fulfil their potential, we will build a stronger, happier and more successful country.

“Doing everything I can to make that a reality is my New Year resolution and it is one my government – in partnership with many across our country – will be focussed on throughout next year.

“Despite the great sadness of recent days, there is no doubt that 2014 has been the most extraordinary year for our country. Our economy has grown and unemployment has fallen. We hosted a hugely successful Ryder Cup, and staged the best ever Commonwealth Games.

“And we had a referendum recognised around the world as a shining example of democratic engagement. A referendum that – regardless of which way you voted – empowered all of us in this country like never before.

“As the bells chime on Hogmanay, I hope that the spirit of empowerment that so lit up 2014, will guide us into the New Year. Let’s resolve not to slip back to business as usual.

“Instead, let us harness the wonderful enthusiasm and engagement of 2014 and use it to build a fairer and more prosperous Scotland for these babies to grow up in.

“Wherever you are, in Scotland or around the world; at home with family and friends, or at work – let me wish each and every one of you all the very best for a happy, peaceful and prosperous 2015.”

Record year for early years campaign

PlayTalkRead, the Scottish Government’s early years campaign, has reached a record number of families in 2014, it was revealed today.

Visits to the website over the year were 122,965 – an increase of 50 per cent on 2013 and a 219 per cent increase on 2012. More than 43,000 people visited Benji and Bessie, the PlayTalkRead buses in 2014 – an 11 per cent increase on last year.

PlayTalkRead encourages parents and carers to play, talk and read with their young children every day to give them the essential skills, motivation and abilities that will make it easier for them to keep learning throughout their lives.

This year also saw the pilot of a sensory playbus for children with disabilities or emotional and behavioural difficulties as part of the campaign – the first of its kind in the country.

Commenting on the campaign, Acting Minister for Children Fiona McLeod said: “As a former librarian, I’m delighted to see so many families have got involved in the PlayTalkRead campaign by either visiting the buses or the website. I hope they’ve been inspired by some of the ideas.

“Playing, talking and reading are fun ways to spend time with children from the very earliest age and helps build bonds. The PlayTalkRead buses and website are a great source of ideas and inspiration on how to turn daily routines into exciting new games.

“As a government we are determined to identify what works and ensure that the best ideas are promoted and supported more widely. That’s why we are taking the principles of PlayTalkRead and Bookbug and extending them into early primary school to develop a new Read, Write, Count campaign to boost literacy and numeracy in the critical first years of school.”

More information, including bus tour dates and locations, can be found on the PlayTalkRead website: www.playtalkread.org