HRH the Duchess of Cornwall enjoys more shared reading
HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and Frank Field MP join the Read It Together group at Manor Children's Centre, Birkenhead
A very special royal guest has returned to share some reading with us...
Last month Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall became patron of the Foundation Years Trust, a trust aimed at providing an early years intervention for children and families most at risk from the effects of poverty. The Reader Organisation works with Foundation Years Trust as part of the Birkenhead Foundation Years Project, supporting families through pregnancy to when children start full-time at school. Alongside other initiatives, we provide Read It Together groups for parents and children to enjoy stories together and develop a love of reading that will contribute towards a child's learning and increased development.
As part of the recent Royal visit to Merseyside with His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, the Duchess made a visit to Manor Primary School in Birkenhead where initiatives from the Birkenhead Foundation Years Project are taking place. After a visit to the Bump-Start group, the Duchess spent time at our Read It Together group for parents, carers and children aged 0-5 at Manor Children's Centre, along with Frank Field MP, Chair of Foundation Years Trust and Zoe Munby, Director of the Birkenhead Foundation Years Project.
The group has been running weekly every Thursday afternoon since September 2014, letting children discover reading with their parents and carers through story and rhyme sessions. As children spend time with play workers, adults get the time to read together for themselves in a relaxed space, encouraging reading to continue amongst the family.
Amanda Boston, our Reader in Residence at Birkenhead Foundation Years Project, led the group in reading Owl Babies by Martin Waddell along with some songs. Following the children's group, the Duchess joined in the adjoining 10 minute session especially for the adult members to read and discuss One Another's Light by Brian Patten. As an avid reader and supporter of literacy it was wonderful that the Duchess could take part in the shared reading experience.
It's not the Duchess's first time finding out about shared reading - in July last year she dropped into one of our groups for people living with dementia while officially reopening Exeter Library. We feel like a Royal Reading Revolution could be about to take place...
For more information on our work reading with children and young people, see our website and the Foundation Years Trust.
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