Nicky Buckley will be joined by AFL great Billy Brownless and more than 70 local children and their families to mark the occasion with literacy games and activities at the Corio library. Developed by the Centre for Community Child Health in partnership with The Smith Family, Let’s Read aims to give families the information and tools they need to introduce their pre-school aged children (0-5 years) to books in a bid to improve Australia’s literacy levels. Corio was the first community in Australia to introduce Let’s Read, which has since been made available to more than 800 local families through the Best Start network, in partnership with the Geelong Regional Library Corporation’s Corio Library. Since the program’s inception in 2005 Let’s Read packs have been provided to over 3,000 children in the Corio area free of charge, thanks to the program’s inaugural corporate supporter, Shell. They include information on how to read with babies and toddlers, a list of suggested books for different age groups and a DVD demonstrating ways to read aloud and have fun with books. Speaking today at a celebration event at the Corio Branch of the Geelong Regional Library Corporation, Cr Lou Brazier, City of Greater Geelong said: “We are extremely proud that Corio was the first community to implement Let's Read. In the two years since it was introduced, we’ve seen the program go from strength to strength. Improving opportunities for local children is a key focus for Council - Let's Read complements the many other initiatives designed to support families in the region.” Best Start Facilitator for the City of Greater Geelong, Leonie Dillon, said the success of Let’s Read in Corio is largely due to the collaboration between a number of organisations including playgroups, kindergartens, libraries, schools and specialist service providers such as speech therapists. “We are fortunate to have the support of many organisations and individuals who are passionate about improving literacy for local children,” Ms Dillon said. “The feedback from families has shown that parents are really responding to the materials and are keen to give their children the best possible preparation so they are ready to learn to read when they start school.” According to the chair of the Geelong Regional Library Corporation, Cr. Rod Macdonald, Let's Read has enabled the library to make a connection with a broader audience of families who otherwise might not be engaged with books and reading. “Once families become involved with Let's Read, the library is able to encourage them to take up other opportunities such as attending the regular story-times sessions and joining the library so they can share a wider variety of books and learning materials with their children,” Cr Macdonald said. Since launching in Corio in August 2005, Let’s Read has been made available in more than 40 communities across the country and has reached more than 60,000 children. Shell Chairman, Russell Caplan, attended the Corio celebration to announce that Shell will commit another $750,000 to Let’s Read nationally over the next three years to ensure the program continues to grow and is tailored to reach families in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and indigenous communities. “Shell has been involved since the inception of Let’s Read and has supported it from an idea to a highly successful program embraced by communities across the country. “It has been a priority of ours to ensure that Let’s Read is made available in communities where Shell operates and we are delighted to be able to provide families here in Corio with access to these fantastic resources. I could think of no better place to announce our continued support of Let’s Read and to wish those involved with the program continued success for the next three years,” Mr Caplan said. Reading with young children is one of the most important activities parents can do to develop their child’s future literacy skills. To access information on Let’s Read and tips for sharing books and reading with pre-schoolers, visit www.letsread.com.au. -ends- Let’s Read is an early childhood literacy initiative of the Centre for Community Child Health (a key research centre of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute) in partnership with The Smith Family. Let’s Read aims to improve and measure literacy outcomes in Australia by encouraging parents to read to pre-school-aged children (0-5 years). Let’s Read is designed to be delivered to families by community-based professionals using research-based, emergent literacy techniques and resources. Research has shown that exposing children to books and reading in their pre-school years assists in the development of emergent literacy skills (the ability to identify and manipulate sounds), the building blocks that are needed to help children learn to read later in life. Let’s Read seeks to address research that has found that children who have not developed emergent literacy skills by school age are unlikely to catch up with their peers. Let’s Read gratefully acknowledges the support of Shell, The Telstra Foundation, Disney Hand, John T. Reid Charitable Trusts, and the Australian Research Council.
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