This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Reading campaign opens up on web
06/03/2003
A new Read Together website brings together tips, advice
and suggestions on how reading can be made easy and
enjoyable for both parents and children.
Launched today by Education Minister Cathy Jamieson, it
is the next stage of the Home Reading Initiative that aims
to encourage more parents to read with their children.
And best-selling Harry Potter author JK Rowling is the
latest recruit to the ranks of Reading Champions. She
said:
"I'm a Reading Champion because it's the simplest and
most magical thing to turn a page and be transported to a
whole new world, see things through someone else's eyes,
and learn something you couldn't find out any other
way."
At Edinburgh's Preston Street Primary School on World
Book Day, Ms Jamieson said:
"Introducing your child to books at an early age is one
of the best gifts any parent can give.
"The Read Together website will help parents by
providing hints and tips on how to encourage children to
read more and how to get the most out of reading together.
It gives ideas of how to make reading fun and details of
events taking place across the country.
"Parents can hold the key that unlocks the door to a
world of adventure in books and this website provides the
direction."
Ms Jamieson also announced new volunteers to the army of
Reading Champions. She said:
"It is very encouraging to see so many people from all
walks of public life supporting this important
initiative.
"Today I am delighted to announce that JK Rowling,
Richard Wilson and David Sneddon, to name but a few, have
signed up because they know the enjoyment that reading can
bring."
Richard Wilson said:
"I am a Reading Champion because books can open up new
worlds for all of us. They can inform us, they can excite
us and they can change our thinking. They are readily
available and some of them become our closest friends which
we can go back to again and again."
Aileen Paterson, author and illustrator of the Maisie
books, said:
"I'm a Reading Champion because opening a book is always
like setting out on an adventure, and reading an old book
again is like meeting a good old friend. My own little life
just isn't enough for me."
Fraser Ross Associates, Literary Consultancy have been
appointed to manage the Home Reading Initiative over the
next three years. It was established in the summer of 2002
by Lindsay Fraser and Kathryn Ross when they left the
Scottish Book Trust after 11 years.
The initiative comprises:
- A leaflet for parents Reading Together! published
in August 2002, which gives guidance to parents of
children up to the age of eight on the benefits of home
reading and some techniques to make it a more valuable
experience
- An Advertising Campaign which will run again during
the first half of March to raise the profile of home
reading and encourage parents to become involved
- The Appointment of Reading Champions to encourage
parents, carers and children to develop the skills of
reading at home
- A small grants scheme which will make £300,000
available from April to support small local projects
such as book sharing clubs
Reading Champions include:
- Theresa Breslin
- Robert Dodds
- Matthew Fitt
- Mairi Hedderwick
- Diana Hendry
- Joan Lingard
- Catherine MacPhail
- Jonny Meres
- Aileen Paterson
- Tom Pow
- Alison Prince
- Frank Rodgers
- Margaret Ryan
- Alan Temperley
- Andrea Brymer (Grampian TV)
- Ronie Corbett
- Gary Coupland
- Clare Hemphill
- Grant Lauchlan (STV)
- Sandy Lyle
- Fred Macaulay
- Abeer Macintyre (BBC)
- Rob Maclean (BBC)
- David Robertson (BBC)
- David Sneddon
- Kirsty Wark
- Louise White (STV)
- Football Clubs
- Aberdeen FC
- Arbroath FC
- Celtic FC
- Cowdenbeath FC
- Heart of Midlothian FC
- Hibernian FC
- Partick Thistle FC
- Rangers FC
- Ross County FC
- Bill Butler MSP
- Ian Jenkins MSP
- Robin Harper MSP
- Ken Macintosh MSP
- Kate Maclean MSP
- Tom McCabe MSP
- Jack McConnell MSP
- Fiona McLeod MSP
- Duncan McNeil MSP
- Nora Radcliffe MSP
- Euan Robson MSP
The level of involvement of each Reading Champion will
depend on their individual preferences and time commitments
but could include:
- Visits to schools
- Attend book/reading groups
- Speaking at parents evenings
- Participation in our advertising campaign
- Contribute to the Home Reading website
- Highlight their own home reading techniques,
favourite books as a child, what books they read to
their own children.