Ed Balls joined the Prime Minister, children, writers, and reading champions at 10 Downing Street today to launch the National Year of Reading. He called for every employer, school, library, college and local authority to get involved and sign up to the National Year of Reading by logging on to the National Year of Reading website at http://www.yearofreading.org.uk
- Anyone can sign up to the National Year of Reading website for information on local activities.
- But there are also plenty of easy steps that anyone can take right now. Employers can make their work place more reader-friendly by turning their old smoking rooms into mini-libraries and arranging places for quiet reading.
- Parents can spend ten minutes a day reading with their children. Adults can join their local library or a reading group, or start reading a newspaper or magazine on the way to work.
The 2008 National Year of Reading is a year-long celebration of reading, in all its forms. It will help to build a greater national passion for reading - for children, families and adult learners alike. The Year will encourage people to read in businesses, homes, and communities around the country, providing new opportunities to read and helping people to access help and support through schools and libraries.
Campaigns and activities throughout the year will inspire everyone to read more, with a focus on reluctant readers, those with low confidence, and boys and dads. 146 local reading coordinators in local authorities across England will work with local education, community, library and leisure services, businesses and the media to deliver National Year of Reading campaigns and activity for their local communities.
Children from City of London Academy and Loxford School of Science and Technology created 'reading corners' with beanbags and cushions at Downing Street. Having a quiet, comfortable place to read is important in helping anyone to develop a love of reading.
Ed Balls said:
"I want every school, college, library and employer to pledge to join in with the Year of Reading by signing up online. If local communities, authors, broadcasters, celebrities and employers come on board we can really bring about a long-term change in the nation's attitudes to reading.
"Books are at the heart of the Year's activities but all reading 'counts'. Newspapers, magazines, poetry, song lyrics, screenplays and blogs will all feature as part of the Year's activities.
"There has been a huge amount of attention recently on reading at school, and rightly so. Every child must be able to read and write confidently; that is one of the highest priorities of this government. We are investing in high-quality phonics materials, free books for babies and children, catch-up support and small group tuition to help everybody achieve that goal.
"But the National Year of Reading is about much more than children's achievement at school. It is about the potential of reading to open doors.
"We need children, adults, and families to be reading because they love it and appreciate the opportunities that reading brings - not because people like me say it's important. And it's never too late to improve your reading skills.
"We're at an important point in the history of reading. Changes in technology are redefining the way that we read, write and communicate, and opening up the world of words to new audiences. Anyone can be an author, publisher or critic online, as well as a reader. But at the same time we're seeing huge interest in traditional forms of reading, with the help of publishing phenomena like Harry Potter which are rekindling young people's love of books."
