Special Delivery to Boost Reading Skills of Cared-for Children

A special delivery is to help cared-for children in Cheshire East improve their literacy and numeracy skills.

The Council has subscribed to The Letterbox Club, a reading scheme managed by the charity Booktrust which sends packages of books, maths games and stationery to children in foster care.

Year 5 pupils in the authority’s care will receive the personally addressed parcels which are sent directly to their homes every month for six months.

The scheme was officially launched during a special event at Monk’s Coppenhall Primary School in Crewe which featured a guest appearance from children’s author Adele Geras.

Together with their foster carers and teachers, pupils from local schools were given the opportunity to meet the celebrated writer and explore the material of their first parcel.

The launch was also attended by representatives from the Council’s Library Service and Booktrust.

Councillor Hilda Gaddum, Cabinet member with responsibility for children and families, said: “In Cheshire East we are committed to ensuring that every child is able to achieve their full potential, regardless of their background or family circumstances.

“The Letterbox Club is is a marvellous scheme which improves the educational outlook of cared-for children by nurturing not only their English and maths skills, but also their enjoyment of books.

“The brightly-coloured packages are bound to create excitement when they land on the doormat and by the end of the six months each child will have built up their own small library of books.

“To ensure the scheme has lasting results our Library Service will work closely with the children involved to show them how easy it is to access books, DVDs, games and a range of other resources for education and play.”

Evaluation from the 2008/09 Letterbox Club schemes has shown significant improvements in the literacy and numeracy skills of participating children.