Labour Party

MP to hand out books to central Auckland children

21.07.2004

Government Book Week, which encourages children from low decile schools to get excited about reading, is getting underway in central Auckland.

From 28 June to 2 July 2004, Maungakiekie MP Mark Gosche and other MPs will be handing out books to students around the country and promoting the Books in Homes message 'It’s Cool to Read'.

Books in Homes is a literacy programme benefiting some 80,000 young Kiwis, including more than 2,800 pupils from eleven schools in central Auckland.

The programme aims to break the cycle of 'booklessness' for children in decile 1-3 schools. The concept is the brainchild of author Alan Duff who saw that many students in low decile schools came from ‘bookless’ homes and showed little or no interest in reading.

“There are still many homes where there is television but few books,” says Mark Gosche. “If parents don’t read books, it’s not likely their kids will either. Reading is a key to learning. That’s why we’re giving children the chance to have some books to keep and take home.”

The Ministry of Education contributes more than $1 million each year to the programme, which is also supported by more than 300 private sponsors. It has grown from 16,000 students receiving books at 80 schools in 1995, to today involve 442 schools and more than 80,000 students. All decile 1-3 schools are eligible to join the programme. Every year children in the programme receive about five free books of their choice.

“This government is determined that every single New Zealander, regardless of their background, has the chance to reach their full potential. We want to improve literacy skills but also encourage kids to think of reading as a fun thing to do,” says Mark Gosche.

The Books in Homes programme is just one of a number of initiatives the government is supporting to improve the reading and writing skills of students.

The following is a list of government literacy initiatives, funded at $42 million a year.

¨ The primary project that focuses on reading comprehension or writing in years 1-8;

¨ Through the Colleges of Education various initiatives which are flexible and designed to meet specific identified needs of schools and teachers who are working to lift students' reading and writing skills; and

¨ The secondary schools research and development project that started last year and will finish in 2005.

The literacy and numeracy test asTTle (Assessment Tools for Teaching and Learning) are tests that enable teachers in years 5-7 to track the progress and achievement of both individual students and groups of students against national literacy and numeracy standards, and then target teaching to address students' weaknesses. Tests will be available for years 8 – 10 by December 2004.

Reading Recovery teachers work with six-year-olds who have been identified as requiring individual instruction, with government funding of $20 million per year.

Resource Teachers: Literacy (RT:Lits) work with years 1-8 students most at risk of not achieving, and their teachers. Since 1998/99 the number of these teachers has increased from 68 to 120.

Literacy Development Officers encourage a review of the effectiveness of each school’s literacy programmes. They work with school managers to help them analyse students' literacy data, and then help schools access appropriate professional development.

The Ready to Read books and School Journals now have more support for struggling readers and include accompanying notes for teachers. The Game and Other Stories and Swimming with Sharks and Other Stories, two popular series developed by Learning Media on CD-ROM, and aimed at reluctant readers in years 7 - 10, have been extended with Post Cards in Space, with special appeal for year 5 - 6 Mâori and Pasifika boys.

Materials to support parents and teachers in developing effective home-school partnerships that focus on literacy and numeracy learning, have also been produced.

A professional development programme for schools with significant numbers of migrant and Pasifika students, continued from 2003, plus English for Speakers of Other Languages resources.

In 2004 the Books in Homes programme will give out more than 430,000 books to about 86,000 students in 442 low decile (deciles 1,2,3) schools around New Zealand.

Each student at one of the participating schools gets five free books a year, funded by the Ministry of Education, private sponsors and the schools themselves. The aim is to break the cycle of 'booklessness' for children in low decile schools.

At three points during the year the books are given out in 'role model assemblies', where local role models (such as mps, sports people, celebrities) come along and talk about how reading has helped them succeed.

During Book Offers One (end of March) and Three (end of August, early September) students select two books to take home and keep.

The Ministry of Education funded book is given out during 'government book week' or Book Offer Two: 28 June - 2 July. This does not have to involve role model assemblies - MPs can contact the schools that are involved and arrange their deliveries themselves.

There are approximately 50 books to choose from each time and the titles are different from one offer to the next.

The Books in Homes programme is part of the Alan Duff Charitable Foundation. Their website is www.booksinhomes.org.nz

The Ministry of Education spends $1.2 million per year on the books in homes programme - but this goes beyond government book week and includes Duffy Theatre and other initiatives.

A New Zealand Council of Educational Research evaluation into the literacy aspects of the programme, released in January 2002, show positive returns for the participants.

As well as changing reading habits and attitudes, reading scores of students in the school sample were significantly greater in 2001 compared to 1996 scores.

The programme has been seen as one of the initiatives supported by government to improve the literacy levels of students. It is seen to have links to other initiatives through:

· providing reading opportunities for children who are unable to access reading materials at home;

· increasing community involvement with participating schools, communities and families;

· facilitating innovative and cost effective activities which encourage reading and promote academic achievement.