About Craigmillar Books for Babies

Craigmillar Books for Babies is a multi-agency project which aims to encourage and support parents and carers to share books, stories and rhymes with their babies and to promote reading as a relevant and worthwhile source of pleasure which enhances children's early development. During the project, the intention is to provide every family of a new-born baby in the Craigmillar area with a selection of free books and information promoting the enjoyment of reading. We are a project of the Craigmillar Literacy Trust, a company limited by guarantee with charitable status. The project's patron is Patrick Benson, illustrator of the world famous Owl Babies. Read more about Patrick Benson

Background

Educational research shows that a child's reading ability is significantly affected by experience prior to formal education. When the project was first proposed in early 1996 40% of the first years at the local High School had a reading age of 9 or less. Nursery school teachers in the area had significant numbers of children attending with speech difficulties. Local library membership of under 4's in Craigmillar was poor, despite an extensive outreach programme and promotion of the library to parents and carers, suggesting that parents were not bringing younger children into the library and it was only when the child went to nursery / school that they were exposed to books and reading.

The initial impetus for an early literacy project came from a local cluster group literacy training day. This was organised for local schools, nurseries and community organisations in the Craigmillar area. As well as an opportunity to share ideas and experiences, one result of this day was a statement of key principles for literacy. Subsequent discussions were held between a number of agencies and it was agreed that there should be a working party set up to examine the development of a literacy project for pre nursery children in the Craigmillar area. The initial working party was an early version of the current steering group.

Aims and objectives

To encourage and support parents and carers to share books, stories and rhymes with their babies and to promote reading as a worthwhile source of pleasure which enhances children's early development.
To increase awareness and use of the local library service as a lifelong valuable resource for both parents and carers and their children.
To promote the idea of book ownership within the family.
To encourage the use and further provision of local services for under 5's and their parents such as nursery schools and classes, health clinics, children's centres and Adult Basic Education.
To work closely and in partnership with other local and national early literacy initiatives such as Bookstart.