Bradford district children challenged to Ready, Set, Read this summer

Article dated Tuesday Jul 18, 2023 at 08:46 AM

Children across the Bradford district are being encouraged to keep active throughout the school holidays by taking part in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge.

As this year’s theme is sport and games, children are being challenged to ‘Ready, Set, Read’.

There will be over 100 free events and activities held in libraries right across the district throughout the summer and children who sign up will receive incentives along the way to encourage reading.

The Summer Reading Challenge is the UK’s biggest reading for pleasure programme for children, presented by The Reading Agency and delivered in partnership with libraries.

The Challenge encourages children aged 4 to 11 years to keep reading during the school summer holidays. They set a reading goal and can read anything they enjoy.

Public libraries issued over 12 million children’s books (including eBooks and audiobooks) during last year’s Challenge. The Challenge is proven to significantly improve children’s reading confidence, making sure they are ready for their return to school in the autumn. It also gives families the chance to access books and fun family activities throughout the summer – all for free. The Challenge reaches around 700,000 children each year, and 75% of children taking part last year improved their reading skills over the holidays.

Each child will receive a Ready Set Read folder at their local library with stickers to collect; a bookmark; a frisbee, and if 6 books are read; a Ready Set Read Certificate and Medal (all subject to availability). Children can register for free at any library within the Bradford district.

This year the Ready, Set, Read challenge has been developed in collaboration with the Youth Sport Trust, and will celebrate play and participation to encourage children to engage in reading, games and sports, in any way that best suits them. The Challenge will provide opportunities to showcase how reading can be active and engaged and can itself involve teamwork and community.

Bradford Libraries will offer events and activities for children (and parents too) to support the Ready Set Read theme. Events include a Football Reading Game session with popular children’s author Tom Palmer at City and Manningham Libraries. There will be interactive story telling events with Same Difference Arts, Mud Pie Arts and storyteller/actor Robin Simpson, who recently starred in Coronation Street.

Bradford District Museums and Galleries, the National Science & Media Museum and Bradford University will all offer workshops in libraries around the theme of Sport and Games.

Zoolab, a small animal encounters organisation, will hunt for the athlete of all animal athletes this summer and the Bradford Park Avenue team will offer some player encounters and writing workshops.

Explore Learning, a company offering maths and English tuition and St Edmunds 50 Things, an initiative to help every child reach important health, learning, and wellbeing milestones through a playfilled childhood, will also offer sessions and workshops in libraries for children on the Summer Reading Challenge theme.

The council’s library teams are also devising their own in-house sessions including sports day games, crafts with a sporty theme, scavenger hunts, sports quizzes and even a Harry Potter Quidditch event at Bingley Library.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “The Summer Reading Challenge events and activities always prove popular with both children and parents and are a great way for children to continue with their reading throughout the school summer holidays. With the theme of sport and games this year, they are also an ideal opportunity for children to have fun, play and keep active.”

A full list of events and activities can be found online at www.bradford.gov.uk/libraries click on Summer Reading Challenge 2023 on the left hand side of the webpage.

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