Big Bedtime Read

Within our nursery setting, there is a major focus on providing a rich and stimulating environment, in which children are immersed in oral language and the world of print. Staff invest a lot of time in developing a love of stories, and rhymes and on introducing children to a range of topics in information books. We skilfully develop children's concept of print throughout the day incorporating text into different areas of learning.

Big Bedtime Read focusses on raising parents' awareness of the importance of reading to children and to encourage them to read regularly to their children each night. We emphasise about establishing good bedtime routines and on maximizing opportunities throughout the day to engage children in early reading experiences.

It is recognised that while many parents already read to their children regularly, for others, access to quality reading material at home is limited. Use of library services will be a key focus within this theme, together with the provision of high quality books for home-lending.

Over this term we will aim to:

• share information about the importance of reading to young children
• provide guidance to build parents' confidence and skills, for example, modelling story-telling or using information books
• develop parents' understanding of how early reading experiences will impact on future learning
• provide access to quality books for Bedtime Reading
• sign-post parents to useful contacts and sources of relevant information
• provide opportunities for parents to share their experiences with each other