Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in Rotherham

One of our Reading Mentors just sent me this one-line email:

"I am sure you will have better things to do on a Saturday morning, but there is a programme at 10.30 on Radio 4 about what Dolly Parton has done for reading in Rotherham!!!" 

She couldn't be more wrong, I can think of no better way to spend a Saturday morning! I immediately looke for for some more info: BBC Radio 4 - How Dolly Got Rotherham Reading.

Thanks Anne.

Horner Brothers and Reading Matters win Creating Better Future Awards with Yorkshire Forward Result

I'm really please to say Reading Matters won a Creating Better Future Awards with Yorkshire Forward earlier this month. The award is in recognition for our partnership with Horner Brothers Print Group.

Since 2008 Horner Brothers staff have been attending Brinsworth Comprehensive School to carry out reading sessions with pupils. It has been a brilliant success for everyone involved and I have been really pleased to be involved. Long may it continue!

The awards were presented by Michelle Mone OBE, she said:

“The winners have all demonstrated inspirational partnership working, and their awards recognise the dedication and passion of those involved in each project.”

Inspire Rotherham Activity

It has been quite a couple of weeks, there has been an awful lot of activity relating to the new Inspire Rotherham Project. We have followed up the training and visit to Maltby Manor school with the Rotherham United players with visits to Maltby Crags and Maltby Redwood schools, there are slideshows below.

In the middle of these visits the Inspire Rotherham project was officially launched, see some pictures online. Reading Matters had stall in All Saints Square on 21st March. It was good to be involved, we weren't selling much, just telling people about Reading Matters and sharing the word sheets we had prepared for the partnership with RUFC. It was also the first time our new range of Read Up trading cards got a public outing, all the RUFC players we trained have a card with a mixture of football and reading skills and a few facts. They were hugely popular, and we gave out pretty much our entire stock.

As well as all this we have been running a number of partnerships as part of the Inspire Rotherham pilot in Maltby:

• A Reading Leaders course with pupils from Maltby Community School
• A Reading Together workshop for parents at Maltby Community School
• Training for practioners, such as Teaching Assistants, from the Maltby area
  
• New volunteer reading mentors have begun at Hilltop Special School
• A Parents workshop in partnership with GROW

RUFC at Maltby Crags Infant School

RUFC at Matby Readwood School

Rotherham United players visit Maltby Manor Primary School

The players from Rotherham United, trained by Reading Matters, visited their first school, Maltby Manor, on Thursday (12/3/09). They read with six pupils each in a series of reading partnerships. The last sessions parents of the pupils sat in as well.

It was a huge success. The pupils were brilliantly excited, not only about meeting the players, but also about their choice of books. The players were excellent too. I think some were a bit nervous, especially when the parents joined them, but they all took it in their stride and really got stuck in. There was a lovely sound of concentrated reading in the school hall, library and corridors as the players and their partners focused on their books.

As one of the first key activities under the Inspire Rotherham banners the visit created quite a buzz. There were all sorts of people there including Paul Douglas (RUFC Chief Operating Officer) , Joyce Thacker (RMBC Strategic Director Children and Young People's Services) and Ruth Adams (Yorkshire Forward). The press were also in attendance and the day was captured nicely by a report on Look North, look out for the Reading Matters worksheets, which I hope to be able to share online soon!

Training Rotherham United!

We have just completed two days of training with Rotherham United, safe to say I wasn't giving them tips on playing the offside trap, rather they are going to be Reading Matters Reading Mentors as part of the Inspire Rotherham project. It is exciting stuff, and yesterday, 5 March, was especially fun because it was World Book Day.



Next week the players begin attending schools in Maltby as part of the pilot for Inspire Rotherham. We anticipate extending this to other schools in Rotherham after the official launch of Inspire Rotherham on Saturday 21st March.

Reading Matters and Rotherham United will be working together for the launch in Rotherham town centre and at Don Valley Stadium where they will be playing against Chesterfield. We are planing all sorts of activities and resources to engage people to read, should be fun.

We have got a bit of coverage in the press, and hopefully there will be more to come. We were in The Rotherham Advertiser on Friday 6 March and you can read articles in The Star, Press Association and Rotherham Web online.