As we wrap up our Books for Bedtime (B4B) Manual Review and update, piloted in 60 new communities across Western Australia (WA), we want to say a huge thank you to our funding partner, The Stan Perron Charitable Foundation. Without your support, this project would not have been possible. Thank you for your commitment to partnering with small charities working towards big outcomes.
We recently completed an evaluation of the 6 month pilot in WA and are so very excited that the aim, to reintroduce bedtime reading routines back into homes or build on already existing practices, has been well and truly achieved.
Thank you to the Children’s Services, Libraries, Community Centres, Child and Parent Centres and Playgroups who participated across 60 metropolitan, regional and remote communities. Thanks to the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation grant, we were able to provide these kits free of charge to all 60 communities.
B4B partners with services and educators working with families, who are best placed to share the information and resources. As an added benefit, these same educators and leaders can model daily shared reading routines with the children in their daily/weekly settings. Rather than overwhelm families with too much at once, B4B highlights just one meaningful daily routine to anchor shared book reading: bedtime. It also offers the knowledge, gentle encouragement, and practical resources families need to bring shared reading back into the home – or to build on the great routines they already have.
The success of this project is what PTTR is all about, mobilising communities to support families in their role as children’s first teachers.