Kirklees Star
working with looked after children in the kirklees area ...

Date Added :3rd June 2007

Caribbean Project
preparing for a Caribbean festival of literacy in Birmingham.

Date Added :3rd June 2007

REAL in Sandwell
working with Sandwell Council and West Bromwich Albion Football club with "Lads and their Dads" to improve literacy through football and coaching.

Date Added :3rd June 2007

Authors Against SATs
futher information to follow.

Date Added :3rd June 2007

Reading Letters
work currently being undertaken by Wendy Cooling to collect and publish a selection of letters relating to literacy.

Date Added :3rd June 2007

Believe in me Video
We have just finished working with the Who Cares? Trust to produce a training video, Believe in Me, for designated teachers who work with looked after children in schools. Our previous media productions include Breaking their Fall in which looked after children spoke of their educational experiences.

Get the video at from:
The Who Cares? Trust
Kemp House
152-160 City Road
London EC1V 2NP

Telephone : 020 7251 3117
Fax : 020 7251 3123



Date Added :7th April 2006

Believe in Me Seminars (based on the publication of the same name)
These after-school seminars are aimed at designated teachers and others with responsibility for the welfare of looked-after children in school. Local Authorities can book a Believe in me seminar by contacting Jo Klaces at NLA on jo@nla.org.uk

Date Added :7th April 2006

Birmingham REAL
This two-year school-based project, run jointly with Birmingham Partnership for Change, started in Spring 2002. REAL involved more than 250 Year 5 and 6 children in three schools with a high proportion of children from African and Caribbean communities. The project helped provided a book-rich environment by donating books and Reading Passports. The books feature black characters as the main protagonists. Every child was also given a hand-held portable computer for the use in class and at home. REAL reached beyond the schools to involve the wider community; libraries, theatre groups, local businesses, poets and authors are all playing their part. Birmingham REAL was supported by amongst others, The Barrow Cadbury Trust, The Tudor Trust, The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, The Roald Dahl Foundation, The Community Fund and Birmingham Grid for Learning. The full Evaluation is available from the UCE.

Date Added :7th April 2006

Looking After Literacy in Kent
During 2002, we worked with The Who Cares? Trust and Kent County Council on a project to improve the reading skills of more than 60 children in local authority care. At the start each child was given a hand-help portable computer, a Reading Passport and a book token. Throughout the year “project visitors” seconded from Kent County Council brought the children a choice of books. The independent evaluation by Professor Sheila Wolfendale and Trevor Bryans was made available in October 2005 and we were pleased and encouraged by the success stories we heard. Looking After Literacy in Kent was supported by the Collyer-Fergusson Trust and Kent County Council.

Date Added :7th April 2006

REAL 2
Raising Expectations and Achievement in Literacy. This project is based in two inner city schools in Birmingham and builds on the success of the previous REAL project. This project currently provides each child with a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), interactive whiteboards have been installed in all teaching rooms and teachers have been trained in their use. It is hoped that this model project (supported by Birmingham LACIT and Aston Pride) will both help more children in years 5 and 6 to achieve Level 4 and above in KS2 SATs and provide a model for future IT support for literacy (and across the curriculum).

Date Added :7th April 2006