Huddersfield Town Foundation creates reading diaries for 1,000 local youngsters
A recent National Trust literacy study revealed that children are reading less now than ever as their lives become crowded with other activities – but Huddersfield Town is doing its bit to buck that trend!
Club Ambassador Andy Booth has this week started to deliver 1,000 special Huddersfield Town Foundation reading diaries to an initial five primary schools in our heartland
Kids from Moldgreen Primary School, Kirkheaton Primary School, Shepley Junior and Infant School, Honley Junior School and Christchurch Academy will receive the reading diaries, which have been designed by Kid Premiership – a subsidiary of Club Partner One17 Design – and printed by Igloo Books, a fellow Club Partner.
‘Boothy’ is pictured with Town’s Rachel Taylor and the teachers and pupils of Moldgreen Primary School as he delivered their reading diaries in the Huddersfield Town Foundation Mini earlier this week.
The diaries allow pupils and parents to read together and track their progress, whilst including important messages communicated through football.
Throughout the books, Club Partner Kirklees Active Leisure gives kids tips on how to stay active throughout the day; fellow Club Partner Direct Voice & Data lend advice to parents and children on internet safety and Boothy appears in cartoon form to instruct everyone on the importance of Bonfire Night safety!
Huddersfield Town Foundation Trustee Sean Jarvis today explained the thinking behind the reading diaries:
“When we saw recent National Trust research, the figures were alarming. It’s incredible to me that 17% of a sample of 21,000 youngsters would be embarrassed if a friend saw them with a book, but we can use the power of Huddersfield Town to make a difference in our area.
“We have called upon the expertise of Kid Premiership and Igloo Books to harness the impact and appeal of football and Huddersfield Town to make reading accessible, enjoyable and an attractive proposition for 1,000 youngsters in our area.
“We want to use Huddersfield Town and football to make reading cool again in the eyes of kids, hopefully improving literacy habits in the process.
“This is not going to be a short-term process either; if the initiative is supported by our community via the Foundation we want to roll it out to even more schools next year.
“As is the case with the Foundation in general, our focus is on doing the right thing in our local community to make a difference and this is another demonstration of this.”
For more information on the recent National Trust research into children’s literacy, click HERE to access the BBC website.
If you are interested in your school taking part in the reading diaries project, please contact Rachel Taylor via 01484 484113 or email rachel.tayor@htafc.com.
For more information on the Huddersfield Town Foundation, visit www.htafcfoundation.com or follow @townfoundation on Twitter!
