Beyond the Book

At our latest event, volunteers were treated to an eye-opening and, at times, heart-rending insight into the lives of children at a Great Yarmouth school. Practical, inspiring advice was given into how to overcome the barriers posed by deprivation and how volunteers can really help to level up the playing field for disadvantaged children. Recently-retired head teacher Debra Whiting explained that children from disadvantaged backgrounds may have heard millions fewer words by the age of 4 than others in the same class. She urged volunteers to look beyond simply decoding a book: to praise effort, not just accuracy, to explain gently, ask simple questions about the text, chat about new words, be patient with mistakes and show interest in what the child thinks. All this will enrich language and comprehension. An event pack to accompany this presentation can be found in our Resources section.

Thank you Debbie for such a stimulating workshop.