Nurturing Children

“Readit2 continues to empower children with confidence and self-esteem at both my centres.

 The children chosen to be part of the project are the ones who score low on FL scales for emotional well-being and involvement. Children look forward to their session with the same adult. The progress we have observed in terms of their emotional development is phenomenal especially as they are able to regulate their emotions better and additionally their language and literacy skills are developing. That secure attachment with their adult has given them the confidence which is apparent in other areas of their learning and development.”

“Having the core books in multiple places has enabled the children to separate from their parent and manage transitions better.”

“We all agreed it was an all-round enjoyable INSET Day, inspiring, well delivered and concise. My staff are very excited about getting Readit2 started and we all agree that it will be invaluable for our vulnerable children. Feedback from one member of staff - …Had an inspiring and educational day with Sarah, Readit2 Founder. Reading to and with your kids, our kids, anyone’s kids is one of the MOST important things you can do with a child. Give them the joy of literature, discovery and imagination. Set them up for life. This training and programme teach you to do it! Great work, Sarah!”

“…interested and engaged the children...’”

“one child pointed to the question mark and asked what it was.”

“one child has already begun to finish the sentences.”

“...take ownership over the books and they want to read them to each other now...”

“It is clearly apparent that some children who have not always naturally engaged with books are more interested, excited and are prepared to talk about what they are seeing in the books”

“...reading has promoted lots of ‘letter talk’...”

“...Lots of interest in 2 books in particular from many children in the setting, they are recalling the story very accurately and even pointing to the words...”

“...several boys who previously were very rough with books are now showing high levels of interest and a greater respect for our books.”

“...Staff have noted that the focus group are beginning to point to the words as they read them.”

“One EAL child is very enthusiastically reading and pointing to the words in Dear Zoo and includes gesture & facial expression. Another child who struggles with focusing has really engaged well and often accesses the books during CIP, it has had a positive effect on his self-esteem and (sometimes!) his behaviour. He can recite the works of all three focus books with pride.”

“Several of our children regularly choose to look at these books during cip time and are transferring the language to their imaginative play :-)”

“vulnerable 2's……language development is snowballing with our children, many of whom had very little back in September, the changes are simply amazing (Nov)!”

“Readit2: the whole day has flowed so well; each part has had a really important place in the training. This training has really motivated our teachers, thank you.”

“Inspiring training with a wonderful tool to empower children to love to read and learn, the emotional approach has made a deep impact on my general view of teaching in the Early Years.”

 “We are continuing with Readit2 - we have found that it has helped our children feel more confident about coming into school. All children on the programme have shown an increased interest in books and an understanding of how books work. Some of our children have become so confident that they have shared their Readit 2 books with the class, taking on the role of reader. The children who accessed Readit 2 were chosen because they did not readily interact with books and a few had emotional difficulties coming to school. These children have all built up a good bond with their Readit 2 adults - which has helped them to be more confident in class.”

“Thank you so much for yesterday. I have heard so much positivity about Readit2 this morning. The TAs are ‘buzzing’ to get started and I have never heard such positive feedback about training before. So many staff have said how fabulous you were – so knowledgeable but also how well you explained everything: your enthusiasm, your understanding, and your engagement. I am so pleased I have managed to bring Readit2 to Stopsley.”

“We are certainly seeing the impact of Readit2 already! The children love it. The adults love it. It is helping with the reading but also, hugely, with those other areas that you mention - up-skilling of TAs, helping with attachment issues; attachment awareness for staff and also supporting with our EAL learners.”

“Readit2 – I really loved it – just the perfect ‘intervention’ that didn’t really seem like one at all – I mean that in a good way!”

“It's had such an impact so quickly. Children who were never previously interested in books and stories are seen spending time in the book corner and clambering to read with other children named Readit2 readers. We have also noticed increased levels of concentration, talk and interest in books.”

“It’s fantastic, I love it, the child I’m reading with loves it too and the moment he sees me enter the classroom, he approaches me enthusiastically and goes and finds a copy of his favourite book. In such a short period of time, I have seen a massive improvement in his attention span and behaviour. I tell my Headteacher EVERY day how wonderful it is”.

“Readit2 is pretty much one of the best things we have done… already in just 6 weeks, the impact it’s had has been phenomenal…young disadvantaged children in our Nursery class are just so enthusiastic and motivated to read which they weren’t before”

“I can honestly say that is having an impact at Martins Wood despite only being in the very early stages. No wonder the schools already using it speak so highly of what has happened in their schools.

It isn't rocket science and many will think they can set it up for themselves but what has been of great value here is getting all the TAs together to talk about the reading experience and that has boosted their engagement with listening to and supporting reading across the whole school.”

Readit2 is one of the most impactful ways we have spent our pupil premium grant to date. One case study worth sharing is a little boy who had 10 mins of Readit2 every day with the same member of staff from Reception to Year 2. He was chosen for this intervention because his learning across the board was delayed and we knew that if we could develop his vocabulary and confidence as a reader then this would only help him to access his wider learning. He had not had many quality experiences with books before coming to school and his mum reported that he was not particularly motivated to read at home.

This little boy and his Readit2 practitioner came to see me a few times over the years he was here to celebrate his accomplishments. Early on he 'read' Brown Bear to me off by heart and looked very proud of himself. He made his own puppets of Caveman Dave and told me the story using them and as he was about to leave Year 2 he came and read me his own school reading book because he had gone up another level. He is now at the Junior School and his reading continues to improve. His attitude to reading completely changed, he now views himself as a reader and shows an enjoyment in reading and being read to.

We know how important relationships are between teachers and learners and the practitioner who worked with this boy really was his champion. She, amongst others, was unsure at the beginning about the repetitive nature of Readit2; being limited to a small selection of texts. She went with it and invested her time and energy to giving him her best and making every session fun. She believed in Readit2 and this belief was strengthened as the child she supported went on growing and developing his vocabulary as a result of her input.

This is just one example of how Readit2 has impacted positively on the life of one child. There are many more. Reading really is a life skill that every child deserves to have the most positive experience of.”

“Excellent subject knowledge and enthusiasm of trainer. Lots of great video clips and a good balance of theory/activities and practical advice.”

“Loved learning the theories and psychology and getting in touch with the emotional side of reading.”

“The training has made me really reflect on my own practice and think about how I support children and develop a love of reading. It made me really think about how we must encourage an emotional attachment to reading.”