00:00In the UK, less and less children are finding enjoyment in reading. According to the National
00:05Literacy Trust, just one in three children aged 8 to 18 say they enjoy reading in their free time.
00:12However, here in Medway and Kent, there is an initiative to get children reading outside of
00:16school – the Summer Reading Challenge. And this year's theme? Story Garden.
00:22And it's very easy to get involved. All you have to do is go down to your local library,
00:28grab a book, let them know you're interested in partaking in the Summer Reading Challenge,
00:34and after six books, you could get a medal and a certificate.
00:38And this year, there is not just the challenge for children, but a challenge for teens and adults
00:43as well. The Summer Reading Challenge not only gets children interested in reading, it also allows
00:49them to build on a variety of other skills. It is very important that we support this challenge,
00:55because I think from right at the early age, if we really promote the enjoyment of reading to our
01:02children and young people, then it promotes their growth in many different ways. It promotes the
01:07imagination and sparks the enjoyment as well. And I think it also enables them to grow in terms of
01:15their reading skills, their comprehension, their writing skills, etc. as well. So there is growth in
01:21all different ways. Medway itself is no stranger to famous authors. Heartstopper writer Alice Osman
01:28attended a school in Shatham, and Charles Dickens spent some time in Rochester, where the Summer
01:33Reading Challenge has seen support from parents, carers and primary school teachers.
01:38I definitely think it's needed. Over the summer, it's so hard to find activities to do with children,
01:44especially ones that are cheap and free. And obviously, children want to be on screens quite a lot,
01:48so I think it's brilliant. A lot of children in the early years are coming in with more speech and
01:52language needs, so the more that they read and the more they're read to, there's research to back up
01:56that is really important for them to do. I think it's a good idea because all children need to read.
02:02It's an enjoyable thing. I think it's fantastic. I think anything that's going to get young children
02:10engaged, especially in something like reading, which we kind of take for granted as we get older,
02:15but it's incredibly important, especially for younger people to be reading as soon as they can.
02:21An initiative to not only get children reading, but also spark imagination and creativity,
02:27shaping the next Charles Dickens and Alice Osmonds. Etterley Reynolds for KMTV in Medway.
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