With funding from The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts and the Jeremy Beecham Fund at the Community Foundation, Seven Stories is working in partnership with two schools in Newcastle upon Tyne - Wharrier Street Primary School and Walker & Broadwood Primary School - as part of the Start programme to provide new opportunities for young people to experience the arts. Both schools are situated in areas that have suffered from chronic levels of unemployment and poor housing since the decline of traditional industries, and families often have low levels of participation in cultural activities.
Children’s literature has extraordinary power to speak to everyone, effecting change on a personal and emotional level. The ability to read and enjoy books raises aspirations. This programme supports and extends the concept of reading for pleasure in school, and aims to evidence how Seven Stories' inspirational approaches to sharing children’s books can impact on the creative, personal and academic achievement of young people.
Through engaging with a wide range of Seven Stories resources – gallery visits, creative workshops at Seven Stories and at school, author events, high quality book selections and professional development training for staff, the programme has encouraged a strong culture of reading for pleasure for the whole school, and reluctant readers have become enthusiastic ones.
