Books stay with you – they excite you, make you cry, make you laugh and they inspire you and because of this they are one of the most powerful tools for underpinning and enhancing learning. Seven Stories, National Centre for Children’s Books is working with Sunderland University Childcare Students to put books at the heart of learning through innovative CPD sessions.
On Tuesday 26 November students from Sunderland University BA Hons in Childhood Studies course visited Seven Stories to discover the power that books can have. The students enjoyed a guided tour of Seven Stories current exhibitions; they discussed how children learn from books, what makes a high quality book and explored a range of books with specific learning outcomes. The students went on to focus on story, language and how great books underpin, enhance and extend formal teaching and inspire creative responses and took away personalised plans and recommendations to use back in the classroom.
Karen Tait, Senior Lecturer at Sunderland University said;
“The opportunity for Childhood Studies students to visit Seven Stories very much enhances their understanding of just how important early literacy development is to children’s learning. These students will progress to jobs in teaching, early years services and supporting families, so learning how to promote the importance of books and reading for pleasure is essential.”
As part of their curriculum strand modules, students are required to produce a children’s story book for a specific age range. These books are an excellent examples of how these ‘professionals in training’ use their knowledge of child development and combine it with their imagination and creativity to produce books which they can use in their practice with children and families.”
Debbie Beeks, Learning and Participation Manager at Seven Stories said;
“At Seven Stories we aim for everyone who takes part in our CPD programmes, to be confident advocates for children’s books with increased skills to inspire and engage others in joyful experiences of reading. Intuitively we know and evidence shows that children who read for pleasure achieve their potential, so through our participatory and inspiring CPD sessions, professionals understand the impact of reading for pleasure, develop skills to take creative risks with our recommended, high quality children’s books collections. The impact on children can be profound in literacy and beyond, building critical thinkers, emphatic learners and motivated readers. We welcome participants to our CPD programme from NVQ levels, degree, PGCE, whole school staff teams and networks of literacy leaders, everyone takes away another level of confidence and skills and a book they love! ”
From Sunderland University’s graduating cohort of 2013 nearly 50% of the students have gone on to post-graduate studies. These students came away empowered and passionate about the potential of children’s books and ready to inspire the next generation.
Seven Stories provides training and development for all practitioners working with children, including teachers, librarians, Children’s Centre staff, Private Day Nursery teams, child minders and museum education officers. All of the training is suffused with a love of and passion for children’s books, knowledge of classic and unusual titles and creative approaches to learning.
Whether you want to maximise the impact of books in your practice or wish to expand and refresh the range of books you currently use in your work, Seven Stories' CPD programme offers plenty of opportunities for you.
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Media Contact
For images, quotes or interviews please contact:
Lauren Regan, Marketing and Communications Co-Ordinator
Seven Stories, Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle. NE1 2PQ.
T: 0845 271 0777 ext. 703
E: lauren.regan@sevenstories.org.uk