The notes provided in this presentation are intended to provide clarity to the information on the slides. The notes and the slides are by no means prescriptive and can be adapted as you wish.

Read, Write, Count is… a campaign to help parents support their child’s learning by incorporating simple, fun activities in to everyday life. www.readwritecount.scot Read, Write, Count is a campaign by the Scottish Government, supported by Scottish Book Trust and Education Scotland. It focuses on the importance of families, parents and carers in children’s education and aims to give advice and materials to help families get involved in their children’s learning. Research tells us that if parents are involved in their child’s learning, their child does better in school. That applies to all parents – it doesn’t matter who they are or where they are from.

Read, Write, Count aims to… Help parents and carers to be confident enough to be involved in their child’s learning Help parents and carers to understand why they are important in their child’s learning and how to get involved Increase families’ use of their local library Help to close the attainment gap between the most and least advantaged children in Scotland We all want the best for our children but sometimes we don’t know how to get involved, or we worry that we’ll make things worse if we get involved. We all have something to offer our children and Read, Write, Count is about helping parents to be confident in getting involved in their child’s learning. We want parents to know that they are important and get some practical advice on how they can help out. We also want people to make use of their local libraries, where there are lots of books and other resources which parents and children can use together. This is all with the aim to close the attainment gap. This is the gap in how well children achieve at school depending on whether they come from more or less advantaged households. Parents play an important part in closing this gap.

Little things you can do every day Ideas and tips on ways to include learning throughout the day For example, counting out money at the shops, reading bedtime stories and writing shopping lists Small things make a big difference www.readwritecount.scot Read, Write, Count isn’t about parents becoming teachers. It’s about recognising the small, everyday things parents can do at home and when they’re out and about which can help their child’s learning. It’s as simple as asking your child to help count out the money to pay for things at the shops, taking 5 minutes to read a bedtime story together or asking your child to help you write out the shopping list. Small things can and do make a big difference. And you’re probably already doing most of them! There are lots of tips and ideas on the Read, Write, Count website. [FOR PARENTS OF CHILDREN IN GME: there is a Gaelic version of the RWC website available – just click on the “Gaelic” button on the homepage. There will also soon be information on the website to support parents of children in GME who don’t speak Gaelic themselves.]

Read, Write, Count: Gift Bags Free gift bags to all Primary 1, 2 and 3 children in Scotland Containing books and materials for writing and counting With information for parents and carers on how to use the bags with their children One of the biggest parts of the Read, Write, Count campaign is gift bags. Every child in Primary 1, 2 and 3 in Scotland will receive a free gift bag, containing books and materials for writing and counting. These materials have all been carefully selected so that they are fun to use at home. In the bags, there will be information for parents giving them all the advice they need to use the bags with their children at home. [FOR PARENTS OF CHIDLREN IN GME: children in GME receive two bags: one in English and one in Gaelic. A child needs both bags to get all the materials they are entitled to. Gaelic bags contain the books in translation and information for parents in Gaelic. The other materials, such as counting games and coloured pencils, will be in the English bags only.]

Primary 1 bags Three picture books – Bookbug Picture Book Prize Voting slip Activity book Coloured pencils Whiteboard, magnetic numbers with dot patterns & a whiteboard pen The Primary 1 bags have a special link with an award called the Bookbug Picture Book Prize. This is an award given out by Scottish Book Trust to authors and the winner of the prize is voted for by children. In the Primary 1 bag, there are three picture books. These are the books which are up for the prize and the aim of the bag is for children to read those books and vote for their favourite. There is a voting slip in the bag, on which children can choose their favourite book and send (freepost) to Scottish Book Trust to submit their vote. The winners of the award are announced in January, following the bags being given out in November. The P1 bag also has an activity book for children to use, and other items such as coloured pencils. To help children and parents have fun with writing and numbers, the bag also includes a whiteboard, magnetic numbers with dot patterns and a pen.

Primary 2 Bag Two picture books Snakes and Ladders board game with Maths Maze on reverse Finger puppets Notebook and writing pencil Guide for parents The Primary 2 bag is slightly different from the Primary 1 bag. It doesn’t link to the Bookbug Picture Book Prize, but it still has two great picture books in it. Inside the Primary 2 bags, there are: Two picture books – these are books with lots of beautiful pictures for parents and children to enjoy reading together. A snakes and ladders board game (with maths maze on the back) – playing these games together will help children’s counting skills. The snakes and ladders can also be used as a number board. Finger puppets to be used for storytelling, half ruled and half blank notebook and writing pencil– these are all designed to give ideas for fun ways to help children develop their writing skills The parent guide – giving parents everything they need to use the bags

Primary 3 Bags Two picture books Tropical Triumph card game with Dominoes on reverse Storytelling cubes Notebook and writing pencil Guide for parents The Primary 3 bag is slightly different from the Primary 1 bag. It doesn’t link to the Scottish Children’s Book Awards, but it still has two great picture books in it. Inside the Primary 3 bags, there are: Two picture books – these are books with lots of beautiful pictures for parents and children to enjoy reading together. Above and below is a non-fiction text. Tropical Triumph and dominoes card games – will help with comparisons, multiplication, subtraction, weight and measurement skills Three storytelling cubes, Half ruled, half blank notebook with writing pencil - these are all designed to give parents ideas for fun ways to help children develop their writing skills The parent guide – giving parents everything they need to use the bags

Here you can add more slides to give specific information about how your school plans to gift the bags to parents or any other information you would like to include (such as information about your school’s links with local libraries or any partnerships with CLD, if applicable).