The Bookstart Superbox Programme, 2016 ‘Experiencing Books’
BookTrust Cymru’s Bookstart Superbox programme inspires children and families across Wales to enjoy books and read together. The programme equips frontline Early Years workers across Wales with skills and resources to:
- promote shared reading in a range of settings
- encourage parents and carers to read and enjoy books with their children
- use books creatively in early years sessions
This year’s Superbox theme is ‘Experiencing Books’. The Bookstart Superbox programme has three elements:
- The Superbox Conferences (Wednesday 12th October, North Wales and Tuesday 18th October, South Wales)
- The Superbox resource – 10 copies of each of the 2016-17 Bookstart books and activity cards to take away and use in your setting
- Using Superbox in your setting and providing feedback to BookTrust Cymru
Bookstart Superbox is part of the Bookstart programme, funded by Welsh Government. Through Bookstart, every child in Wales receives a bag of high quality books at one of their first year health checks and at 18-24 months. The programme is delivered in partnership with Health Visitors and Library Services. Superbox spreads the key messages of the Bookstart programme to other Early Years workers to build on the foundation of Bookstart. You can find out more about Bookstart at www.bookstart.org.uk/cymru.
Feedback from pervious Superbox conferences:
‘This is a wonderful insight on how such an amazing team are encouraging all people to enjoy reading and encouraging their children to start reading.’
‘Good mixture of theory and practice, lots of very practical ideas.’
‘Great information and helpful tips to pass on to parents’
‘Absolutely super conference – packed full of useful, relevant information and ideas.’
1. Who can take part?
Bookstart Superbox is open to Early Years workers across Wales. Past participants have included Flying Start workers, Families First teams, childminders, library staff, community nursery nurses, portage teams, parental support officers, Communities First workers and a wide range of third sector organisations.
2. What is the Superbox resource?
The 2016 Bookstart Baby ‘Superbox’ contains:
- 10 copies of this year’s Bookstart English title book
- 10 copies of this year’s Bookstart Welsh title book (with English translation)
- Activity cards with creative ideas for using the books with parents in a group setting
The 2016 Bookstart Early Years ‘Superbox’ contains:
- 10 copies of this year’s Bookstart English title book
- 10 copies of this year’s Bookstart Welsh title book (with English translation)
- Activity cards with creative ideas for using the books with parents in a group setting
Participants will receive both the Baby and Early Years Superboxes.
3. What would I do with a Bookstart Super Box?
You can use the bilingual and English language books in the Bookstart Super Box to model book sharing to the parents and explain the benefits of booksharing. Parents will have their Bookstart packs at home – if not, they just need to ask their Health Visitor for their pack – so they can continue book sharing with their babies and toddlers in between sessions. You can use the resource as the basis for fun activities around the book, too – previous Superbox participants have used the books to explore messy play, music and sounds, colours, treasure boxes… The list goes on!
4. What happens at the Superbox conferences?
‘Experiencing Books’ – Superbox Regional Conferences
Holywell on Wednesday 12th October
Bridgend on Tuesday 18th October
Times: 10am to 4pm (lunch provided)
Audience: Early Years workers with an interest in using books in sessions and promoting reading; managers wanting to share and disseminate best practice
Eligible organisations: Organisations and individuals working as part of the Early Years Workforces in Wales; priority will be given to people working in Communities First and Flying Start areas
The conferences will include:
- Best Practice Carousel – Hear from Early Years workers who took part in Superbox 2015 about how they used Superbox in their sessions with children, families and carers, and ideas for using the 2016 books
- Keynote speaker: Ruth Churchill Dower will be talking about using creativity to develop language, literacy and communication skills. Ruth works as a trainer, consultant, author, speaker and thought leader with a specialist focus on how creative strategies can nurture our learning and leadership development. Ruth set up the award winning network for the arts and early childhood sectors, Earlyarts, in 2002 with a vision to embed excellent creative leadership in many schools and settings across Europe and the Middle East. To achieve this, Earlyarts works in collaboration with artists, educators and cultural organisations to build creative networks and train around 600 early childhood professionals each year
- Workshops: Practical, hands-on workshops sharing creative ideas and approaches to using books in sessions with families and children. Workshops will cover a range of themes, including the chance to work with Ruth to explore some of the ideas in the keynote speech and a ‘Back to Basics’ booksharing workshop for those new to Superbox or wanting to refresh their skills.
Cost: There will be a £40 participation fee for the Superbox programme this year. This will include attendance at the conference and the Bookstart Baby and Early Years Superboxes to take away and keep.
Earlybird discount: Sign up by 5pm on Friday 15th July and benefit from a reduced fee of £30.
4. How do I sign up?
a. Complete the Registration Form at www.bookstart.org.uk/superbox and make payment.
b. Receive confirmation from BookTrust Cymru.
c. Select your workshops (information to be sent out in September)
Please contact booktrustcymru@booktrust.org.uk or call 02920 437839 with any enquiries or questions about Bookstart Superbox.
