Making it REAL – Raising Early Achievement in Literacy – is a training programme developed by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) and aims to equip early years practitioners to build parents’ knowledge so they can help children and create a positive home learning environment.

The training will be delivered to 40 locally based practitioners across April and May. The participants will be split into two groups, one which will receive the training in person and the other remotely. 

Preschools, the Guille-Alles Library, Bright Beginnings Children’s Centre and Nursery, Le Rondin School, Education Services, the Speech and Language Team, and the Child Development Centre are all set to benefit from the training.

The NCB derived the programme from The REAL Project, research that was led by two Sheffield University professors. It uses a framework called ‘ORIM’ which is based on the idea that there are four main ways in which parents can help their children’s literacy development – Opportunities, Recognition, Interaction and Model.

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Pictured: Andrew Bichard is highly experienced in local primary education settings.

Andrew Bichard, Manager of the charity in Guernsey, explained why the charity are helping to facilitate the training: “Reading, writing, and communication are fundamental skills that most children master without difficulty, but for those who struggle the effects can be far reaching.

“It’s our mission to close the education gap for those children, and we know to do that we have to work with their primary care givers and provide them with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to support their child. 

“We’re very excited about the programme and would like to thank everyone who has supported us and been working behind the scenes to make it a reality. Amongst those, of course, is our partner ESC who has been a joint driving force behind the project, and our wonderful corporate sponsors – PwC, Specsavers, Rothschilds & Co, and KPMG.”

Ruth Sharp, Head of the States of Guernsey’s Early Years Team, said that “making it REAL is a brilliant programme steeped in esteemed academic research. 

“This is a fantastic opportunity to skill up local practitioners and has proved be extremely effective in eliciting long term improvements with literacy. 

“We’re very proud to have helped facilitate the training and look forward to seeing its positive impact for years to come.”