The Wonder Tales Centre
The literacy levels of children in Burnley are below average and the costs of living crisis has only worsened the problem as less disposable income means less money is available for parents to buy books for their children as they have become “too expensive” (as stated by 51% of parents in a survey in Englad). Also, currently 1 in 5 children in England do not own any books of their own. Having books for children in the house is essential for them to get into regular reading habits and improve overall literacy levels as children who own a book of their own at home, are six times more likely to read above the expected level for their age.
There is a need in Burnley to put strategies into place to enable children to develop the necessary literacy skills to succeed in life as the current education system is failling to identify and successfully help those kids growing up in poverty. However, in order for this to happen, an alternative and exiciting strategy, different from the one used in the traditional education sytem would need to be implemented in order for kids to be willing to take part, this is why a storytelling centre is proposed. It features a main area for storytelling to take place and complementary spaces to support the development of the literacy of children such as a book exchange space, reading spaces and play areas to allow their imagination to develop.
