Every Day’s a Story Day, has been created by the charity Early Years Scotland and will launch this weekend
A host of well-known Scots are backing a campaign for every child in Scotland to hear a story every day from birth.
The campaign, Every Day’s a Story Day, has been created by the charity Early Years Scotland and will be officially launched at a major early years conference in Glasgow tomorrow (Saturday 14 September).
360 delegates at the conference will enjoy an exclusive live reading of a story created by children from a range of early years settings. Leading Scottish actor David Hayman will narrate this original story, which captures the voices and imagination of children from across Scotland.
David Hayman has joined First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and other public figures and celebrities including Kirsty Wark, Fred McAulay, Des Clarke, Catriona Shearer and Graham Spiers, in signing up as a Story Champion to support the campaign.
The First Minister said: “Hearing and reading stories has taught me so much and brought me so much enjoyment from my childhood to the present.
“It is because of the potential of stories to unlock imaginations and encourage learning that I launched the First Minister’s Reading Challenge. The Every Day’s a Story Day campaign dovetails perfectly with that initiative while highlighting that stories need not always come from the pages of a book but can come through films, play acting and other channels.
“All generations can get involved with this campaign and help realise the shared ambition of opening young minds to the potential of storytelling. I want Scotland to be the best place to grow up and I am delighted to support Early Years Scotland’s work in helping achieve that.”
The campaign aims to promote the long-term benefits of children hearing stories from the very earliest days of their lives. Parents, children and early learning and childcare settings can pledge their support by signing an online Story Scroll.
Wark said: “The quiet time when you sit with your child and read to them is magical. I remember telling them everything from Messy Baby to Little Women. But afterwards do ask your child to tell you a made up story of their own. That will feed their imagination even more. And what is so wonderful is that it’s free! “
Early Years Scotland chief executive, Jean Carwood-Edwards, said: “Cuddling up and sharing stories with my children when they were wee, is one of the most special memories I have, and our daughters still love remembering and talking about our story times too – such wonderful memories that we all treasure forever.
“Because of the amount of joy, learning, language, closeness, excitement and love of stories that my children developed (and still have), I feel so impassioned about our responsibility as adults to ensure that every child has their own special story experiences and memories.”
The Minister for Children and Young People, Maree Todd MSP, will address the conference, which will also hear top speakers from Scotland and Italy discuss the theme of play and learning.
