The Edinburgh
Reporter went along to Dalry Primary School to find out
about the latest project they are involved with. Donating children’s
books to be distributed in the run up to Christmas is the latest phase
of the City of Edinburgh Council’s pioneering child poverty campaign.
The ‘Hungry for Book’s challenge is part of the council’s ‘1 in 5: Raising Awareness of Child Poverty in Edinburgh’ campaign currently running in five primaries and one secondary school.
It is taking place during Book Week Scotland and the main aim is to highlight links between child poverty and low literacy.
The public are encouraged to donate
high/good quality children’s books all this week until Friday 27
November and the pupils will then ensure these go to food banks or other
organisations in time for Christmas.
Councillor Paul Godzik with the four clan chiefs from Dalry Primary School
Each school will be a hub for donation
of books in different areas of the city – Broughton High School (north),
Royal High Primary School (east), Sciennes Primary School (central),
Gracemount Primary School (south), Dalry Primary School (west) and
Hillwood Primary School (south west).
Councillor Paul Godzik, Education,
Children and Families Convener, said: “The ‘Hungry for Books’ challenge
is a positive way of trying to help more children living in poverty
access the type of books other children enjoy. It is well-documented
that children from poorer backgrounds lag behind at all stages of
education so it’s important we do all we can to close the attainment
gap.
“Donating books for children to read,
both on their own and with their parents, is a positive way for the
public to play their part in achieving this.
The Council will continue the great work of our ‘1 in 5’ campaign to ensure every child in Edinburgh is given every opportunity to have the best possible start in life.”
Dalry Primary School Head Teacher, Grant
Gillies, said: “The ‘1 in 5’ project has had a significant impact on
the life of our school and the decisions we make because the children
and families in our school community face real challenges. It is our job
to equip them with the skills and aspirations to overcome these. More than that though, as a school we
have social responsibility to ensure opportunities are for all and they
are inclusive. That’s why pupils are very excited about being part of
this Hungry for Books Challenge.
Another good example of the impact of
raising awareness within our school project is when we planned for our
whole community outing at Christmas. We spoke about the way we charged
for it in the past and this year we have a price structure that means
bigger families pay less. It is these small things that make a
difference. Small changes in our approaches make for big changes in our children’s lives.”
The ‘1 in 5’ project aims to raise
awareness of the impact of child poverty and identify best practice and
changes that can be introduced to make school more affordable for
families on low incomes. The project involves working with children,
staff and parents to challenge the stigma that affects children living
in poverty.
Last week a poster competition was
launched at Hillwood Primary School where pupils took part in creative
art workshops led by artist Heather Lucchesi to design images which
highlight some of the issues faced by children whose families live on or
below the poverty line.
Winning images will be incorporated
into a poster to be distributed to primary schools across the city along
with guidelines for schools on how best to support families living on
low incomes including actions to reduce the costs associated with school
such as school uniform, trips and resources.
Councillors on the Education, Children and Families Committee heard last month that just over 21% of children in Edinburgh live in poverty and this figure is forecast to increase significantly by 2020.
Every area of the city is affected with
each Council ward having child poverty rates of over 10%. It’s estimated
that the cost of delivering services to address the impact in the
Capital is around £156m a year according to the Child Poverty report
which outlined various actions being taken by the Council to lessen the
impact. Key areas identified include:
- Developing more flexible and affordable good quality childcare to meet the needs of families on low incomes
- Improving attendance at schools and early years establishments, and the attainment and achievement of young people
- Reducing the attainment gap between lowest achieving pupils and their peers across the city
- Identifying and developing more safe places to play
Other actions include increase breakfast
club provision and further develop family engagement with a focus on
strong home-school partnerships.
The report also highlights the
importance of income maximisation to raising attainment. Research has
shown that the level of household income plays a major role in
attainment levels with more initiatives needed to increase wages,
encourage take up of unclaimed benefits and other finance-related
poverty costs.
