Paint the Town REaD is thrilled to partner with Street Libraries across Australia, both at a strategic and local level.
Strategically we are forging communication and purchasing links, and locally we are looking together at joint branding, as well as PTTR groups being invited to ‘adopt a Street Library’ for orphan libraries.
What is Paint the Town REaD? Paint the Town REaD (PTTR) is a collective impact, community capacity building movement that encourages all areas of the community to read, talk, sing and rhyme with children from birth, so that they will be ready for reading and writing at school.
Paint the Town REaD Ltd is the backbone organisation –a not for profit national company, with charity and DGR status. It has links to all the local PTTR groups, which retain their own independence under a creative commons licence.
Research shows that the foundational early literacy skills learnt before starting school are critical for attaining literacy competency at school, which in turn is vital for life’s successes. These skills include language development, focused attention, book awareness, phonological awareness and pre – writing skills. PTTR’s outcomes and practice are derived from this research.
Outcomes – using a Results Based Accountability structure:
1) Decreased number of children with one or more vulnerabilities on the Australian Early Development Census after ten years from implementation of PTTR.
2) Increased number of agencies engaged and using enhanced early literacy practices.
3) Increased number of parents with enhanced knowledge, skills and behavior with respect to early literacy practices.
4) Increased library membership and borrowing rates for families with children under school age.
PTTR Practice: PTTR has 2 two key aspects to its practice.
1) An Annual Reading Day engaging the whole community in the celebration of literacy through reading with children under school age and
2) Everyone to think smarter about how to include early literacy in all aspects of their life and work, for example from having a reading tent at the local markets to ‘Have you read with your child?’ coasters in the local cafe and book swap boxes in the local Police Station and Pub. Each local community has its own distinctive mascot and logo. Agencies engaged at a local level include child and family services, service and sporting clubs, community members, local businesses, media and Local, State and Federal Government workers and representatives.
Where is PTTR? Paint the Town REaD is now rolling out across NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Urban, regional, rural and remote communities have found this the most exciting and innovative way to make early literacy and collaborative practice come alive for them.
Want to contact PTTR? Please contact through http://www.paintthetownread.info or the Executive Director – Barbie Bates at mailto:[email protected]
Donations $2 and over are tax deductible. 61 Byrne Street, Lapstone 2773 | www.paintthetownread.info | ABN: 96 164 664 724
