Minister for Education launches new programme to boost speaking and listening skills for 10,000 nursery children

Published on: 11 January 2019

Resources supporting oracy skills will be sent to children aged 3-4 across Wales as part of a new Welsh Government funded programme.

From 14th January 2019, 10,000 children in nurseries in Wales will receive free resources to support oracy skills. The resources are part of BookTrust Cymru’s new Pori Drwy Stori Nursery programme, funded by Welsh Government.

Kirsty Williams, Minister for Education, will launch the programme today at Stacey Primary School in Cardiff. Every child taking part in the new programme will receive two sets of resources. The first focuses on sharing rhymes and songs, and the second focuses on having fun reading and talking about books.

'The Welsh Government is very proud to support BookTrust Cymru’s Pori Drwy Stori Nursery as well as their other programmes, such as Bookstart. Communication skills are essential to the success of our children and young people, and we are committed to helping them develop those skills through these programmes.

Young children across Wales will benefit from these free resources, and I encourage parents and carers to fully engage with them, as not only a way to improve their children’s oracy skills, but also a way to have fun and bond through song and rhyme.' Kirsty Williams, Minister for Education

The Pori Drwy Stori Nursery programme builds on BookTrust’s well-established programmes in Wales, Bookstart and Pori Drwy Stori. Both programmes are funded by Welsh Government and available free of charge for every child in Wales, with children, families and schools receiving free resources and books to have fun with reading and sharing rhymes from children’s first few months of life to their first year of school.

To find out more visit Pori Drwy Stori or follow us @BookTrustCymru

Find out why education consultant and former Foundation Phase Lead Officer for City and County of Swansea, Jan Mills, is excited about our new Nursery programme in Wales.

Visit the BookTrust Cymru page to find out about all our work in Wales

For further information about the Welsh Government’s ‘Education Begins at Home’ campaign, please visit www.facebook.com/beginsathome or go to @edubeginsathome.