Bexhill Rotary is makes differenceby helping school children to read

Bexhill Rotary Club members have been learning more about the charity Book Busters which was set up a few years ago to encourage more reading in primary schools.
Bexhill Rotary Book Club SUS-181209-092933001Bexhill Rotary Book Club SUS-181209-092933001
Bexhill Rotary Book Club SUS-181209-092933001

Chief Executive of the charity Simon Dolby met with members and gave a talk.

Reading in schools is something Bexhill Rotary promotes through the Reading Partners scheme. Reading Partners including Club members and other volunteers go into schools on a regular basis and listen to youngsters reading outside of the classroom.

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Teachers in local schools are very appreciative of this support as reading is such an important element of learning . There are currently 33 readers in 10 of Bexhill schools.

The Club were interested to hear of the philosophy of Book Busters which is to encourage children to read and become more familiar with books as opposed to Gameboys and other distractions by introducing them to an element of competition .

Simon explained the time each child spends at home is recorded and added to those of other class members. The results are then compared with results from different classes within the school and indeed between different schools.

The winners are rewarded with a trophy at school assemblies. In some cases the rewards could also include each child receiving tickets for such local attractions as Drusillas or the Sealife Centre

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In this way children are encouraged to read more. There are obvious benefits for family life as parents are encouraged to spend more time with their children whether it be listening to them reading, reading to their children or listening with them to audio books as each activity counts towards the time that can be recorded. Each slot of 10,15 or 20 minutes is recorded on a card which is kept as a bookmark.

Parents whose reading may not be as strong as it could be also benefit from the additional exposure to books and literature.

Anyone with a few hours each week to spare who is interested in becoming a Reading Partner should contact Bexhill Rotarian Roger Batey on 0778667167.

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