EVERY prep student starting at a government school in 2025 will receive five free books in a Victorian Government program to increase child literacy.
Swan Hill Primary School preppies have received the bags since the program started in 2019.
“These resources give a great start for our students to develop their literacy skills,” assistant principal Cailie Skinner said.
This year’s books are written and illustrated by Australians, featuring koalas, whales and crocodiles in settings around the country.
“Students are connecting to their environment in their oral language skills, seeing animals that they may have experiences with outside or at the zoo,” Ms Skinner said.
The books will also be produced in Braille with tactile illustrations by the Statewide Vision Resource Centre, so that children who are blind or have low vision can enjoy the stories along with their peers.
Reading to children at ages four to five every day can have the same effect as being almost a year older, and children who are read to more frequently at that age achieve higher literacy and numeracy test results. This is the findings of research by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in partnership with the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research.
This outcome is regardless of family background and home environment, as the study indicates this is solely from being read to prior to starting school.
