Coffee Afternoon & Reading Literacy campaign

Free coffee afternoon with Reading Literacy mini talk by Jennie Carter.

There will be an informal talk at 3.30pm on the issue of reading literacy by former headteacher Jennie Carter.  However, you can join our drop-in session at The Community Room on The Bayle for free refreshments at any time between 3 – 5 pm.

READING VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – it is not so much teaching reading as saving lives.

ABOUT THE THEME & GUEST

26% of the population of the UK enter secondary school with a reading age far below their chronological age of 11 years. They can sound out words but have never read a whole book.  Research shows the gap between them and other, more able, readers does not narrow significantly. It is why OFSTED focuses on reading at Key Stage 3.  A reading age of 9 years is needed to read the Daily Mail but you need a reading age of 16 years to get good GCSEs.

A team of retired teachers, and those who just love books, go into a local secondary school twice a week from 9 -10am to read with individual 11 year old students. These children feel failures so they need one to one support. The children choose books for themselves on football, cats or whatever interests them. We laugh at the funny bits, talk about unfamiliar words and share anecdotes. We help them remember what they have read and predict what may happen next just as you do with your grandchildren. In 15 months many of them went from reading ages of 5 years to 14 or 16 years.

Imagine what that will do for GCSE results. We could put Folkestone on the map!

Jennie Carter was a teacher for 43 years and is a former acting head of Lympne Primary School, head of Hythe Infants (now Hythe Bay Primary School) and founding head of The Churchill School in Hawkinge.  She also founded Shepway Teaching Schools in 2011, playing a key role in leading training and professional development of teachers and school staff.

ABOUT THE VENUE

The Community Room is located at 19 The Bayle, where Dance Easy used to stand, in an attractive Georgian-style townhouse.  It is run by the Sunflower House team on a partnership model, where local groups and organisations offering community benefits with similar values are able to utilise the space.

TRAVEL TO THE VENUE

By Bus:

The venue is about a 600 metre walk (one-third of a mile) from the bus station.  Head down West Cliff Gardens (between the HSBC and Lloyds banks) and straight through the churchyard, turning left when you get to the British Lion pub.  The room is opposite the Bayle Pond.

For step-free access avoiding cobblestones, go down the pedestrian precinct to the Town Hall and turn right onto Church Street.  Follow that to the end (past the school), turn left and veer left as above.

By Car:

The nearest Pay and Display car park is Upper Payers Park, accessed from Dover Road (passing the F51 skate park) next to the amusements where the Banksy was located originally.  Walk to the end of Payers Park, turn right onto the Old High Street and walk up to the top.  Turn left, then take the first right.  The building will be on your right after the Glendale building.

For step-free access avoiding cobblestones, walk out to Dover Road and turn left.  Walk around the amusements building to the front, carry on down Rendezvous Street, cross the road and turn left at the gate (onto what is still Rendezvous Street).  Walk to the top, turn left onto Church Street, follow it to the end (past the school), turn left onto The Bayle and follow the road, which veers left.  The room is on the left, opposite the Bayle Pond.