Taking lessons in reading

One of the most successful English reading campaigns ever staged in the region has come to a close and the participants in Bahrain recently hosted a party to celebrate its achievements.

The Ministry of Education, HSBC and the British Council came together with representatives from 26 schools to mark the conclusion of four years of the Kids Read programme at the Gulf Hotel.
 
Kids Read has been encouraging children in 21 governmental and three private schools to take up reading as a pleasurable activity inside and outside the classroom.
 
This programme, delivered in eight countries in the MENA region, was sponsored by the bank and developed by the British Council. The programme received the support of the Ministry of Education and took ‘thousands of kids on a wonderful journey of engagement with books’, its organisers say.

The project initially began in 2011 and involved schools in all governorates in Bahrain. Overall, 24 schools took part in a structured and comprehensive programme.  Approximately 893 teachers and almost 33,182 children have benefitted from the programme’s reach though training programmes for teachers and storytelling and reading sessions for pupils.

Kids Read also promoted the project to parents and the wider community through community event days. These were held at the participating schools and encouraged parents and the wider community to attend to learn more about the importance of reading with their children and how they could support their children’s reading journey. Almost 4,946 parents were engaged in these events.

As well as financially supporting the programme, HSBC Bank Bahrain encouraged its staff to support community events through its volunteer programme. Around 45 members of staff from different departments were involved in delivering storytelling sessions and arts and crafts activities and took an active role throughout, engaging both with children and their parents and the teachers of participating schools. For the volunteers, it was a challenging but rewarding opportunity to give back to their community.

Mathew Deaken, the bank’s CEO, said: “HSBC is proud to have supported Kids Read over the past four years.

“The objective of the programme was to encourage children to read more and improve their English language skills.

“The joy on the faces of the children during the storytelling sessions were a clear indication of their engagement. It was also evident that the programme was successful in opening the world of books to the children which was a very rewarding experience for all. I would like to thank the British Council and all the HSBC volunteers for joining us on this exciting journey.”

The British Council said it was ‘delighted’ to have had the opportunity to participate in the project and had ‘appreciated’ working with its partners.

“We appreciate the support of all those colleagues who have given their time and energy to make the project a success. And we thank all the children who have come to read with us as they continue to explore the world of books and stories. We wish them ‘happy reading’,” said its director Tony Calderbank.

The British Council has instructed the 24 schools on how to carry on with the project and says that it will also be available for any further teacher training that the schools or ministry may require or need in the future.

The project is now being applied in South Asia through the British Council office there using the MENA experience as a guideline.

The funding ended this year because HSBC’s corporate social responsibility policy doesn’t allow it to award the same beneficiaries for more than four years.