New children's literacy campaign: should Mumsnet sign up?

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello everyone

The charity Save the Children, with whom we've done a bit of work in the past, is asking if Mumsnet can give its collective support to a campaign to improve children’s literacy here in the UK.

Save the Children say: “Reading is the key to a child’s future: it unlocks their potential and opens up a world filled with possibilities. For our poorest children, reading well is their best route out of poverty, but thousands of children from poorer backgrounds leave primary school not reading as well as they should.”

As ever, we'd like to know what you think about adding Mumsnet's voice to this. The aim of the campaign is to ensure that every child is a confident reader by age 11, but Save the Children's position is that to achieve this we all need to play our part. The campaign hasn't launched yet, but Save the Children will be working with a coalition of organisations, communities, parents, teachers and schools, businesspeople and politicians. They are working with a range of media, including The Sun. They don’t want to give away all their campaign tactics before the launch (understandably) but if you have any specific questions about the methods and aims of the campaign, let us know and we'll see if we can get answers for you.

Please do also use this thread to let us know what you think about Mumsnet officially getting behind this one.

Thanks,
MNHQ

[Toadsrevisited]

Agree with name equality

Literacy is crucial (another teacher here) but so is helping all children grow up with healthy attitudes towards sex and relationships.

[MsInterpret]

Like Save the Children and think the idea of improving literacy a v important one (also a teacher). However, I too have a big problem with The Sun being associated, with particular regard to the No More Page 3 campaign.

Think the points about being targeted, focused on specifics and with the use of recent research to back up methods v important.

[Boobsofsteel]

Yes, literacy is so very vital. I wholeheartedly support this.

[AuntieStella]

I agree the aims are unquestionably valid.

But until the organisers say what they will be doing it's impossible to saywhether this will be a good plan or not.

I hope MN will postpone decision making until they do 'give away their campaign tactics'

Especially as I don't see a need for secrecy over "tactics" unless they are planning something controversial. We should be told before being invited to comment.

[LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett]

While I recognise the link between poverty and poor literacy, I'm not sure that is a broad enough focus. Poor literacy hurts children from all backgrounds. My own DS has SN and really struggles with reading - as a parent I'd appreciate tools and support to engage him more.

I think doing this through the Sun suggests a 'free book giveaway' which won't even scratch the surface of the problem. Although free book with the boobs is a great slogan . I don't think MN can support this alongside supporting NMP3.

[VestaCurry]

Other posters are right about 'The Sun' association of course. In any case a number of 'print' newspapers have seen their circulations fall in the wake of online content and surely their strategy lies within the lost readership due to page 3, the internet etc. Page 3 is a dealbreaker for Mumsnet as expressed by previous posters.

[thelmachicken]

I agree with Auntie Stella. You need to know more about what you're signing up to.
Also who are the 'coalition of organisations?'

[JohnnyDeppsfuturewife]

Agree I don't like campaigns that are associated with The Sun for the page 3 reason.

Also I'd like to know what experience save the children have in this area. I had a very quick look at their website and while they do some amazing work overseas I didn't find much evidence that they have any experience in helping British children with literacy.

Are they just looking to create awareness or will they be fundraising for schools to get extra resources or trying to place volunteers? I would have more confidence for long-term improvements to literacy levels if it were an organisation with a more proven track record in helping UK children to read.

[AnyFucker]

The Sun are a partner in this. Count me out.

[GoblinLittleOwl]

I sincerely hope you will not get involved with this. Read the article in the Sunday Telegraph 17.8.14, about former advisers to Gordon Brown who now work for major charities and use them to 'speak out against the Government or lobby ministers to change laws; and 'campaigns that hide beyond a veneer of neutral non-partisanship.' (Hope C. Senior Political Correspondent, Sunday Telegraph 17.08.2014).
Justin Forsyth, a former G.B. special adviser, is chief executive of Save The Children and has initiated various other campaigns in this role aimed at discrediting the Government.
The information given about the project is extremely vague, and the thought of using The Sun to improve reading standards is risible. Please do not become involved in this.

[FairlyUseless]

Yep. I'm 100% for improving literacy but The Sun's involvement is a no for me. I support the NMP3 campaign and I think if Munsnet back this the fallout will be great. But if MN use this to try and help ban P3 then that would be interesting...

[Dickorydockwhatthe]

Absolutely will be backing this and what a shame others are not willing to support such an important issue due to the involvement of the Sun. Shame on you. Think about the children it will be supporting so many are bring list in the system and are being failed by the schools.

[gritts1]

Seriously, Save the Children and sexy pics of naked women in the Sun? Ha!

[LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett]

Dickory if you lie down with dogs, you get fleas. MN can't have it all ways as I think they know, hence this thread

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

What a shame you're prepared to sacrifice principles for the sake of being smug, dickory. Shame on you.

Think about the children!

[SacreBlue]

I think supporting literacy is vitally important - both children and adults.

Unfortunately I too would be dubious about the Sun's involvement. In my work with adult returners I had to do a significant amount of exercises on critical analysis to address 'news' stories, and that, in addition to the Sun's page three would mean I would prefer to support other reading initiatives (of which there are a few across the country)

It's a shame as I have worked with Save the Children and found their ethos & staff here in NI lovely.

Why would they (or MN) sign up for something with the Sun?

[ChazzerChaser]

Yes because the choice really is do this or don't teach children to read, isn't it dickory. Perhaps save the children could still run the campaign but without joining up with a newspaper that is to the detriment of children. Outlandish suggestion I know.

[ContinentalKat]

Everybody will be in favour of improving literacy, but asking people whether to back this or not without disclosing "tactics" is not really going to work now, is it?
We've all seen totally pointless, money wasting PR exercises before, and the involvement of The Sun is, well, fishy.

[starlight1234]

I have to say I can't give an opinion due to lack of details.

I would like to think MN would make a decision to support or not when it does have details

[TobyZiegler]

I would love to support a literacy campaign by Save the Children but the fact that The Sun would be in partnership/collaboration with them on this would also put me off... I expect you knew this by specifically stating The Sun as opposed to just stating the media that you knew we would be uncomfortable with this.

[catsofa]

Working with The Sun to improve literacy? Sorry have not read the whole thread but I just need to point out the irony, forgive me if the first thirty posters have already beaten me to it.

Also Page 3, their (continued) handling of the Hillsborough disaster and so many other reasons not to work with The Sun. It's a no from me, hoping that Mumsnet and other potential partners can steer Save The Children away from being used like this to try to put a friendly, caring face on a nasty, sexist, racist rag like the Sun.

Let's back campaigns to stop the mass closures of public libraries instead.

[MrTumblesBavarianFanbase]

This is reminiscent of "like if you dislike people kicking kittens" then finding out you've "liked" something from a soft porn or whatever fb page.

Of course everyone agrees with the broad aim of improving literacu, but there is nothing concrete in the OP except an aim nobody can object to.

Agree it is fishy being asked to back something so very vague - is this fund raising (for what exactly)? Free kids book with 5 tokens from The Sun? A campaign to make reading "cool" or what?

[EduCated]

Agree with others that the partnership with The Sun makes it a no from me.

Admirable aim for a campaign, and I believe Save the Children do good work, but as another poster mentioned, I would perhaps question their expertise in this area and would want to know who the other partner organisations are, and whether they include charities/organisations such as National Literacy Trust who do have more expertise.

[maizieD]

One of the most significant causes of poor reading is the lack of effective phonics instruction in schools, despite attempts by the current government to bring about improvements. I would want to know if Save the Children have any plans to address this aspect or whether they just intend to throw books at children who can't read them...

I belong to the Reading Reform Foundation, which has links to some of the foremost UK phonics experts; programme developers, trainers, teachers and tutors. To my knowledge no-one in the RRF has been approached by Save the Children but without knowledgable input in this area their campaign will do no better than other initiatives which have attempted to promote reading with only vague or outdated notions of how to work with children who struggle to learn to read.