Leeds City College students inspire children to read

A group of students from Leeds City College are set to spread the love of books to hundreds of young children across Leeds.

Students from the School of Childhood & Education are taking part in Story Starters, an initiative by the charity, Beanstalk, designed to boost language and communication development in a child’s early years.

Over 50 students will be working with children in nurseries twice a week to run one-to-one sessions, reading books provided by the charity.

Sheila Lucciarini, Head of Childcare at Leeds City College, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to gain extra specialist skills in their chosen industry, inspiring children to enjoy stories and improve their language and literacy skills.

“They have taken part in a training session about the importance of childhood literacy and the accessibility of books, and are excited to get started.”

As part of the scheme, the college will receive over 500 books for the students to take to their nurseries.

Evie Morgan, is one of the apprentices on the Level 3 Children’s Learning & Development course, who will be taking part: “I’ve learnt so much from the training and can’t wait to start. I will be putting my knowledge into practice and hope to spark children’s imagination.”

The students will be starting the project in April with the scheme running for 12 months.