National Read Aloud Challenge

Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity Event raises £107k for ‘Sick Kids’

On Friday, we were honoured to attend the #GetTogether for Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC) to support all of the amazing and important work that the charity does for seriously ill children and their families. We were blown away by some of the stories that were shared at the event by parents and doctors and could not be prouder of all that the charity achieves. 

The event was bursting with life thanks to some delightful live entertainment from the children, featuring some gorgeous dancing from Sammy and Lucy the enchanting Evan and an emotional story from the mother of baby Hector the Hero, who are all currently doing well. The charity’s CEO, Roslyn Neely, and her team did a fantastic job planning this incredible event, raising an astounding £107,000 for the cause.

The Edinburgh Children’s Hospital
The ECHC helps critically ill babies, children and young people by supporting their medical care, mental health and family’s wellbeing. The hospital team delivers daily arts activities, youth work and family support; their Grants Programme funds child-friendly spaces and play initiatives, life-changing equipment and bereavement support.

This exceptionally vital work the charity carries out means that fundraising events, like the #GetTogether, are crucial for raising sufficient funds to support the families facing the toughest of times. 

Here to Help
Some children spend more time in hospital than they do out of hospital. This means they are unable to attend school and they need to complete their education in hospital. Fonetti are currently working closely on a pilot with the ECHC to adapt our read aloud app so that it can be used by children in hospitals. We want all children, no matter their circumstances, to have the opportunity to delve into books and experience the joy of reading. 

Reading & Children’s Mental Health
Reading has so many benefits for children and supporting their mental health is one that we feel is the most important. Books not only allow children to escape into another world and develop imagination and curiosity, they also support children with understanding tricky emotions and help them to process how they are feeling. 

If a child can relate to a character in a book, who is in a similar position to them, it can help them navigate the challenges they may be facing and feel understood. Books are a great way to get children talking about their feelings without making them feel overwhelmed. 

The Book Trust explains, ‘Books can be a vehicle for the discussion for pertinent topics. Books with emotional stories, for example, can provide explicit opportunities for a child and their carer to discuss painful issues but with the emotional safety of being one step removed. They can talk about the characters and events in a book without having to refer directly to themselves.’

National Read Aloud Challenge
The National Read Aloud Challenge has partnered up with Fonetti over the summer, making hundreds of books on the Fonetti in app library completely free until 31st August. We want all children to have access to books over the summer so that if they feel they need to escape into a story, they can. 

Posted in Events and Conferences, Appearances, National Read Aloud Challenge, Team Fonetti

5 Top Tips for Kicking off the National Read Aloud Challenge Successfully!

The National Read Aloud Challenge aims to reduce reading regression over the summer as well as enhancing a love for reading. We want all children to return to school in September as confident, excited readers. 

Follow these five tips to ensure your school is set up successfully to make the most of the challenge!

1.School Community
Encourage children, parents and teachers at your school to be on board with the challenge. If you secure the support from the whole school community, they will naturally work together to keep the reading momentum going. 

  • Talk to children about the challenge in assemblies and during classroom time.
  • Remind your staff about the challenge during staff meetings and in the staff room.
  • Keep the parents involved by posting about the challenge on social media and sending out the letters we have provided.

2.Materials and Resources
Use the National Read Aloud Challenge resources available on your school’s personalised webpage. We have created these so that your workload is kept to an absolute minimum. You are provided with an assembly presentation, parent letters, posters & flyers, a staff information presentation and so much more! Make the most of the resources to promote the challenge!

3.Dive into the App
Explore the app so you are familiar with it. You will feel more confident when talking about the challenge if you have taken the time to get to know the app the children will be using. You might also want to have book discussions with children and recommend some books that you have seen on the in app library. The more book talk, the better!

4.Praise, Praise, Praise
Praising children who have signed up to the app is a great way to encourage other children to get involved. Celebrate the class who has the most children participating, congratulate children in assembly for signing up and thank parents for getting their children involved. Everyone loves a bit of praise (even the parents)!

5.Check in
Not all children will have access to a tablet at home. Check in with those children and give them the opportunity to take part in the challenge while they are still at school so they feel involved.

Remember, if you have any questions about the challenge, please use the ‘get in touch’ link and we will get back to you as soon as possible!

Enrol your school or register your child now!
www.readaloudchallenge.co.uk
#BeProudReadAloud

Posted in National Read Aloud Challenge, Insights, Reading

The National Read-Aloud Challenge goes live!

The National Read Aloud Challenge: Empowering Kids with Fonetti’s Award winning Voice Recognition Technology

At Fonetti, we believe that reading is an essential tool for learning and personal growth. That’s why we are thrilled to announce our support for the National Read Aloud Challenge, a groundbreaking initiative that encourages children across the UK to read aloud during their summer break. With Fonetti’s voice recognition technology and the challenge’s fun activities, we are confident that this program will help kids develop their reading skills while having a blast. In this blog post, we’ll explore the details of this program and its benefits for children and parents everywhere.

Discover what the National Read Aloud Challenge has to offer! A free summer programme for children across the UK, running through the months of June, July and August. The challenge: incorporating Fonetti, our innovative voice recognition technology, into your child’s reading routine

Reading aloud provides a plethora of benefits. Children can enhance their pronunciation, comprehension, and vocabulary, essential skills for personal and academic success. More than that, this engaging activity sparks a love for books and learning that lasts a lifetime. With the National Read Aloud Challenge, kids can start their school year with confidence, curiosity and verbal fluency.

Fonetti is thrilled to be a part of this initiative, proudly offering our technology for free to children. Our award-winning app uses cutting-edge voice recognition to guide and support early readers, allowing them to read independently whilst receiving valuable personalised feedback and encouragement.

By incorporating Fonetti into the National Read Aloud Challenge, we are taking a significant step towards realising our mission of enabling young learners to achieve their full potential.

In conclusion, the National Read Aloud Challenge is a fantastic opportunity for children to enjoy reading and improve their skills during the summer months. By using Fonetti’s voice recognition technology, kids can receive instant valuable feedback and support as they explore new books and stories. We encourage parents and teachers everywhere to participate in this program and share the joy of reading with the next generation. Let’s make this summer a time of learning, growth, and fun!

Posted in National Read Aloud Challenge, Insights, News, Reading