Welcome to The Literacy Pirates!
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The Literacy Pirates: Taking children on voyages as readers and writers since 2011.
Our after-school programmes, led by teachers, offer one to one and small group attention from trained volunteers, giving Young Pirates the confidence to unfurl their sails.
By welcoming them into our joyful spaces, publishing their work in the real world, and celebrating everything they do, we develop their literacy, confidence and perseverance.
Throughout the programme, your child will take part in weekly, teacher-led, after-school sessions that involve:
- Reading practice, where your child will have the power to choose what they read from a diverse range of high quality books, and read aloud in a low-stakes environment so they won’t worry about making mistakes.
- Published writing projects, where your child will have the time and support to explore their own personal voice, and to draft and redraft their writing. At the end of term, their work will be published into a book or a film that they will get to keep, and they will celebrate their achievements with peers, family and teachers.
- Learning about learning, with 1:1 and small group support from trained volunteers, who will give constant feedback and praise so that they can practise trying again when things go wrong, and so that they can start to see themselves as successful learners.
Top Tips for helping your child enjoy reading at home
- Read anything your child chooses. Your child can choose to read anything for fun – magazines, comics, recipe books, leaflets. The more they enjoy it, the more they will want to do it!
- Talk. Asking questions and talking about what you’re reading can help bring the book to life for your child. “Oh wow! Can you believe what’s just happened! I’m so surprised – are you?”
- Read aloud together. Taking it in turns to read aloud together can build confidence. Doing silly voices for characters can be very fun and really helps to bring the characters to life.
- Get comfortable. Finding somewhere calm and cosy to read together can make the experience feel even more safe and comfortable for your child.
- Use libraries. You can add lots of choice to your child’s reading collection by borrowing books from school or local libraries.
- Finally – have fun! The more fun and positive the experience, the more your child will want to read.
Contact a member of our team