Calling All Dads!

As you may be aware, we have been having a big drive on reading in school this year - particularly related to boys. For many years there has existed a gap in the progress boys and girls make in their reading. While this hasn't always been the case at Ffynnon Taf, in the last couple of years girls have progressed faster than boys in this area and the gap is widening.


Research has shown time and time again that one of the main causes of this issue is that boys view reading as a 'feminine' past time. In addition, reading resources have traditionally been geared more to female readers. As a school, we have lots of things in the pipeline to try and combat these issues - including boy book clubs, lads and dads days and choosing reading materials that cater for all interests. We will write to you in the near future with more details of these activities but in the meantime, we are asking for your help.


What boys need more than anything are male role models. We are enlisting 'reading champions' in school but it's been proven that the most powerful influence on young boys continues to be the sight of dads/grandads/older brothers/uncles reading. It's important to point out that the reading material is not important (information books, newspapers, magazines, instruction manuals are all equally valid) but being seen to read and actually enjoying it is.


We are currently creating a male reading role model display in our library. We would be grateful if you could let us have a photograph of a male relative reading (this can be with a child, to a child or simply alone for enjoyment). The more of these we get and the greater variety of types of reading shown, the better - the picture can be as serious or humorous as you like! We are looking for male role models in general, it doesn't matter if you have a son or daughter, if you are happy to take part, please do.


Photographs can be sent via email, uploaded to twitter or sent into school via your child's teacher. We look forward to seeing the results!