St Paul’s gets library boost from Cardiff Council

Posted by Now Cardiff on Jul 22, 2011

The school library at one Cardiff primary has received a major boost.

St Paul’s Church in Wales Primary School has been presented with £500 to spend on books as part of Cardiff Council’s Reading Power campaign to drive up literacy standards across the city.

The Grangetown school earned the reward for being the school with the highest attendance at the Reading Power Roadshows last month. The roadshows were held at Channel View Leisure Centre in Grangetown, Eastern Leisure Centre in Rumney and Dusty Forge in Ely to encourage and support parents and carers to spend time reading with their children.

Hundreds of families attended the roadshows, where literacy specialists from Cardiff Council were on hand to provide advice, resources and support, with St Paul’s pupils coming out on top for attendance with their parents.

The prize was presented at the school assembly this week while the secondary school with the highest attendance at the roadshows, Llanrumney High, has already received £50 worth of books for their library.

The Reading Power campaign was launched last autumn and is fronted by the Power Readers, a duo of reading superheroes who encourage parents to give their children the power to read  because ‘Knowledge is Power’.

A website provides parents with information on how they can help their children, containing tips and advice as well as recommending books and links to other websites that promote reading as an enjoyable pastime, as well as an essential skill.

Executive Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, Cllr Freda Salway said: “Congratulations to everyone at St Paul’s Primary on this fantastic prize which will enable the school to buy many more books for the children to learn and enjoy. It was great to see so many families attending the Reading Power roadshows and taking a strong interest in their children’s learning.

“It’s very important the Council, schools and parents all work together on this, in a bid to drive up standards and ensure every child is equipped with the basic skills to succeed in their education.”

St Paul’s headteacher, Susan Jones, said: “A big thank you to all our parents who have been a great support helping us to raise standards of achievement in reading with their children. The money will be put to good use as we intend to restock our class libraries with some exciting new reading material requested by the children.”

Youth orchestra winds up season on high note

Posted by Now Cardiff on Jul 19, 2011

Cardiff County and Vale of Glamorgan Youth Orchestra will end their season of concerts for 2010 -2011 on a high note at Llandaff Cathedral this week.

The young musicians will perform Saint-Saens’ Organ Symphony on Thursday July 21 (7.30pm), featuring the new Nicholson organ which has been recently installed at the cathedral.

The organ will be played by the notable Welsh organist, Huw Tregelles Williams, former Head of Music at the BBC, who has given organ recitals at venues all over the world during his illustrious career.

The programme will also include Verdi’s “Force of Destiny” overture, Barber’s Adagio for Strings and Mussorgsky’s “Night on a Bare Mountain”. Tickets for the performance are available at the door, costing £10 and £6 for concessions.

Executive Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, Cllr Freda Salway, said: “This is a terrific way for the youth orchestra to bring the year to a close in an inspiring venue and with such a distinguished performer in their midst. The youth orchestra concerts are always of an extremely high standard and I’m sure this week’s performance will be as enjoyable as usual.”

Neighbourhood Learning on course with Cardiff shoppers

Posted by Now Cardiff on Jul 15, 2011

There’s more than bargains and must-haves on offer for shoppers and visitors to the city centre this weekend as Cardiff Council launches the new On Course Neighbourhood Learning guide.

Officers from the Neighbourhood Learning team will be joining shoppers on Queen Street on Saturday, July 16 to promote the new prospectus that is packed full of courses for adults covering computer training, languages, arts and crafts and much, much more, suitable for all ages and abilities at a variety of centres throughout the city.

There’s also the chance for visitors to Central Market and Central Library (9.30am to 3.30pm) to find out what’s on offer, speak to the team about the learning opportunities and pick up a free copy of the guide.

The Council has a range of courses available for people who are completely new to learning and want to broaden their horizons or for learners who want to build on skills or continue with hobbies they have pursued before.

Enrolment for courses, which start in September, opens on Monday, July 18 so there’s never been a better time to find a course that will inspire you to learn.

For those not out and about in the city centre on Saturday, On Course can be downloaded by visiting www.cardiff.gov.uk/learn  or from their nearest Neighbourhood Learning Centre. Alternatively, email adultlearningquery@cardiff.gov.uk

Executive Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, Cllr Freda Salway, said: “There’s something to suit all ages and abilities in this year’s On Course guide. Saturday will be an opportunity for visitors to the city centre to get some advice on courses they are considering and whet their appetites for something new.”

Major step forward for Ysgol Treganna

Posted by Now Cardiff on Jul 11, 2011

Plans to transfer Ysgol Gymraeg Treganna to new build premises have taken a major step forward.

Cardiff Council’s Executive will receive a report next week to inform them that no objections were received to the statutory notice to transfer the school as a three form of entry school with nursery into new build premises on Sanatorium Road and to close Ysgol Tan-Yr-Eos with pupils transferring to the enlarged Ysgol Treganna on the new site.

The notice was published on May 9 and the statutory objection period lasted one month.

Officers are now seeking Executive approval to implement the proposal from September 1, 2013.

The proposal was developed to address the increase in demand for Welsh-medium primary places in this part of the city. No existing English-medium provision will be closed or reduced in capacity as a result of this plan.

Executive Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, Cllr Freda Salway, said: “This is a major step forward in our plans to transfer Ysgol Treganna into a brand new, state-of-the-art building.

A new three form of entry school will alleviate the overcrowding issues at the existing schools and provide children with a fit for purpose learning environment.”

Success with “reading to children” road show

Posted by Now Cardiff on Jun 27, 2011

A series of road shows to encourage and support parents and carers to spend time reading with their children have been a tremendous success.

As part of Cardiff Council’s Reading Power literacy campaign, which seeks to drive up reading standards amongst children across the city and encourage parents to play an active role in their child’s learning, three events have been held in Cardiff to provide families with advice, resources and support.

The road shows have attracted a fantastic response with hundreds of parents attending each event.  Road shows were held at Channel View Leisure Centre in Grangetown, Eastern Leisure Centre in Rumney and The Dusty Forge in Ely where families were invited to come along and learn more about how best to help their children, whatever their age.

The road shows provided information on paired reading sessions, the chance to read together and play word games or board games that have reading opportunities. Many members of Cardiff’s education service along with the library service and were present providing information and plenty of interactive activities for visitors. Reading Power goodie bags including lots of useful information and materials were also available.

Both parents and children had the chance to sign up for a library card at the road shows and there was a great response at all three events.

Parents attending the events were also invited to sign a parental pledge and post it in a special post-box, promising to regularly undertake a reading-related activity with their children. Officers responsible for the Council’s literacy strategy will stay in touch with all those parents, offering support and advice.

The Reading Power campaign was launched last autumn and is fronted by the Power Readers, a duo of reading superheroes who encourage parents to give their children the power to read  because ‘Knowledge is Power’.

A website provides parents with information on how they can help their children, containing tips and advice as well as recommending books and links to other websites that promote reading as an enjoyable pastime, as well as an essential skill.

Executive Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, Cllr Freda Salway, said: “The Reading Power road shows have been a fantastic success and we have been overwhelmed by the response from families who are keen to ensure they are doing what they can to support their child’s learning. We are now planning to hold more road shows in other parts of the city in the new school term.

“We want to ensure that the Reading Power campaign maintains a high profile in schools across the city and that parents understand how vital their role is in helping to end the poor literacy cycle. Advice and support is there for parents as part of this campaign.”