Northern Ireland

Literacy charter launched as part of school reading project

The Irish News editor Noel Doran, Donna Hazzard head of literacy at St Mary's, Iain Hoy CBI NI, Prof Andrew Lambirth and Prof Peter Finn principal St Mary's
The Irish News editor Noel Doran, Donna Hazzard head of literacy at St Mary's, Iain Hoy CBI NI, Prof Andrew Lambirth and Prof Peter Finn principal St Mary's The Irish News editor Noel Doran, Donna Hazzard head of literacy at St Mary's, Iain Hoy CBI NI, Prof Andrew Lambirth and Prof Peter Finn principal St Mary's

A NEW charter aimed to placing literacy at the heart of education has been launched as part of a reading initiative.

The Irish News Critical Literacy Project introduces young people to daily newspapers in an interactive way to help build their literacy skills.

The project was created by St Mary's University College, in collaboration with The Irish News and supported by CBI and Newspread.

It delivers news knowledge and develops literacy understanding in the classroom, while supporting the varied demands of the wider curriculum.

Now in its second year, the project is inviting schools to sign up.

The literacy charter is designed to ensure "literacy has a central place in the education of children and young people".

It adds that all school pupils should have access to learning resources "which inspire them to develop their literacy skills and support them in achieving their full potential".

The Irish News, the CBI and St Mary's is calling upon all teachers, principals and everyone involved in education to commit to our Literacy Charter in support of these statements.

The charter can be viewed at www.irishnews.com/offers/youngnewsreaders/irish-news-literacy-charter/.

Created exclusively for The Irish News and designed for pupils aged eight to 12, it involves up to eight weeks of activities that offer a different way to challenge the knowledge and understanding of young readers.

It also introduces young people to the world of newspapers. They will receive their own copy of The Irish News delivered weekly.

At the end of the project, successful pupils will receive a personalised certificate of achievement.

:: To register, visit www.irishnews.com/ynr.