For the National Year of Reading, we are sharing a series of short conversations with people who are involved in promoting reading with young people. This could be a programme, resources or a literary event, and we’re giving them the opportunity to share what they do and how people can get involved.
In this episode we are joined by Tom Harbour the CEO of Learning with Parents.
Learning with Parents is a charity whose vision is that every child is supported at home to fulfil their potential. Working with schools, they support families to have positive learning interactions together. Using a digital platform they motivate and empower families to enjoy learning together at home using child-led videos and hands-on family activities which replace traditional homework. For reading, they offer a digital reading log that replaces traditional paper version and allows families to upload audio clips as well as easily record their child’s reading.
They are also focused on learning what works in supporting parental engagement and are working with researchers at UCL to test what works in supporting reading for pleasure at home. They also lead the Fair Education Alliance’s work on parental engagement and their forum which brings together organisations to network and share best practice around parental engagement.
Katy
0:11
Hi,
I'm
Katy
Ali
0:13
and
I'm
Ali
and
welcome
to
Masty
Book
Talk.
This
episode
is
one
of
a
series
we
are
doing
about
book-related
charities
and
what
they're
doing
in
the
national
year
of
reading.
Katy
0:23
And
in
this
episode,
we're
pleased
to
welcome
Tom
Harbour,
who's
the
CEO
of
Learning
with
Parents.
So
we're
very
happy
to
have
with
us
today
Tom
Harbour,
who
is
the
CEO
of
Learning
with
Parents.
And
we're
just
going
to
start
by
asking
what
do
Learning
with
Parents
do?
Tell
us
about
it.
Tom
0:44
Thanks,
Katy.
Thanks,
Ali.
It's
great
to
be
here.
So,
yes,
my
name's
Tom
Harbour,
CEO
of
Learning
with
Parents.
And
we
are
an
education
charity
that
aims
to
support
all
families
to
build
habits
of
talk,
play,
and
exploration.
We
do
this
by
partnering
with
schools
and
by
sharing
our
insights
across
the
sector.
Katy
1:07
And
how
do
parents
connect
with
the
schools?
How
does
it
work?
Tom
1:11
I
guess
we
know
that
every
parent
loves
their
child,
every
parent
wants
the
best
for
their
child,
but
also
that
some
parents
face
bigger
barriers
converting
their
good
intentions
into
the
sort
of
daily
habits
and
routines
in
how
they
interact
at
home.
And
so
we
work
through
schools
to
drive
that
or
support
them
to
drive
that
inclusive
parental
engagement
so
that
parents
are
given
everything
they
need
to
build
those
habits
of
a
really
rich
home
learning
environment
alongside
the
child's
schooling.
Ali
1:47
And
does
that
start
in
nursery
then
from
three
plus
up?
Tom
1:51
Yes.
So
our
starting
point
was
working
purely
with
primary
schools.
And
then
we
realized
that
there
were
some
families
who,
despite
the
school's
best
efforts,
were
literally
never
engaging,
never
coming
to
our
platform
to
look
at
the
resources
or
anything.
And
so
we
knew
we
had
to
go
earlier
in
that
parent's
journey
to
try
and
reach
those
families.
And
we
often
have
those
families
whose
eldest
child
is
just
starting
school
in
mind.
Because
at
that
point,
as
a
parent,
you
have
no
idea
what
it
means
to
be
a
parent
of
a
school-aged
child.
So
if
you're
ever
going
to
be
influenzable,
that
is
the
moment
where
you're
most
likely
to
be
influenza.
And
so
we
designed
off
the
back
of
a
great
project
called
Mask
Club.
We
designed
a
program
called
Ready
Teddy.
And
essentially
the
essence
of
that
is
that
parents
and
children,
before
their
child
start
school,
receive
a
physical
teddy
bear
from
school.
And
they
have
between,
say,
June
and
September
to
get
Teddy
ready
to
start
school.
So
Teddy
has
to
have
been
for
a
walk,
Teddy
has
to
have
put
his
shoes
on,
Teddy
has
to
have
brushed
his
teeth,
Teddy
has
to
have
read
a
book,
Teddy
has
a
bunch
of
experiences
for
the
parent
and
child
to
give
it,
all
easing
that
child
into
that
school
transition.
Ali
3:14
So
that
sort
of
school
readiness
piece
that
there's
been
a
lot
of
conversations
about,
haven't
there,
about
that
not
currently
happening
as
well
as
it
could
do.
Tom
3:22
Yeah,
absolutely.
And
it's
very
topical
in
that.
And
I
think
what
we've
seen
from
ReadyTeddy,
firstly,
is
that
parents
feel
more
comfortable
about
what
school
readiness
is
and
what
is
expected
of
their
child
when
they
start
school.
Secondly,
that
children
settle
faster
when
they're
then
in
the
classroom.
But
I
think
the
biggest
benefits
so
far
have
been
seen
on
the
teacher
side.
Typically,
if
you're
a
nursery
or
reception
teacher
on
1st
of
September,
you'd
have
a
list
of
names
and
you
wouldn't
really
necessarily
know
anything
about
those
children.
But
through
Ready
Teddy,
the
teachers
are
able
to
see
all
of
the
feedback
from
the
activities
that
the
families
have
played
because
all
of
our
stuff
uses
tech
to
allow
those
insights
into
what's
happening
at
home.
So
the
teachers
have
reported,
they
get
to
understand
children's
interests
and
hobbies.
They
also
understand
children's
fears
and
parents'
fears
about
starting
school.
But
then
the
thing
that's
most
important
for
us
probably
is
that
teachers
get
to
see
here
are
the
X
number
of
families
who
have
had
a
teddy
bear,
have
had
all
the
support,
and
have
done
absolutely
nothing
with
it.
And
so
then
those
are
the
families
who
on
1st
of
September,
we
would
encourage
them
to
go
and
learn
those
parents'
first
names
and
start
building
those
relationships
because
we
don't
know
why,
but
for
one
reason
or
another,
that
love
for
their
child
hasn't
been
converted
into
activities
with
Teddy.
And
can
the
teachers
approach
that
with
curiosity
and
start
trying
to
build
those
relationships
first
and
foremost?
Katy
4:51
Yeah.
So
in
just
practical
terms,
is
it
an
app
that
the
parents
get
and
that's
where
the
resources
are
as
well?
Or
how
does
that
work?
Tom
4:59
Yeah.
So
I
guess
taking
a
step
back,
parental
engagement
and
driving
parental
engagement
is
really
hard.
And
that
was
our
starting
point
10
years
ago,
saying
we
don't
know
how
to
do
this,
and
we
don't
really
think
anyone
knows
how
to
do
this
perfectly.
And
so
throughout
everything
we
do
as
a
charity,
it's
test
and
learn.
We're
not
a
charity
that'll
ever
tell
you,
yes,
we've
got
this
perfect
program
and
we
just
need
to
roll
this
out.
Actually,
we
think
printing
gauge
is
a
bit
too
hard
for
that.
We
have
tools
and
programs
that
allow
us
to
gain
huge
insights
into
those
interactions
that
are
happening
at
home
behind
closed
doors,
things
that
previously
have
been
really
hard
to
for
schools
to
see
anything
about.
And
then
from
that
data,
be
able
to
test
and
learn
and
try
different
things
out
as
a
school,
try
different
things
out
for
us
as
a
charity,
et
cetera.
And
last
year
we
had,
I
think,
over
one
and
a
half
million
interactions
that
parents
and
children
did
together
that
then
came
and
were
recorded
through
our
platform.
So
it's
a
huge
bank
of
potential
learning
from
that.
So,
yes,
from
a
parent
side,
they
receive
in
Ready
Teddy,
they
receive
their
physical
Teddy
bear.
And
then
they
have
a
sent
text
message
or
an
with
a
link
to
a
very
short
video,
always
of
children
of
the
same
age,
so
two,
four-year-olds
talking
about
taking
Teddy
to
the
park
or
whatever
it
might
be,
and
then
they
have
an
activity
to
click
below
it,
which
gives
them
a
little
bit
of
an
idea,
a
bit
of
a
structure
of
what
they
might
do
with
their
own
child.
We've
worked
very
hard
to
make
that
as
easy
as
paper,
is
the
sort
of
motto
we
go
for.
And
so
there
are
no
usernames
and
passwords.
There's
no
those
barriers
for
parents
are
reduced
as
much
as
possible
in
it
being
a
tech
platform.
Katy
6:46
Okay.
And
in
terms
of
because
obviously
we're
talking
about
the
National
Year
of
Reading,
how
does
it
work
about
reading
and
supporting
parents'
engagement
in
their
children's
reading?
What's
some
examples
of
how
you
use
it
for
that?
Tom
6:58
Yeah,
so
Red
Teddy's
a
sort
of
first
program
that
you
would
meet
as
a
parent
chronologically
through
us,
but
then
the
next
one
and
our
biggest
program
across
around
270
schools
is
our
reading
program.
And
I
always
think
of
it
as
okay,
now
start
reading
with
Teddy
or
teaching
Teddy
to
read
is
the
ideal
transition.
And
our
digital
reading
log,
as
it
started
out,
was
looking
to
replace
the
paper
reading
records
that
will
send
home
with
something
that
was
more
engaging,
more
useful,
started
as
a
foundation
of
building
those
strong
school
parent
relationships.
What
we
know,
I
think
we're
about
four
years
into
the
digital
reading
log
now.
We
know
that
it
saves
teachers
a
lot
of
time
and
allows
them
to
be
focusing
on
supporting
reading
in
class
or
supporting
those
relationships
with
parents
more
than
the
admin
of
the
paper.
We
know
it
helps
teachers
to
understand
the
reading
that's
going
on
at
home.
Instead
of
just
writing
a
comment
in
a
book,
parents
are
able
to
leave
photos,
written
comments,
but
also
audio
clips.
And
we've
had
a
lot
of
lovely
examples
from
teachers
telling
us
it's
something
like
five
or
six
times
we've
been
told
about
teachers
who
have
children
in
their
class
who
are
selectively
mute
and
they
haven't
heard
those
children's
voices,
but
then
they
read
at
home
with
mum,
and
mum
sticks
with
a
little
audio
clip
on,
and
suddenly
they
can
hear
that
child
flourishing
in
their
reading
at
home
in
their
safety
of
that
home
environment.
We
choose
audio
clips
over
video
because
it's
a
lot
less
presentational.
You
just
stick
the
phone.
I've
done
it
with
my
own
child,
you
just
stick
the
phone
on
the
table
and
they
carry
on
reading,
and
it
doesn't
get
in
the
way
that
videoing
does.
And
the
true
magic
of
the
audio
clips
is
you
start
to
build
an
audio
record
of
your
child's
reading
and
their
development.
And
so
if
you
imagine
a
reception
child
just
starting
out,
sounding
out
their
act
and
all
the
pain
that
comes
with
that,
the
parents
might
collect
that
as
a
clip.
And
then
six
months
later,
they're
having
other
clips
where
they're
actually
sounding
a
few
of
those
words
together
and
it's
starting
to
flow.
And
we
encourage
schools
to
use
their
parents'
evenings
to
go
back
and
play
the
early
clips
to
the
parents
and
play
the
recent
ones
and
say,
listen
to
that
progress
your
child
has
made.
That
progress
is
because
of
all
of
the
conversations
they've
had
with
you,
all
of
the
language
they've
heard
around
the
home,
all
of
the
games
that
you've
played
that
has
led
into
that
amazing
progress.
And
just
imagine
where
it
might
get
to
if
every
bedtime
you
were
reading
a
story
together
or
whatever
else
it
might
be
for
a
particular
family.
And
one
of
the
things
I
think
that
does
is
start
with
a
celebration
of
everything
that
parents
are
bringing
and
doing,
and
we
call
it
asset-based
parental
engagement.
And
that
for
me
is
a
really
nice
example
of
it,
where
you
can
say,
listen
to
this
progress
your
child
is
making
because
of
all
the
stuff
that
you're
doing
already
at
home.
Now
let's
think
together
where
we
could
take
them
next.
Ali
10:13
And
um
it's
interesting,
isn't
it?
Because
parents,
there's
a
lot
going
on
when
you're
parenting,
trying
to
work,
and
parent.
How
do
people
feel
is
the
response
you
get
that
it's
a
positive
experience
using
this
rather
than
feeling
like
big
brothers
checking
up
on
me?
Tom
10:31
Yeah,
it's
such
an
interesting
one
for
us.
I
think
we
started
off
in
a
slightly
easy
place
because
we're
replacing
the
paper.
And
in
some
ways,
if
you're
replacing
something,
it's
not
necessarily
that
great
with
something
that's
a
bit
better,
then
you're
making
a
positive
shift.
And
we
hear
that
from
parents
all
the
time.
We
had
one,
I
think
it
was
just
yesterday,
where
she
was
reporting
how
her
experience
of
reading
with
her
children,
with
her
two
eldest
children
and
then
with
her
youngest,
where
now
they
were
using
learning
with
parents
rather
than
the
paper
record
and
how
much
better
a
habit
they'd
got
into
and
more
of
a
celebration
of
the
reading
it
was
that
was
going
on
at
home
rather
than
the
sort
of
chore
of
filling
it
in
every
last
day.
But
I
think
our
aspirations
for
the
reading
log
are
much,
much
greater
than
that.
And
we've
started
with
this
sort
of
replacement
of
paper
and
making
it
work
really
well
with
schools.
And
we
know
schools
love
it
and
it's
serving
their
purposes,
but
we
really
want
to
help
parents
with
how
do
they
develop
that
love
of
reading?
How
do
they
have
a
rich
reading
diet
with
their
child
at
home?
How
are
they
exploring
books
in
a
range
of
different
ways
and
giving
them
ideas?
And
that's
very
core
to
all
of
our
programs,
is
giving
parents
these
ideas
of
activities
that
they
can
try
out
with
their
child,
some
of
which
their
child
will
just
cotton
onto
and
love
and
do
day
in,
day
out,
and
others
will
drift
away
and
get
lost.
And
that's
absolutely
Katy
11:54
that's
what
I
was
going
to
ask
you.
Was
it
does
it
go
beyond
the
phonics
and
the
reading
books
and
into
reading
for
pleasure
and
that
wider
encouragement
of
going
and
getting
books
from
the
library
or
reading
those
books
that
are
just
there
entirely
for
enjoyment?
Tom
12:08
Yeah.
So
for
obviously
it's
the
National
Year
of
Reading
now,
and
for
the
National
Year
of
Reading,
we
are
launching
a
partnership
with
UCL.
And
this
comes
out
of
a
lady
called
Professor
Rachel
Levy,
who
did
some
research
in
Liverpool
with
families
who
were
in
more
affluent
and
less
affluent
homes
in
the
region.
And
she
looked
at
what
was
driving
those
parents
to
read
in
the
evenings
or
whenever
with
their
children.
And
what
she
found
was
in
the
more
affluent
homes,
it
was
more
likely
to
be
this
sort
of
sense
of
obligation
and
a
feeling
that
reading
to
their
child
was
something
they
ought
to
do,
something
perhaps
their
peers
were
doing,
and
that
was
one
of
their
main
driving
motivations.
In
the
less
affluent
homes
where
that
she
went
into,
she
often
found
it
was
around
their
child's
enjoyment.
So
when
their
child
was
enjoying
that
reading
interaction,
then
they
would
keep
doing
it.
And
that
was
the
main
thing
that
was
driving
the
habit
in
those
households
more.
And
so
through
that,
she
became
really
focused
on
that
reading
for
pleasure
as
a
just
not
just
a
nice
to
have
because
of
all
the
benefits
of
reading
for
pleasure,
but
also
it's
fundamental
to
building
that
habit
in
the
communities
that
we're
most
keen
to
build
that
habit
in.
And
so
we
have
partnered
with
UCL.
As
I
said,
it
started
in
January,
and
the
focus
of
that
partnership
is
looking
at
how
can
the
reading
log
support
reading
for
pleasure?
And
there
are
three
strands
to
it.
The
first
one
is
we
have
40,000
families
currently
using
this
reading
log.
We
have
millions
of
feedbacks.
What
can
we
actually
learn
already
from
our
data
about
what
is
driving
that
joy?
When
a
parent's
getting
really
positive
comments,
what
sort
of
books
do
they
like,
what
time
of
day
is
best,
et
cetera,
et
cetera.
There's
lots
of
that
we
could
potentially
already
learn.
The
second
strand
of
it
is
how
could
we
learn
more
about
reading
for
pleasure?
And
so
actually
a
little
survey
question
or
thumbs
up
or
thumbs
down
or
some
specific
targeted
bits
that
we
could
add
that
meant
in
the
next
two
million
bits
of
feedback
that
we
get
and
so
on,
there
might
be
richer
data
around
Reading
for
Pleasure
in
there
to
help
inform
the
sector.
And
then
the
third
strand
is
and
how
could
we
improve
our
log
so
that
it
is
most
effectively
driving
that
reading
for
pleasure?
What
are
the
activities
that
we
could
push
parents
towards?
What
are
the
nudges,
the
changes
that
we
could
make
to
feel
like
we
were
having
a
bigger
impact
on
that
reading
for
pleasure
at
home?
Katy
14:46
Nice.
And
then
currently,
like
what
just
a
small
example
of
what
kind
of
activity
do
you
encourage
at
the
moment,
or
do
you
suggest
just
to
get
a
bit
of
a
sort
of
feel
for
it?
Tom
14:56
So
I
guess
I
will
maybe
first
answer
that
question
in
terms
of
the
reading
log
and
then
in
terms
of
our
other
programs
where
most
of
this
currently
happens.
So
in
terms
of
the
reading
log,
we
keep
it
quite
simple
because
it's
replacing
that
paper
diary
as
a
starting
point.
But
when
we
were
researching
it,
we
went
and
spoke
to
a
group
of
refugee
and
asylum
seekers
in
Coventry.
And
we
said
to
them,
what
would
you?
We
asked
them,
I
think,
a
couple
of
questions
around
reading.
What
do
you
most
want
to
read
with
your
child?
And
what
do
you
end
up
reading
most
with
your
child?
And
in
terms
of
what
they
wanted
to
read,
they
said
they
wanted
to
read
Bible
stories,
they
wanted
to
read
stories
from
the
home
culture,
and
they
wanted
to
pass
on
spoken
word
stories
that
had
been
passed
down
to
them
to
be
passed
down
to
their
children.
And
then
in
terms
of
what
did
they
read,
it
was,
to
be
overly
blunt,
the
sort
of
bif
chip
and
kipper
type
books
that
school
was
sending
home.
And
the
reason
was
school
sends
them
home.
And
so
if
school
sends
them
home,
they
must
be
particularly
important.
So
we
will
prioritize
that
reading
because
that's
what's
likely
to
be
best
for
our
child's
learning.
And
as
we
got
the
feedback,
we
were
just
thinking
no
school
would
be
wanting
to
drive
that
outcome
in
the
reading
that's
happening
with
those
families.
No
school
would
be
wanting
to
quash
the
stories
from
the
home
culture,
the
spoken
word
stories,
et
cetera,
that
they're
wanting
to
do
naturally,
but
somehow
through
the
messaging
that
we're
putting
out
there,
that
is
not
seeming
valued
to
them.
And
so
it
was
really
core
for
us
that
we
said,
tell
us
about
what
you're
reading
and
through
that
process
validated
all
these
different
types
of
reading.
So
are
you
reading
a
phonics
book
that
your
child
has
been
sent
home?
Or
are
you
reading
a
book
that
you've
got
around
the
house
or
something
else?
Or
are
you
actually
outside
and
you've
just
spotted
some
signs
and
you've
read
some
things,
or
have
you
listened
to
something
together,
or
have
you
sung
a
story,
or
have
you
done
a
and
and
so
on
and
so
forth?
And
we've
got
10,000
examples
of
kids
reading
song
lyrics
to
with
their
parents
and
thousands
of
recipes
and
all
this
sort
of
stuff,
and
just
that
rich
wealth
of
reading
that's
going
on
and
being
validated,
being
celebrated,
and
being
reported
back
to
the
teachers
to
all
this
richness.
So
that's
the
sort
of
first
thing
within
the
reading
log.
The
main
bit
in
terms
of,
I
guess,
we
have
three
programs.
So
we
have
ReadyTeddy,
we
have
the
reading
log,
and
then
we
have
our
sort
of
topics
and
activities,
and
that
covers
maths,
English,
and
money
skills.
And
through
all
of
those,
that's
where
we're
really
suggesting
activities
that
families
can
do
together.
So
to
take
a
maths
example,
your
child
is
learning
about
quarters,
you
get
a
one-minute
video
explaining
you
what
explain
to
you
what
quarters
are,
and
then
you
can
get
your
four
dolls
out
and
you
get
a
pile
of
pasta
and
you
have
a
little
picnic
where
you
share
that
pasta
out
physically
and
your
exploring
quarters
that
are
hands-on
way.
And
we
have
that
across,
we
have
some
1500
of
these
topics
covering
reception
TSX,
maths,
English,
and
and
money
skills
as
well.
And
so
we
have
a
lot
of
really
rich
reading
activities
there
in
the
English.
One
of
the
things,
like
I
say,
we
don't
talk
about
our
programs
being
just
fixed
programs
that
are
perfect.
One
of
the
things
that
we're
going
to
look
to
evolve
is
how
does
that
reading
and
those
English
activities,
how
do
they
best
sit
together?
How
do
we
bring
some
of
that
those
lovely
activities
to
pull
a
cover
over
and
you're
in
a
den
and
get
a
torch
on
your
phone
and
read
a
book
together,
or
bring
that
book
to
life
the
next
day
when
you're
out
walking
and
you
can
pretend
to
do
this
and
that?
Like,
how
do
we
get
those
activities
not
just
to
be
where
they
currently
are,
which
is
like
English
homework
type
activities,
but
to
be
part
of
that
reading
habit?
And
that's
one
of
the
challenges
for
us
over
the
coming
months
and
yeah.
Ali
18:48
It
is
yeah,
it's
interesting,
isn't
it?
Because
in
order
to
read
your
maths
on
about
how
to
do
a
quarter,
you
have
to
be
able
to
read
the
quarter
and
as
well.
So
it's
linking
all
those
things
together.
When
you're
cutting
your
cake
into
four,
that's
a
quarter
and
it's
maths,
it's
also
there's
a
recipe
for
the
cake
or
whatever
it
is
that
goes
all
around
it.
That's
really
nice.
That's
a
kind
of
nice
max
mash
up
together.
Tom
19:10
Yeah,
and
that's
I
guess
why
when
we
talked
about
right
at
the
beginning,
when
I
said
what
learning
about
parents
exist
for,
we
don't
exist
to
support
reading,
we
don't
exist
to
support
maths,
we
exist
to
support
habits
of
talk,
play,
and
exploration.
And
those
are
the
bits
of
those
are
the
interactions
that
come
out
of
reading
and
come
out
of
those
maths
games,
etc.,
that
we
care
about.
So
actually,
we're
compared
to
some
of
the
other
people
on
your
podcasts
and
things,
we're
a
lot
less
precious
about
the
physical
book
or
the
reading
itself.
For
us,
it's
a
lot
more
around
that
conversation,
that
time
that
the
parent
and
his
child
are
spending
together,
the
fact
that
the
child
is
sitting
on
the
parent's
lap
for
a
bit,
like
all
of
that
feels
like
it
leads
to
these
positive
outcomes,
even
if
we're
not
totally
certain
exactly
which
ones
those
will
be.
Katy
19:57
Lovely.
And
in
terms
of
people,
joining
you
or
finding
out
about
your
services,
you're
really
talking
to
schools,
aren't
you?
As
so
they're
the
people
who
introduce
you
to
parents.
How
should
schools
find
you?
How
do
they
get
involved?
Are
there
any
particular
things
you
want
to
say
that
you're
doing
to
that
schools
could
get
involved
in?
Tom
20:17
Yeah,
of
course.
So
we
have,
as
I
say,
around
270
partner
schools.
Most
of
our
schools
come
to
us
either
through
word
of
mouth
or
through
hearing
us
on
things
like
this
and
being
interested.
So
we
have
a
website,
learningwithparents.com,
and
they
can
go
there
and
have
a
look.
Now
is
so
we're
currently
just
the
beginning
of
May.
We're
getting
towards
the
end
of
the
ready
teddy
period.
So
if
schools
are
interested
in
that
full
ready
teddy
experience,
then
that
would
be
relatively
soon.
But
the
reading
log
typically
starts
in
September
because
schools
are
replacing
those
paper
reading
records
with
it
as
available,
as
are
the
full
programs.
We
also
get
a
lot
of
parents
who
recommend
schools
to
pick
it
up.
And
so
quite
a
few
of
our
schools
come
through
that
sort
of
parents'
championing
it
to
their
class
teacher
or
to
their
school.
And
that
is
an
option
if
you're
a
parent
that's
listening,
that's
uh
otherwise
unable
to
access
it.
Katy
21:08
Okay.
Yeah,
Ali
and
I
were
not
great
fans
of
the
reading
log,
were
we?
Ali
21:12
We
were
also
terrible
reading
log
people.
Katy
21:15
We
yes
we
weren't
very
good.
Tom
21:17
And
this
is
part
of
the
point,
right?
You
didn't
religiously
fill
in
the
I
have
no
idea
what
you
did,
but
let's
assume
you
didn't
religiously
fill
in
your
reading
log.
Ali
21:24
No,
let's
assume
that,
Tom.
Tom
21:25
But
let's
assume
that
you
read
with
your
child
or
you
spoke
to
your
child.
Katy
21:29
We
did.
We
just
hated
doing
the
logs.
You
did
it.
Tom
21:31
And
so
that's
why
we
don't
really
care
about
the
recording
of
the
reading.
We
care
about
the
forming
of
those
habits.
And
the
more
we
can
do
to
shift
that,
the
better,
from
our
point
of
view.
Katy
21:43
Yeah,
no,
we
were
definitely
better
at
the
reading
than
filling
in
the
logs.
Ali
22:00
So
you're
talking
about
um
reading
is
not
just
around
the
book,
it's
about
that
whole
experience
of
being
with
your
child.
And
what
does
that
look
like
for
you?
What
does
that
mean?
Tom
22:09
Yeah,
absolutely.
So
we
have
a
we
have
this
concept
of
a
reading
diet,
and
there
are
four
strands
that
we're
exploring.
We
think
it
changes
over
the
ages,
but
roughly
if
you
think
about
it
in
four
strands.
One
is
around
reading
aloud,
and
that
might
be
the
child
reading,
that
might
be
the
parent
reading,
it
might
be
the
two
together.
Another
strand
is
around
listening
together,
audiobooks
in
cars
or
audiobooks,
wherever,
listening
to
stories
if
you
go
to
a
library
and
someone
else
is
reading,
but
that
joint
listening
and
then
talking
around
it,
reading
independently
from
one
another,
that
might
be
the
child
is
just
looking
at
pictures.
Whilst
we've
grown
up
is
reading
a
real
book.
National
Literature
Trust
have
this
lovely
concept,
or
at
least
were
the
ones
that
shared
with
me,
a
lovely
concept
of
snuggle
reads,
where
the
parent
has
a
book,
the
child
has
a
book,
they
pull
a
blanket
over
themselves
and
just
reading
together
whilst
having
a
snuggle
on
the
sofa.
And
then
a
fourth
strand
around
reading
in
the
real
world,
the
signs,
the
things
that
you're
wanting
to
do
that
reading
is
unlocking.
And
so
that's
our
sort
of
reading
diet
that
we
think
of.
And
we
would
love
to
expose
parents
and
children
to
as
many
of
parts
of
that
diet
as
is
possible
over
the
years.
Katy
23:25
Yeah,
it's
nice.
It's
a
nice
thinking
about
reading
in
in
all
of
those
different
contexts.
And
it's
that
reading
doesn't
have
to
just
be
sitting
there
quietly,
silently,
or
not
reading
a
book.
It
could
be
other
things.
And
presumably
that
includes
football
magazines
or
all
of
the
the
sort
of
that
whole
whatever
interests
you
recipes
you've
already
mentioned.
Tom
23:47
That
works
for
you.
And
we
have
a
saying
that
parents
aren't
teachers.
Teachers
are
expert
in
the
curriculum,
but
parents
are
expert
in
their
child.
And
so
whatever
the
parent
feels
is
best
for
that
child,
and
that
might
be
following
their
interests.
Also,
just
opening
up
and
giving
permission
for
reading
in
their
home
language,
it's
so
commonly
shared
but
rarely
celebrated
in
that
as
much
as
we
would
like.
So
things
like
that
where
the
parent
has
that
agency
to
tailor
it
for
their
child
who
they
know
and
love
better
than
anyone
else
in
the
world
does.
Katy
24:19
Lovely.
And
so
then
just
finally
about
the
National
Year
of
Reading.
What
are
your
hopes
for
the
National
Year
of
Reading?
Tom
24:25
I
think
if
we
could,
as
learning
with
parents,
give
the
National
Year
of
Reading
a
an
ambition,
it
would
be
every
bedtime,
a
bedtime
story.
And
I
think
that
because
bedtime
stories
are
have
such
a
potential
to
be
a
win-win.
They
are
that
special
time
with
the
parent
and
child
together.
They
are
happening
every
single
day.
And
so
if
you're
looking
to
build
reading
as
a
habit
every
day,
it's
nice
to
have
that
structure
around
it.
And
it's
slightly
less
chaotic
than
some
of
the
other
points
of
our
parenting
lives.
But
also
reading
to
with
a
child
slows,
I'm
not
gonna
go
into
the
biology
of
it
or
that
I
know
the
biology
of
it,
but
slows
it
down.
You're
not
having
that
screen
that's
energizing
you
and
going
to
make
bedtime
harder,
it
can
make
that
bedtime
process
easier,
and
that
itself
is
a
win
for
the
parent.
And
so
if
we
can
support
that
every
bedtime
to
be
a
bedtime
story,
then
I
feel
like
that
would
be
a
huge
shift
in
the
reality
of
what's
happening
in
many
homes
up
and
down
the
country
and
in
the
outcomes
for
the
young
people
that
we
all
care
so
much
about.
Katy
25:39
Yeah.
I
would
say,
having
now
sprouted
two
fully
fledged
adults,
that
some
of
my
happiest
memories
are
definitely
reading
with
them
when
they
were
little.
And
not
so
little,
because
I
persevered
longer
than
perhaps
they
might
have
liked.
But
yeah,
but
definitely
those
happiest
moments
and
those
nicest
moments
and
amongst
the
chaos,
you
definitely
get
in
that
those
sitting
down
and
reading
at
the
end
of
the
day.
So
brilliant.
Thank
you.
Cool,
thank
you
very
much.
Ali
26:06
Thanks,
Tom.
Tom
26:06
Thanks
so
much.