Bookbug in the Home-Evaluation

Blake Stevenson and consultant Dr Suzanne Zeedyk recently undertook a year- long evaluation of the Bookbug for the Home training, which aims to expand the reach of the Bookbug programme (this encourages families to read with their children from a young age) to vulnerable families and those living in deprived areas. Professionals who work in families’ homes, such as social workers, are provided with the knowledge and resources to introduce the principles of Bookbug Sessions – talking, singing, cuddling and book sharing. 1,145 professionals have been trained over the last two years and 800 more from 8 local authorities in Scotland are signed up to take part this year.There was a noted impact on professionals who undertook the training, with 99% saying it was relevant to their role and a good use of their time and 71% stating that it had positively impacted on their professional practice.

Researchers found that parents who took part in Bookbug for the Home had developed closer bonds with their children, and felt more equipped to play, interact and read with them, with the number of people reading daily with their children increasing from 41% to 78%, and the number of people singing or rhyming daily with their children increasing from 53% to 78%. This in turn has had a beneficial effect on children’s confidence, social skills, speech and language development and positively impacted on parent and child attachment, with 98% of the professionals who undertook the training noticing a positive impact on the families involved in the programme. To read more about this positive evaluation and to learn more about the Bookbug for the Home programme please see link below.