Last week Stephen Metcalfe,
local MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, wrote to Basildon Council asking
them to support a fantastic initiative managed by the Booktrust known as the
Letter Box Club.
The programme provides
enjoyable educational support for children in the care system aged between 7
and 13. Each child enrolled by their participating local authority is sent a
parcel of books, maths activities, stationary, and other materials once every
month for six months from May to October.
Over the six-month period
the parcels will also include other items such as a library joining card or
information about how to join a library, name plates, bookmarks and letters
from a selection of children’s authors.
Mr Metcalfe commented:
“Research shows that children in care underachieve in education. We should be
doing everything possible to change this. The Letter Box Club provides a fun,
personal, and exciting means of doing so and have thus far shown it to have a
demonstrable impact, helping many children make significant improvements in
their standardised score in reading.”
Over 121 local authorities
signed up for the 2013 scheme and it is hoped that more will follow suit in
2014.
Mr Metcalfe added: “I
would urge both Basildon and Thurrock Council to sign up for next year’s
programme so that more children in the local area can benefit from this
fantastic opportunity.”
The Letter Box Club is also
available for children placed for adoption and for post-adoption support. If you are an adoptive parent and you think your child
would benefit from receiving the parcels then please contact the Letter Box Club on 020 8516 2993. Alternatively, for
further general information please see: http://www.letterboxclub.org.uk/.
