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Premier League Primary Stars
Premier League supports County in the Community to give free books to local primary school pupils
To mark World Book Day 2024 (Thursday 7 March), the Premier League will be giving away more than 50,000 free books to children across England and Wales through its Premier League Primary Stars education programme.
Since Premier League Primary Stars began in 2017, more than 300,000 free books have been gifted to young people with an estimated value of £2.4million, thanks to the education programme’s partnership with the National Literacy Trust.
Launched in 2017 and available to every primary school in England and Wales, Premier League Primary Stars uses the appeal of football to help children to be active and develop essential life skills.
County in the Community is one of 100 professional football club community organisations across England and Wales to give away the free books to local primary schools, with 200 books being gifted to local primary schools in across Newport as part of their Premier League Primary Stars delivery.
Deiniol Parselle, School Sports Co-ordinator at County in the Community said “World Book Day is an important, nationwide celebration, which allows our club community organisation to showcase the work we are doing every week in our partner schools. As part of our Premier League Primary Stars programme, the Premier League Reading Stars gives our staff the tools to develop the literacy skills of pupils who may struggle in the classroom environment through weekly interventions using resources created from the National Literacy Trust and Premier League Primary Stars partnership.”
World Book Day promotes reading for pleasure, offering every child and young person the opportunity to have a book of their own as according to National Literacy Trust research, children who own their own books are much more likely to enjoy reading, read daily and read to relax.
National Literacy Trust research also found that one in eight children from disadvantaged backgrounds said they did not own a single book of their own at home, and the book ownership gap between them and more affluent peers is the largest seen in a decade.
To create more opportunities for pupils to experience the joy of reading on World Book Day itself, Premier League Primary Stars and the National Literacy Trust will host a free, fun-filled live online event, hosted by a top presenter and featuring the football school author, Ben Lyttleton.
The Great Big 2024 Footy & Booky Quiz literacytrust.org.uk/world-book-day-live will promote reading, engage pupils in reading activities and showcase reading role models through the medium of football.
Premier League Charitable Fund Chief Executive, Ruth Shaw OBE, said: “Since 2017, more than a quarter of a million children across England and Wales have received a free book thanks to Premier League Primary Stars and the National Literacy Trust. We know how important reading for pleasure is for developing confidence and positive mental health, and through the Premier League’s primary school education programme we want to continue to support children across the country to enjoy the many benefits that reading can bring.”
Jim Sells, Sport and Literacy Programme Manager at the National Literacy Trust, said: “World Book Day® celebrates reading for pleasure for everyone, which is central to our vision at the National Literacy Trust. We‘ve seen firsthand how choosing a book of their own can inspire a child’s love of reading, give them confidence, and support them at school, so we are delighted to be able to provide 45,000 free books directly to schools, thanks to our generous partners at World Book Day® and our-long term partners at the Premier League Charitable Fund.
“We know that some children and families may struggle to access and enjoy World Book Day due to financial and social barriers. Our goal is to engage those who need support through inclusive activities, like our free live quiz and wide-scale book donations, inspiring a life-long love of books and reading, supporting literacy skills, and empowering children and young people with the words to shape their own futures.”
Currently, 104 professional football clubs from across the leagues run in-classroom Premier League Primary Stars sessions in local partner schools. More than 68,000 teachers have signed up to access free online national curriculum-linked resources, to date.
The total Premier League investment into Premier League Primary Stars, via the Premier League Charitable Fund, is £61.9million, to date.
For more information, please visit Premier League Primary Stars
10 year anniversary Ferrero's Joy of Moving Programme
County in the Community is proud to celebrate 10 years of delivery across England and Wales of the Ferrero social responsibility programme, Joy of moving.
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As the impactful programme enters its milestone 10th year, Joy of moving has inspired over 550,000 children to get moving through play and delivered over 2.5 million hours of learning in hundreds of schools.
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With more than 70,000 children set to benefit from the programme this academic year, Joy of moving is based on a unique methodology, developed by Ferrero alongside independent experts, that encourages children to get active using play as the foundation, whilst helping them to develop key skills, such as motor coordination, creativity, and social skills.
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In the UK, the unbranded Joy of moving programme consists of two elements: the Move & Learn project and the Joy of moving Festivals, delivered in schools through the EFL Trust’s network of Club Community Organisations, which we’re proud to be a part of.
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Charlie Cayton, Director of Corporate Affairs and Communications at Ferrero UK, said: “We are incredibly proud to be celebrating ten years of our Joy of moving social responsibility programme.
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“The programme, delivered by our amazing partner and their fantastic Club Community Organisations, inspires children to get moving while playing and having fun. We know that this approach is key to get children engaged and I’m delighted to be able to say that together we have been able to reach over half a million children since our initiative began.
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“Joy of moving has gone from strength to strength over the past decade and we’re excited for the programme to continue its success as we look ahead to the future.”
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Adrian Bradley, Head of Healthier Communities at the EFL Trust added: More than half (53 per cent) of children do not meet the Chief Medical Officer guidelines of taking part in sport and physical activity for at least 60 minutes every day, according to Sport England findings*.
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“Our Club Community Organisations (CCOs) are at the heart of their communities and have been integral in the development and delivery of the Joy of moving programme designed to inspire active lifestyles in children, teaching children how to enjoy moving through play, and to help them develop positive habits for adulthood.”
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To learn more about the Joy of moving programme visit:
COUNTY IN THE COMMUNITY (NEWPORT COUNTY AFC) X NET WORLD SPORTS PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
County in the Community and Net World Sports have formed a partnership ahead of the 2022/23 season. The partnership will see Net World provide sport and football equipment to be used across our half term soccer camps in years to come. The provision of equipment included portable goals, footballs, cones, bibs and dodgeball equipment.
County in the Community look forward to making use of this equipment over the coming half terms. This partnership will only enhance the provision and what we can offer to the young people who are attending!
Keep an eye out across our socials and @networldsports for some images of it in action.
