Author: Steven Wray

National Play Day – 6th August

East Lothian Play Association is keen to promote inclusive play for all ages and is pleased to invite organisations to apply for a small one-off grant to help develop play activities during the week of National Play Day on 6th August 2014. Playday is the national day for play in the UK, traditionally held on the first Wednesday in August. For more information about Playday check out their website http://www.playday.org.uk/about-playday.aspx

 To help you celebrate Playday ELPA has grants available of up to a max. £200 for each of the cluster areas in East Lothian i.e. Dunbar, Haddington, Musselburgh, Prestonpans, Tranent and North Berwick.

 To apply for the Playday grants please write a short statement including details of your

  • Organisation
  • Contact details – name, address, tel no/ email address
  • Brief summary of when and how you intend to use the funding to celebrate Playday
  • How the Play activity will benefit children:
  • How much you are applying for:
  • Organisation’s bank details:

 Applications to be submitted to Evelyn Tait etait@eastlothian.gov.uk by Friday 16th May 2014. Please note: Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

ELPA funding flyer National Play Day 2014 (2)

Bookbug for the home

Bookbug for the Home Training 

Who’s it for?

Bookbug Session for the Home training is suitable for professionals already working with families in their homes. These professionals may include members of the public health nursing teams, family support workers, early years social workers and other outreach workers.

What does the training involve?

Bookbug Session for the Home training will be provided by Scottish Book Trust’s Early Years trainers. This training will provide professionals with the knowledge, tools and resources to incorporate the core principals of Bookbug sessions into their home visits. This training focuses on how to sensitively and practically encourage parents and carers to engage with children in the home.  At the end of the course, participants will be able to:  

  • Confidently deliver Bookbug Sessions in the homes of vulnerable families
  • Define the attitudes and values towards talking and reading, and the barriers that exist for children and parents
  • Illustrate key recommendations and benefits of talking and reading through the use of Bookbug Sessions in the home for families
  • Identify appropriate additional services and resources for families when required

 Length of Training

Training takes place over two separate training sessions. Participants are required to attend both sessions. The first session lasts for three hours and provides the trainee with all of the knowledge and tools they will need to try their first Bookbug Session in a family’s home. The second training session takes place 4-6 weeks after the first and lasts for about 90 minutes. At this session the trainees can share their experiences of using their training and ain advice from their trainer.

Onward Commitments               Following completion of the training, we ask that each trainee deliver Bookbug Sessions in the home of at least 3 families within 3 months.

Upcoming training in East Lothian

Set 1

Part 1: Tuesday 15th October – 14:00 to 17:00

Part 2 (Shared Practice Lunch): Thursday 14th November – 12:30 to 14:00  

To sign up click on the following link or copy & paste it into your browser: https://bookbughomeeastlothian1.eventbrite.co.uk and enter the password bookbug 

Set 2

Part 1: Thursday 31st October – 10:00 to 13:00

Part 2 (Shared Practice Lunch): Tuesday 3rd December – 12:30 to 14:00

To sign up click on the following link or copy & paste it into your browser: https://bookbughomeeastlothian2.eventbrite.co.uk and enter the password bookbug 

Venue for both: Saltire Rooms 1&2, John Muir House, Haddington, EH41 3HA

For more information, please contact Kirsty.Sinclair@scottishbooktrust.com or phone 0131 524 0179.

Tots Tunes & Tales

“TOTS, TUNES AND TALES”    –    Training Opportunity

1.30pm – 3.30pm Friday 15th November 2013 in the Buffet Room Townhouse Haddington

“Tots, Tunes and Tales” was an innovative, parent led and developed project for parents and their children (0-3 years) created at Whitecraig Community Centre last summer. The project’s aim was to communicate the positive benefits of shared reading and music for children in their early years through storytelling, songs, rhymes, music games and activities.

The project was enthusiastically received by parents and children alike, and has led to the development of a “Tots, Tunes and Tales” resource pack in order to share the material and general approach developed in the pilot with other practitioners.

In this session, Maureen Black and David Trouton will introduce the pack and demonstrate the resource material, as well as linking the activities to current evidence-based research into the significance of music and stories in early years development.

Flyer 131115 (2)