Ready Steady Talk pre-school activity pack
"The launch of the Openreach 'First Mile' programme represented Openreach's first independent venture into Corporate Social Responsibility. It was aimed at supporting the development of a more inclusive society by improving communication skills among all pre-school children.
Communication is a vital life skill, but according to recent reports many children starting school lack even the most basic communications skills. In Openreach we have the network, the connections and the physical presence that puts us in touch with families all across the UK. It makes us the ideal partner to help I CAN reach the friends and families of pre-school children all over the country. By supporting the programme each of us has the chance to change a child's future for the better". Liv Garfield, Chief Executive, Openreach
Our sponsorship and relationship with I CAN enables us to:
The programme also provides a central focus for fundraising activities of Openreach employees and encourages them to actively support the programme.
"Openreach aligns greatly with the work I CAN is doing. By working together, Openreach and I CAN have an opportunity to help more parents and carers equip pre-school children with the fundamental communication skills they need from their first day at school right through to the workplace and beyond.
By combining our expertise, resources, networks and channels, we will be able to reach out to more families and help make a real difference to the future of all children in the UK." Keith Sullivan, Openreach Marketing
As part of the programme, Openreach supports the nationwide Chatterbox Challenge event each year. We work together to produce and distribute the Chatter Matters DVD resource, and in 2007/8 to produce and distribute the Ready, Steady, Talk activity pack, both designed to help parents, grandparents and other carers give children the best possible start in life.
The DVD pack is designed to help parents and carers understand a child’s typical development pattern, give advice on what to do if they are worried and provide simple information that will help them improve communication skill development by making the everyday interactions with a child really count.
The DVD pack includes:
More information about the DVD and how to order individual copies can be found on the I CAN website here.
“The DVD pack draws on the experience of early years professionals (and those with hands on experience) to show parents, siblings and grandparents how to make the most of everyday opportunities such as feeding, bathing and changing times to nurture the development of young children’s communication skills”. Keith Sullivan, Openreach Marketing.
The annual Chatterbox Challenge is a fun way to engage pre-school children, early years professionals and families, to highlight the importance of communication development. Through these events young children develop their own speech and language skills while raising money for those who struggle to communicate.
Chatterbox Challenge events usually take place in February each year - and are primarily hosted by local nurseries, Early Learning Centres and pre-school groups. Timing doesn't really matter though and you could even hold your own 'family' version of the event at home.
How to get your kids involved:
Anyone can host a Chatterbox Challenge event (you don’t have to run a nursery or play group). Simply visit www.chatterboxchallenge.co.uk to find out more.
Following the success of the Chatters Matters DVD, Openreach and I CAN launched a new Chatter Matters activity pack.
Called Ready, Steady, Talk, the packs contains a wide range of activities for children between two and three years old. Written by I CAN’s speech and language specialists, it includes advice for parents and carers and aims to prepare children for pre-school by focussing on developing listening and social skills.
The pack became available early 2008 and is proving to be immensely popular amongst Openreach employees who have been distributing it to friends, family and nurseries around the country. So much so that repeat orders are already flooding in and we are actively encouraging engineers to distribute to end-users who have pre-school children.
The packs are free to order – I CAN just ask that you pay postage and packaging.
To order your copy visit the I CAN website
In March 2007 we launched a campaign that challenged the nation to build a mile long wall of words and unlock a £50,000 donation from Openreach to I CAN, the children's communication charity. Our target was reached in just seven days and the Wall of Words has since been 'Highly Commended' in the Third Sector Excellent Awards, 'Best use of Digital Media' category.
The challenge is now over, but you can still view the wall and see the nations favourite words at www.wallofwords.co.uk.
Communication is an essential life skill and the words and sounds of nursery rhymes are a fantastic way for children to develop their speech and language.
In April 2008 the search was on for the nation's favourite nursery rhyme. More than 50,000 votes were registered by 30th April which triggered a donation £50,000 from Openreach to I CAN , the children's communication charity. Rhyme Stars followed on from the success of the 2007 Wall of Words in which we challenged the nation to submit 50,000 words to trigger an identical donation to I CAN.
