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Educators in the school and university sectors will soon complete a very busy year and will be looking ahead to a break to relax and restore over the summer. Families are super busy as well and, in that refresh, and renewal spirit, we have selected our theme for this newsletter which is encompassed by two of our touchstones: 

Connecting to the Touchstones

Touchstone 3 - Storytelling, reading, viewing and writing are pleasure and power.

They allow us to actively participate in the real world, understand others’ perspectives and to imagine and create alternative worlds. These purposes should be at the heart of teaching children and young people to tell stories, read and write. Teachers and parents can support learners to speak confidently, read and write in response to what is happening in their community and their wider world. Engagement and motivation improve when learning is relevant, rigorous and authentic and ideas and knowledge are connected across content areas. Engagement and motivation are essential for deep learning.

Touchstone 12 - When parents and carers enjoy talking with and reading to and with their children, everyone benefits.

Language and literacy skills established during early childhood are critical for later school success. Parents and caregivers are an important part of their child’s learning in those early years. The best foundation for children who start school speaking a language other than English is to develop literacy in that language and build on the special learning resources they bring to school, including their storytelling, home literacy practices and other cultural knowledge and experiences. Parents need to maintain their interest in their children’s reading and writing all through their school years. Learning to read and write is an ongoing process that doesn’t end when home reading books stop coming home. Parents need to continue talking with their children and young adults about what they are reading and writing at school.

Click here to find out more about the Foundation's Touchstones.

FFLL has curated the following resources around this newsletter’s focus:

For school leaders, teachers and literacy coaches

• A great School Success Story focussing on Reading
• A PETAA article written by Noella Mackenzie will support teachers with text selection

For families

• Great booklists, articles and recommended book websites 
•  Importance of reading aloud to your kids

Past featured articles and resources can be accessed in the newsletter archive.

Thank you all for your support for FFLL in 2025 and we look forward to connecting with you in 2026.

Yours in literacy,

The Executive and General Committees
Foundation for Learning and Literacy