Liberal National Party launch 1000 books before school initiative in Queensland

Children in the Queensland town of Maryborough will be “prepared for a lifetime of learning” through a Liberal National Party (LNP) initiative aimed at encouraging a love of reading and boosting language skills.

LNP Leader Deb Frecklington joined the LNP’s Candidate for Maryborough Denis Chapman earlier this week to announce the 1000 Books Before School initiative.

The LNP will invest $100,000 in libraries and daycares across the Fraser Coast region to support parents, grandparents and carers to read 1000 books with their children before they begin school.

“Reading is one of the foundation skills kids need to ensure they can succeed at school,” Ms Frecklington said, outlining the importance of the initiative. 

The program is based on the premise that reading 1000 books with children before they enter the classroom will help prepare them for the lifetime of learning that lies ahead, and builds on the understanding that the brain develops faster in the first five years than at any other stage.

Complimenting the current LNP trial of phonics screening in Year 1 across 100 schools to boost literacy and ensure students don’t fall behind, the 1000 Books Before School program is part of a concerted effort to address the declining NAPLAN results in Maryborough, which have seen literacy assessments showing declines in all but one local state school in the last five years.

“We need to try new approaches because business as usual isn’t working” Ms Frecklington said.

The campaign will place resources into local libraries in support of the program, bringing families together and supporting a whole of community approach to building vocabulary and language skills in early childhood that are essential for learning to read, and hopes to encourage cognitive development – not just in reading but other forms of communication as well.

For more information about the 1000 books before school initiative, please see here.