Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies is encouraging schools and parents in his constituency to “Turn on the Subtitles” to improve literacy.
James joins celebrities including Stephen Fry, Sir Lenny Henry, Sandi Toksvig, Phillip Schofield and Rachel Riley in teaming up with the campaign group ‘Turn on the Subtitles’, who are raising awareness amongst parents that turning on the subtitles for their children can improve their literacy - in many cases, dramatically.
The group are also encouraging broadcasters and content providers to turn on the subtitles by default for TV programmes aimed exclusively at the 6-10 age bracket.
James said:
“COVID has meant that literacy levels for some children have stalled, or even gone backwards. There are however simple measures we can all take to improve the situation.
"Turning on subtitles for children’s TV is such an easy and effective way of helping children’s literacy, and I’m very happy to be supporting the #TurnOnTheSubtitles campaign in the hope of making a real difference to children in the Vale of Clwyd.
“Research has found that turning on the subtitles while children are watching television can double the chances of a child becoming good at reading.
“I know that many parents across the Vale of Clwyd are concerned because of the amount of ‘in the classroom’ teaching our children have missed out on due to the pandemic, and this simple bit of advice could really help those who have fallen behind to catch up, and improve the life chances of all our children.
“I therefore encourage schools, parents and grandparents to turn on the subtitles, and turn TV time into reading time.”
More information and details on the campaign, and the research showing that using subtitles can really improve literacy, can be found at www.turnonthesubtitles.org.
