Minister for School Education and Early Childhood Peter Garrett along with early childhood expert Professor Frank Oberklaid launched the Let’s Read Early Literacy Campaign.
“The Gillard Government knows how important it is to give young kids the gift of reading at an early age, which is why we’ve provided $1 million in funding for the Let’s Read campaign,” Minister Garrett said.
Minister Garrett explained that Let’s Read was originally developed by the Centre for Community Child Health at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute partnered with The Smith Family to implement Let’s Read across Australia. Since 2005 the program has been delivered in 104 communities across Australia with over 200,000 children participating.
“It’s our goal that by 2025, our school system will be in the top five in the world and that every Australian child gets a great education, no matter where they live or the school they attend.” Minister Garrett commented.