Speeches by Paffey.

“Is that the key model for how you see that working?”

“That is really helpful. There have been calls for children to be issued with library cards at birth. A simple yes or no: is that something that you support? From your perspective, what is the one thing that would be needed to make that effective?”

“That is really helpful. There have been calls for children to be issued with library cards at birth. A simple yes or no: is that something that you support? From your perspective, what is the one thing that would be needed to make that effective?”

“Is that the key model for how you see that working?”

“Victoria, this is a question for you. School libraries obviously have a key role in encouraging in children a love of reading for pleasure. From your perspective, what are the challenges that school libraries face in achieving more?”

“That gives us a good overview.”

“You mentioned the early years and the Best Start family hubs, so it would be good to understand what you think they should do to ensure that reading for pleasure is built into their work from the earliest stage. I do not mind who answers the question first.”

“Just out of interest, is that video feedback a pilot or is it quite well established?”

“You have set out an incredibly compelling case for the benefits of reading for pleasure. Of course, much of that depends on the key role of teachers. Some of the evidence that has been submitted to us talks about how some teachers lack knowledge of current children’s literature, and many claim not to be familiar with e…”

“Just out of interest, is that video feedback a pilot or is it quite well established?”

“You have set out an incredibly compelling case for the benefits of reading for pleasure. Of course, much of that depends on the key role of teachers. Some of the evidence that has been submitted to us talks about how some teachers lack knowledge of current children’s literature, and many claim not to be familiar with e…”

“You mentioned the early years and the Best Start family hubs, so it would be good to understand what you think they should do to ensure that reading for pleasure is built into their work from the earliest stage. I do not mind who answers the question first.”

“Victoria, this is a question for you. School libraries obviously have a key role in encouraging in children a love of reading for pleasure. From your perspective, what are the challenges that school libraries face in achieving more?”

“That gives us a good overview.”

“On the issue of effectiveness, I have a quick supplementary for Andy. The MRF put out your response to the first few months of the Australia ban. Your conclusion was that the Australian social media ban is not effective. Is that a hasty conclusion to come to after 92 days? Isn’t it a matter of perspective? Your own fig…”

“What is the ideal role for schools in all of that? You mentioned the contextual factors of parental use, as well as early intervention and education from Best Start family hubs and so on. What do you see as the optimum role for schools in that jigsaw of support?”

“The Government have published some guidance on screentime for children under the age of five. I just wanted to get a sense of how necessary you think that is and what impact it will have on children, particularly when they start school.”

“Tom, is there anything different that you would put top of the list?”

“Darren, you mentioned that there is talk of guidance for older children—for over-fives. What would be at the top of your list for what should be included in guidance for that phase of life?”

“We might come back to some of that.”