LOCKDOWN has tested Black Country parents’ own teaching skills like never before – but now there’s help.

A Hungry Little Minds Black Country digital hub has been launched to help families get families chatting, playing and reading together .

The National Literacy Trust scheme helps parents turn everyday activities into chances to build their child’s language skills.

Research has found that 1 in 2 parents would like more digital resources to help their child’s literacy at home].

The campaign, funded by the Department for Education, is being rolled out locally across 12 areas of the country, including the Black Country.

Black Country Hungry Little Minds Project Manager, Gaganpreet Kaur Basra hosted a Facebook Live event where local storyteller Merrick Durling read, Itchy Bear by Neil Griffiths.

Over the next six months the campaign will continue to share activities, events, news and videos around the themes of chat, play and read on Facebook.

The Black Country early years hubs will also partner with early years settings, food banks, women’s refuges and more local organisations to provide books and physical home learning packs, to families with children under five who have been most seriously affected by COVID-19.

For more information on the Hungry Littles Minds campaign in the Black Country, visit https://www.facebook.com/HungryLittleMindsBlackCountry/

For more simple tips and activities that parents can do to support their children’s literacy at home, visit the national Hungry Little Minds website (https://hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk/) or the National Literacy Trust’s Words for Life website (https://wordsforlife.org.uk/).