Home Schooling Help for Dual Language Households

English-speaking parents struggling to get to grips with home-education for children who attend Welsh language schools will be interested to hear of a new free resource designed to support literacy and enjoyment of reading.

The Pont Project is delivered through a specially created app for smart phones and tablets. This makes it possible for mixed language households to have fun together, exploring short folk tales from Wales and Italy, featuring a cast of witches, giants and even the devil himself.

The project is the result of a collaboration between Welsh and Italian cultural organisations celebrating their bilingual heritage. The resources are also available in Italian and Occitan (an indigenous language still spoken in Northern Italy and in parts of France and Spain).

Kate Strudwick, Creative Director of Valleys-based community arts organisation Head4Arts explained:

“The project initially involved Ysgol y Lawnt and Upper Rhymney primary schools in Caerphilly and took place earlier this year, with Italian schools joining in the autumn. However, with the current Coronavirus lockdown it seems like a good idea to open out the project, so that other young people and families can benefit”.

The texts are all contained within the app, but there are other ways to access the material, including through performances recorded by Welsh storyteller, Tamar Eluned Williams.

The project is supported by Arts Council of Wales and Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo.

Full details of how to get involved can be accessed through Head4Arts (info@head4arts.org.uk)