The BookBench will be on loan from Mill Hill Primary School and is one of 20 which have been decorated by schools and community groups across the city as part of the Stoke Reads BookBench scheme.
The reading sessions will be hosted by Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s Arts for Health team who will be inviting patients, carers, visitors and staff to join in story and poetry readings at 11am and 1pm.
Jessica Kent , Arts for Health Lead said “We are really pleased to have been given the opportunity to host a BookBench, and love the fact that it features Paddington Bear. We will be sharing a Paddington story and inviting people to listen in and even share in the reading aloud if they would like to. Reading for Wellbeing offers a time for people to come together for a social activity, and also a chance to be heard and have their say. People can talk about their reading experiences, likes and dislikes and a range of conversation ensues!”
About Reading for Wellbeing: Reading for Wellbeing is an intervention which is delivered across the Trust. It follows a Reader Organisation approach https://www.thereader.org.uk/ and also that of The Hearth Centre, Birmingham http://thehearthcentre.org.uk/155-2/ but adapted it to suit health settings.
About the Stoke Reads BookBenches: The Stoke-on-Trent BookBench project builds on similar schemes in London and elsewhere and is supported by The National Literacy Trust and the Stoke Reads campaign. Twenty BookBenches have been decorated by schools and community groups across the city with designs inspired by books and reading. They are located at cultural and leisure venues across the city until 30 June - can you spot them all? https://literacytrust.org.uk/communities/stoke/
About Arts for Health: Arts for Health offer opportunities for service users of Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to engage with the arts and music and support enhancement projects across the Trust.