Reading is Caring supports communities around people living with dementia through shared reading

“It can be easy to focus on what you can get from a relationship but learning who’s out there and the needs they meet is valuable."

Reading is Caring is an established, free course developed and delivered by Scottish Book Trust that supports care partners, of people living with dementia, to learn personalised shared reading skills and techniques. The workshops are delivered online or in person and are completely free and tailored to every individual. Reading is Caring work with the carer and the person they care for, to learn about their needs and reading preferences and interests.

The programme prioritises the care partners and the people they care for by working closely with their community to ensure that their needs are met. To do this successfully, they have built relationships with local carer support groups, care homes, professional services, and community programmes to hold information sessions and share materials about Reading is Caring. These community relationships have even provided extra support such as use of their venue so that care partners are in familiar, local spaces if they want to attend in person. The team behind the project shared that, “Pairing with already trusted services and community groups who can advocate for the impact of Reading is Caring is helpful to us. Our community contacts being informed and up to date about our course means that their service users feel an additional level of reassurance when they hear about us. We couldn’t reach as many people as we do without this.”

In the same way that they rely on the community to signpost Reading is Caring, they try to ensure that they are connecting participants with their local support too. Scottish Book Trust, who run Reading is Caring, has a longstanding relationship with libraries in Scotland, and as part of their personalised recommendations they ensure participants know how to access their local library. The workshops are conversational and participants often share their struggles or challenges, so having built relationships with local support organisations, they are able to signpost participants to support that may be available to them.

Their work is funded only in certain Local Authorities, so they tend to form working relationships on a local basis. They shared the importance of this to them “we’re lucky to have strong connections in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Scottish Borders and are always looking for new relationships.” Working closely with the NHS has been mutually beneficial, and the Specialist Dementia Unit at Borders General Hospital has been a longstanding relationship. “We trained one of their Therapeutic Activity Coordinators in our pilot year and now, years later, each resident in the unit has their own personalised Reading is Caring approach embedded as part of their care.” In Fife, they have also worked with the NHS to train staff in their dementia unit and mental health services at Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline. Localised community services like STANDinFife, VOCAL Carers, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Cafes, and Dementia Meeting Centres have also been vital connections.

This year, their focus is on their new Flagship Care Home approach with Queen’s Murray Evanthea (QME) Care in the Scottish Borders, who are implementing Reading is Caring throughout their residences – “We can build an integrated community of Reading is Caring across the staff team and can invite the residents’ families and friends to be part of it too, which ensures consistency of care and allows everyone to connect with their loved ones through shared reading.” This partnership with QME has given them a broader understanding of the needs and resources in the area.

When working with carers and the organisations who support them, the challenges will always be centred around time and capacity. Care partners are already stretched, and the services The Book Trust are connecting with are often going above and beyond their limited capacity. Dementia and its effects can be unpredictable, and each day can be changeable for everyone involved. “Luckily, everyone understands the nature of the changes and are flexible to ensure we’re still able to work together. These last-minute challenges also mean that the people I’ve worked with in dementia care are amazingly motivated, creative and flexible.”

As Reading is Caring looks to expand, maintaining relationships, and building new ones, is a priority. To properly meet the needs of the participants they work with, they know that they must be informed about the world around them, their challenges, and their available support and resources. “We hope to keep forming strong, mutually supportive relationships as the programme grows in the coming years so that everyone knows about the free support Reading is Caring offers, and we remain informed about our participants need. We will also focus on maintaining the relationships we already have, to ensure Reading is Caring remains a productive resource for them and that the people they work with can continue to benefit from it, long after the workshop is complete.” They understand the vital importance of the relationships they build. Placing the community or participants and their care givers at the heart of the work they do not only strengthen trust and collaboration but also ensures that solutions are more sustainable, inclusive, and reflective of the people they are designed to serve. “It can be easy to focus on what you can get from a relationship but learning about who’s out there and the needs they meet is valuable in itself.”

If you are interested in taking part in Reading is Caring, you can view the timetable and contact them via the website: https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/reading-and-stories/reading-is-caring

You can read all Connected Communities case studies here: https://www.alliance-scotland.org.uk/blog/case_studies/?projects=connected-communities