Looking for more in Reading and Stories or Bookbug?

Bookbug for the Home training

Find course details, dates for upcoming training and how to sign up below.

Bookbug for the Home training is for all professionals, practitioners and volunteers working in the community to support individual families in their homes. Bookbug for the Home can also be used as part of targeted work with small groups. The training is a flexible approach that will enable you to enhance family support work.

This training course is aimed at family support workers, early years workers, social workers and social work assistants, members of health visiting teams, speech and language therapists, prison visitor centre staff and other family outreach workers, as well as volunteers who work in such capacities.

Our interactive training is a balance of practical exercises and researched-based theory about book sharing, music and child development.

Our training is interactive and everyone will be asked to participate. You’ll be doing songs and rhymes in the group, but you won’t be asked to sing on your own.

Current training dates open for registration

Training will take place in two parts, a self-led online learning module to be completed before a trainer-led module either in person or live online.

The self led online learning module opens 2 weeks before your trainer led module.

Trainer Led In Person Bookbug for the Home training sessions - 9.30am-1pm

Trainer Led Online Bookbug for the Home training sessions - 9.30am-1pm

More dates will be released on a rolling basis throughout the year. Sign up for our regular Working with Bookbug newsletter to be notified as training dates are added. April to June 2025 training dates will be released at noon on Monday 3 February 2025.

If you see a training session is full you can still follow the link to join the waitlist and you'll be offered a spot if there is a cancellation.

When you click on 'Register for a training course' you will be taken through a short form, complete this and click 'Next'. You will be directed to a new page with all the training dates, this time with links attached to book or join the waitlist of a specific session.

Register for a training course

Course details

In this course, you will have opportunities to:

  • Build your understanding of the importance of songs, rhymes and stories for both children and families
  • Learn and practise songs and rhymes, and consider how to build these activities into your practice to encourage families to sing and rhyme together
  • Explore a range of picture books and practise reading aloud
  • Signpost families to Bookbug Sessions and online resources

Cost

Training is funded by the Scottish Government at no cost to participants.

If you are considering booking onto training it is important you understand you are committing to attending. We regularly have wait lists and cancellations greatly impact how many practitioners we can train across the year.

Eligibility

To be eligible for fully funded training you need to:

  • Be affiliated with an organisation, either as a member of staff or a volunteer, which will support the practitioner’s use of Bookbug for the Home
  • Plan to use the Bookbug for the Home approach with children (0–5 years old), and their families where possible.
  • Be over 16
  • Plan to start using Bookbug for the Home within 2 months of the training course

Format

In-person

Our in-person training is a mix of a self led online learning module, and a trainer-led in-person module.

This course is comprised of:

  • A 2–3 hour self-led online learning module to be completed before your trainer-led, in-person session at your own pace. To complete this self-led online learning module you will need a mobile, tablet, laptop or computer with access to the internet.
  • A 3.5-hour trainer-led, in-person module. Completion of both is required to complete training. There will be a comfort break halfway through the in-person module.

Online

Our interactive online training is a mix of a self-led online learning module and a trainer-led live online module.

This course is comprised of:

  • A 2–3 hour self-led online learning module to be completed before your trainer-led live online module at your own pace. To complete this self-led online learning module you will need a mobile, tablet, laptop or computer with access to the internet.
  • A 3.5-hour trainer-led live, interactive online module. Completion of both is required to complete training. There will be a comfort break halfway through the trainer-led online module.

In our trainer-led live online training module, you need to:

  • Have a computer, laptop or tablet that connects to the internet with working audio, camera and microphone. A mobile phone is not suitable due to the format of the training. The training is interactive and everyone will be asked to participate.
  • Be registered individually on the training course and participate on your own individual device
  • Be able to access Zoom or Microsoft Teams (depending on the platform of the session you registered for)

Contact us

If you have any questions or you need additional support with the registration process, please contact the Bookbug team at [email protected] or phone 0131 524 0160 (Press option 1 for Early Years and Bookbug).