Isle of Skye early years teacher highly commended as Bookbug Hero

Shirley has introduced the joy of Bookbug to a number of young parents on Skye, in particular those who struggle to attend groups on their own.

She worked closely with a young mum both before and after her baby was born, introducing language, song and reading using the principles of Bookbug.

The new mum initially struggled to understand the need for this type of communication but now attends Bookbug weekly which has been hugely beneficial for the development for both her and baby.

On being highly commended, Shirley Taylor said: "Thank you very much to my colleagues who nominated me.

Bookbug is such an important part of my role as I can see how it makes a difference to families, in building relationships and developing language skills.

"Early Intervention with children and families is so important and Bookbug is such a great resource to support this, and also such fun."

A Skye social worker said that a family they work with’s "understanding of communication has positively influenced their parenting through working with Shirley and using Bookbug since pre-birth."

This year’s Bookbug Hero Award winner was Margaret Brook, a Volunteer at the STAR Project in Paisley.