BRAINY children found that learning can be fun at a Big Kids, Little Learners session.

Classes take place at venues across Renfrewshire every week, where youngsters aged between three and five, accompanied by their parents, can develop literacy and numeracy skills.

The sessions also aim to improve their health and wellbeing through a variety of hands-on activities.

Event organiser Janine Neil hosts several well-attended classes in Renfrew, Houston, Linwood, Paisley, Bishopton and Erskine.

And youngsters at the Houston session got stuck into a maths and literacy lesson at their most recent session.

Janine told The Gazette: “We aim to make numbers and letters fun by getting the children involved through hands-on activities.

“It is a fantastic opportunity for kids and their parents or carers to play together.

“Adults can also take home some fun educational activities which they can do with their children later.”

Classes aim to prepare younger kids for school by introducing them to phonics, action, song and story.

A new letter or number is explored every week, which creates a theme for each class.

Janine said: “For the letter of the week, we choose a story to go with a character based around that letter.

“There are songs and activities based around the number and letter, which makes it fun to learn.

“Parents have just as much fun as the kids at these sessions and it is useful for them to know what their kids should expect before they go to school.

“It gives them confidence and insight to what they should be prepared for.”

Figures published by the Scottish Government last year show the literacy skills of Scottish school pupils is declining.

The Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy found that less than half of Scotland’s 13 and 14-year-olds were performing well in writing.

For more information about the Big Kids, Little Learners sessions or to get involved, visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pg/bigkidslittlelearner.