21 March 07
2007 is a Year of Reading too
The education secretary Alan Johnson announced that 2008 will be a ‘National Year of Reading’. With one in five eleven year olds struggling to read, helping children to learn is more crucial than ever. In the announcement, Alan Johnson emphasised the value volunteers can play in helping to improve children’s reading skills.
Poor reading skills condemn children to a life of low income and poverty. Illiterate adults are also more depressed and have a greater chance of spending time in prison. Moreover, a recent study estimates that poor literacy costs the public purse around £53,000 per person.
The 2008 National Year of Reading will see reading events in schools and libraries across the UK. Alongside these events, charities will provide thousands of hours of volunteers’ time helping children that struggle with reading.
But children who can’t read need help now. Read on, NPC’s report on literacy and young people, identifies three charities that are using volunteers to help children as we speak:
- Springboard for Children uses trained volunteers to help children develop strategies to support independent reading. Ever year, it works with around 360 of the most disadvantaged pupils in England in schools in South London and Manchester.
- Volunteer Reading Help recruits, trains and places volunteers in primary schools to support children who have grasped the basics but struggle with reading. Volunteers work with children twice a week to support, inspire and build their confidence. It helps around 5,000 children per year.
- Reading Matters works with children who begin secondary school with poor reading skills. Volunteer mentors combine fun games with reading activities to support children to become more able and confident readers. It works in schools in Yorkshire and the Midlands and reaches around 1,400 young people per year.
The National Year of Reading will begin 2008 by asking the question ‘can we create a step change in attitudes to reading?’. But for donors wanting to change children’s lives in 2007, charities are already providing the answer.
NPC’s report on literacy and young people, Read on, will be published in late March.
Follow the links below to download the charity recommendations
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