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Volunteer Reading Help

Literate for Life

“I think if you can make reading subconscious, it frees their minds to focus on the content of what they are reading. That means they can study science, history, all the other subjects without struggling, ”says Jan Doole. Large numbers of children leave primary school without adequate reading skills, and these children will often misbehave in school, distracting classmates, as a way of seeking attention for a problem they are ashamed of even having.

The difference it makes, like so much of school performance nowadays, is provable, measured and tracked. “One-year, the head teacher pulled me aside and pointed out that over 50% of the children who had gained higher-than-expected grades that year had been part of the VRH programme

Doole is passionate about her work with VRH, and her enthusiasm is infectious. “We’re expecting people to live with their arms tied behind their back if they can’t read. This is an opportunity for all of us to do something that benefits everyone involved, and most importantly we end up with happy and more successful kids. What better thing is there to invest money in?”

Charities

Our current charities include:

PEF Contribution

PEF is investing in strengthening VRH’s core capacity and capabilities, including its information systems infrastructure and marketing functions.
This will help VRH achieve robust and sustainable programme growth, with the aim of reaching twice as many schools as it does today

Introducing the Charity

An estimated 250,000 children in England and Wales are functionally illiterate and one-in-three of the UK workforce has the literacy skills expected of an 11-year-old. Volunteer Reading Help (VRH) supports 5,000 children every year to develop a love of learning and reading, through supporting and training 2,000 volunteers working in over 1,000 primary schools. The children's increased confidence and reading skills mean they are much less likely to drop out of education or be forced into low-paying jobs.

What VRH does is simple: they recruit and train volunteers to work with children aged 6-11 who find reading a challenge and may need extra support and mentoring. Without individual support children can fall behind their peers and lack confidence and self esteem. Many may find it difficult to interact socially with adults. In later years they may drift into offending behaviour. VRH’s trained network of reading helpers support the same children week in, week out, giving each an hour of quality, one to one time. They read, they play, they talk. With the support of VRH their approach to learning and enjoying is often transformed. Their confidence, self esteem and reading standards improve.

VRH’s work takes place in schools but outside the classroom. They also work with looked after children, often the most vulnerable children in society.