THE charity ABC to Read has received a £8,100 grant from the Postcode Neighbourhood Trust to start bridging the gap in reading skills caused by Covid-19.
It works with primary school children who have been identified by their schools as struggling most with their reading, with many of the schools assigning their pupil premium to provide an ABC to Read mentor.
Children and families have encountered numerous difficulties as a result of the Covid-19 crisis due to the interruption to their learning and social experiences. The need for additional reading support is essential if children are not to fall behind with their education.
Thanks to this grant, the charity will be able to recruit, vet and train 30 new volunteers in addition to supporting current volunteers to return to school settings safely. This will bring its total number of volunteers to 80, working within 80 school placements and reaching a minimum of 240 children twice a week for 30 minutes during term-time (39 weeks).
This essential reading support complements the work undertaken by schools and is especially important for children from low-income families and those for whom English is an additional language (EAL).
ABC to Read often work with children experiencing additional barriers to reading and/or disadvantages such as those from EAL or low-income families or with additional educational needs.
The charity’s model of assigning a volunteer to work with children on a one-to-one basis is achieving results and leaving teachers and children alike thrilled with their progress.
In their most recent annual report, ABC to Read announced that 99% of the local Berkshire children who benefit from a one-to-one ABC to Read volunteer mentor have improved in their reading accuracy, 99% of the youngsters working with them have improved in their confidence in reading and 98% have enhanced their comprehension.
Marcia Rowlinson, ABC to Read CEO, said: “We are yet to understand the full impact of Covid-19 and may not do so for a long time to come. What we do know is that we need to act now to start rebuilding connections in our community and support our local children with their reading so that the long-term consequences are minimised.
“We are hugely thankful to the Postcode Neighbourhood Trust for investing in our work at such a critical time and thrilled that more children will receive the one-to-one support they so desperately need right now.”
There are still spaces for new volunteers and for schools to sign up to the scheme. For more information send an email to: abctoread@btconnect.com
