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The Evening Standard's Get London Reading campaign has hit the ground running with 100 volunteers in primary schools across the capital only weeks into the new school year.
Another 100 volunteers have been trained by our partner charity, Volunteer Reading Help - most will be deployed by half-term. The 100 new reading volunteers have been placed in 70 schools.
The success comes after the EU commissioner for education revealed the scheme could become a blueprint for how the rest of Europe tackles literacy. Androulla Vassiliou visited London to see our campaign in action as it hit the £200,000 mark.
As she visited the William Davis primary school in Tower Hamlets to see our reading volunteer programme, she said: "Your campaign will not only impact the UK but could have ripples through Europe. The Standard campaign is unique in that it is the only newspaper-led literacy initiative in Europe."
Today we can also report that 13 new primary schools have also contacted Volunteer Reading Help to ask about volunteer helpers in the last few weeks.
It costs a school just £500 to get one reading volunteer to help three children for one year, a value-for-money outlay of less than £170 per pupil helped.
Catherine Morgans-Slader, headteacher of William Davis, said she had increased the number of reading volunteers from two to three because it has proved "outstanding value for money".
So far we have raised £200,000 for Get London Reading, enough to sponsor 400 reading volunteers. However, we need more schools to sign up.
Reader views (3)
I already pay enough taxes to pay for these people who abuse the system and suck tax resources from people who really need it (handicap for example). They have too many kids they can't afford. If you can't afford kids, don't be surprised when they can't read and don't expect me to pay for it, as I will be looking after my own kids first!
- Mike, London, 13/10/2011 10:51
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Tom,
There is something in what you say but the problem stems from the fact that teachers teach literacy but they are not skilled language teachers. My wife, who is a TA, does extra sessions with nine children. One has severe learning difficluties, two are dyslexic and the remaining six do not have English as a first language. This is where the problem lies. She tries her best but feels she ain't up to the task with the foreign kids. My personal view is that it is incumbant on the parents to ensure that both they and their kids speak English, to a reasonable standard, before entering the UK!
- Mark, Peckham Rye, London, 13/10/2011 09:55
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great. i'm not gonna pretend to know what this is all about, but shouldn't the qualified teachers be teaching them to read? i can't see this doing much for creating a nation of accademics!!!
- tom, london, 12/10/2011 23:15
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