Read on Get on – Save The Children

My son has just started secondary school, his homework was to pick a book to read for ten minutes at school today. This was really easy for him as he loves reading and finds it all too easy. Reading has opened up a whole new World to him, he can immerse himself in fantasy and it helps him to relax.  But not all children are this lucky with 130,000 children in the UK every year leaving primary school not reading as well as they should. This figure includes 40% of all children from poorer backgrounds (read the report here). We need to break the vicious cycle that keeps people poor generation after generation. This is why Save the Children have launched the Read on Get on Campaign.

Save the Children are determined to ensure that every child in the UK gets a fair start to life. Reading is the key to unlocking a child’s full potential and one of the best routes out of poverty for the poorest children. In the first few years of school children who fall behind badly in literacy never catch up; leaving school without basic reading skills or good qualifications: Almost all children (93%) who leave primary school without good reading skills fail to achieve five good GCSE results five years later. This then has devastating consequences for their future – of low or no pay, as they lack the skills to make them eligible for so many jobs. They may be reliant on benefits, which to even access them means being able to read and fill in forms (or have the skills to have someone to do it for you).

Read on Get on is a national mission for all children to be reading well by the time they leave primary school. This commitment must be realised through long term educational and social support pre-school and throughout primary school. Save the Children’s Born to Read first programme is in partnership with Beanstalk (formerly Voluntary Reading Help) who have 40 years’ experience in helping children learn to read. They are giving the poorest children in the UK the reading skills they need for a better future. Born to Read recruits and trains volunteers to work in primary schools with children who have fallen behind with their reading. By the end of 2018, expert one-to-one tuition will help 23,000 children’s literacy skills and life chances.

How you can help:

Support the Campaign – follow on Twitter Save the Children UK  Beanstalk

Friday 12th September 2014 – join us for a Misspelling day – spell incorrectly on social media with a link directing them to the petition or the campaign, in order to drive awareness.

Volunteer to be a Reader Helper (2 x 90 minutes a week for 1 year – travel expenses paid)

Sign the Petition – to get Political leaders to make lasting change for every UK child to be a confident reader.

Donate

Buying a virtual gift to help UK children read well

Beanstalk also know how important the home learning environment is so are supporting parents to help develop their children’s reading skills at home. If your child is struggling at home Beanstalk have help for parents and carers. There are many ways of engaging children in stories – and indeed bringing the books to life. We have had a lot of fun with The Gruffalo for his 15th anniversary this year.

 

See these other Blog posts on helping Children to Read:

Reading Dinosaur Footprints

Kids Book a Week

Reading Post Notes

How I encourage my Children to become Happy Readers who Love Books

10 Top Tips to Help Your Child when Reading a Book together

 

This is not a sponsored post. Images copyright of Save the Children.