Charity calls for volunteers to change a child’s life through the power of reading this Volunteers’ Week
One in four children leave primary school unable to read to the expected standard but a charity operating in Southampton is making a tangible difference.
Schoolreaders provides over 33,000 children with weekly classroom reading sessions in England, connecting over 3,300 volunteers with primary schools.
Research by Schoolreaders reveals that 94% of children increased reading confidence following volunteer reading sessions and 72% benefited from spending time with a positive role model.
The charity, which sets children up to enjoy a lifetime of learning, is seeking more volunteers across the region.
Using sophisticated software Schoolreaders will match new volunteers to partner schools with the most disadvantaged children to help address gaps in attainment across Hampshire.
One volunteer who found the Schoolreaders experience deeply enriching is Bunty Wares, a 95-year-old retired NHS medical secretary.
She dedicated three years of her retirement to helping children in her local community improve their reading skills.
Bunty discovered Schoolreaders through a local advert and, driven by her lifelong passion for reading, joined the programme.
She volunteered at a nearby primary school, dedicating two hours per week, balancing volunteering against her role on the management committee for her local bowls club.
For Bunty, being a Schoolreaders volunteer was very satisfying.
Bunty said: "Getting to see the children’s reading improve and seeing children learn to enjoy reading, when they hadn’t previously, was great.
“I found that many children needed just a little bit of encouragement. Soon when I went into the class, they nearly all put their hands up to read with me. It was very wholesome.”
Upon stepping down from her volunteering role, after three years, Bunty received flowers, chocolates and a card from the teachers and a handmade scrapbook made of letters from the two classes she read with.
“There were four pages full of notes,” Bunty added. “All the children from the class came up and gave me a hug. It was lovely but it was very unexpected. I didn’t think I’d made too much of an impression really.”
Like many volunteers, Bunty humbly downplays her impact. However, her experience is a shining example of how volunteering can enrich both the volunteer and the community.
99.7% of Schoolreaders’ volunteers, like Bunty, would recommend Schoolreaders to another potential volunteer and 99% of schools reported that Schoolreaders volunteers enhanced the reading culture of the school.
If Schoolreaders were to monetise the value of its volunteers’ hours, the value of total hours would equate to a minimum of £2,575,757 at the National Living Wage rate for the 2023/24 year.
The estimated value of its volunteers’ time since the charity started in 2013 is almost £8 million.
With that in mind, Schoolreaders is calling on others to follow in Bunty’s footsteps. If you can spare just an hour a week, you can help children develop a lifelong love of reading.
Volunteers are provided with guidance and training, including safeguarding and reading support best practice.
To learn more about volunteering with Schoolreaders, visit Schoolreaders.org/volunteer