No? Well this is what a sentence looks like to thousands of children across the North East of England.
In the last school year, over 2,500 children left primary school in the North East of England unable to read to the required level.
Not being able to read to the required level can have severe consequences on a child’s future, for instance:
• Men and women with poor literacy are less likely to be in full-time employment by the age of 30.
• A quarter of all young offenders have a reading level below that of a 7 year old (source)
• 1 in 5 adults don’t have the reading skills to find a plumber in the Yellow Pages
Beanstalk, the national children’s literacy charity, provides trained reading helpers to work in schools to ensure that children across the North East can leave school confident and able readers.
Each Beanstalk reading helper supports three children and sees each child for two 30 minute sessions a week, during term-time, for three terms. With Beanstalk’s support the child’s approach to learning and enjoying reading is transformed.
Volunteering as a Beanstalk reading helper is extremely rewarding, makes a lasting difference to children’s lives and is a great way to give something back to your local community.
We currently have vacancies in Bishop Auckland and Newton Aycliffe and would love to hear from you To find out more, or to become a Beanstalk reading helper, call Beanstalk on 01325 315040 or visit http://www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk/reading-helpers