‘Right to Read’ Programme – A Case Study

In 1999 the ‘Right to Read’ programme was created as a result of one of the HRH Prince of Wales’ ‘Seeing is Believing’ visits to Sheffield. Key business leaders involved in the visit were inspired to find a way that their workforce could make a positive impact on education and Right to Read was offered as the vehicle to do so. It was initially piloted in the Yorkshire & Humber region; however it is now offered in 14 Cares Partnerships.

While every child has the right to read, not every child is given the opportunity. Eight minutes per week is the average time a child is given help through one to one reading and many schools struggle to meet even this low average. The value of a reading volunteer is therefore immense, simply by being there giving their time to listen, aside from all of the additional benefits to the child they are partnered with.

Literacy development

The ‘Right to Read’ programme aims to support students in their literacy development, while improving their confidence, communication skills and attitude towards reading. The interaction with business employees is seen as an opportunity for children, often from deprived backgrounds, to be introduced to the world of work and spend time with a role model that is a non-authority figure.

Every healthy child is born with 100 billion brain cells and each cell is able to make up to 20,000 connections. Whether these brain cells make connections, or simply die off, depends on if a child lives in an enriched environment. As most of the schools the ‘Right to Read’ programme works with are in deprived areas, many of the families are now in a fourth or fifth generation of unemployment, as well as being non-English speaking households.

The children selected for the programme are often from these disadvantaged backgrounds and their reading abilities rely solely on what they experience during school time. When something is hard, children tend to get frustrated, believing they are simply not good at it and then avoid the activity all together.

A positive outlook towards reading

It is imperative to build a positive outlook towards reading at an early age, in order to ensure they read to learn later in life. Reading is an essential skill that sets the foundation for a student’s education and every child deserves the right to feel confident in their ability to learn.

Since 2003, in Nottinghamshire alone, volunteers have been successfully reading with over 4500 children in key stage two. Nottinghamshire Cares has worked with 27 businesses, engaging 1548 employee volunteers to support 86 of the schools in their area. Following a series of interviews and questionnaires, with a review group composed of ‘Right to Read’ programme business volunteers and teachers, in the next few paragraphs we aim to demonstrate the meaningful impact this type of intervention in schools is capable of.

The Teachers involved in the ‘Right to Read’ programme were initially motivated to work with business volunteers as an additional source of one-to-one reading, ensuring that each child received support in this way, and giving the teachers themselves the valuable time to concentrate on their other priorities.

Widening students' perspective

They also recognised the value of widening their students’ perspective and community through the interaction with someone from a different background than their own and that of their peers. They chose children for the programme where there was an obvious need for help, as they were reading below their age-related expectation. Their desire to raise the aspirations and reading level of their students, as well as their enthusiasm towards reading in general, was not only met through the partnerships with business employees, but 43% of teachers said it exceeded their expectations.

Research findings

From our research with teachers involved in the ‘Right to Read’ programme we can say that they felt it contributed to the following:

• improved comprehension (43%)
• increased willingness to read without persuasion (71%)
• enhanced confidence (86%)

“The children knew they had regular support and someone to listen to them read.”

 “They showed a greater understanding of strategies they may use to decode a word.”

“Raised the skills and enjoyment of reading amongst the children involved.” 

During the course of the programme 100% of children showed significant progress in their fluency and attitude towards reading. The reading age of some children increasing as much as a year after a ten week programme. To compliment this, 86% of teachers said they found the children had developed their communication skills and many observed their students making improvements in their education as a whole.

Benefit to teachers

The teachers attributed this to the consistency of one-to-one support and personal investment being made in each child, but also noted the value of employee volunteers bringing a different sphere of experience in their approach to teaching the students. 50% of teachers felt they too had benefited from the experience, through the alternative perspective and external interest of the business volunteers, which 67% reported had enhanced their pride in their work and enabled them to develop their interpersonal skills.

For the employee volunteers involved in the ‘Right to Read’ programme the partnership was a chance to make a difference in a child’s life, while gaining knowledge and insight into themselves along the way. 82% of volunteers went into the partnership with a desire to help others and raise the aspirations of young people, while personally challenging themselves to adapt to an environment other than their typical realm of experience.

Many volunteers found it beneficial to adjust the way they spoke to an appropriate level, make eye contact, as well as being receptive and responsive listeners. 30% said interacting with the children in this way resulted in developing their own ability to communicate confidently and effectively. Although 36% of volunteers already felt the skills they developed through their participation in the programme could be transferred to their work environment, they also felt their efforts to seek experience outside of their day-to-day responsibilities were not recognised by their employer. 

Employee Volunteer feedback

Feedback received from participating employee volunteers stated the following skills were developed through the programme:

• Coaching and management skills
• Active listening (responsive and receptive) 
• Time management
• Emotional intelligence

All of the teachers and business volunteers involved in the ‘Right to Read’ programme felt the time required to participate was worth the benefits of the experience to themselves and the students. As a result of their company facilitating their participation in the ‘Right to Read’ programme, over 80% of the employee volunteers reported that not only had their perception of their company improved, but they now felt more committed to their employer, as well as a greater sense of pride in their involvement with them.

These statistics are based on research from our Nottinghamshire partnership – can you imagine the scale of the impact on our employees of tomorrow if every business took the time to create a similar partnership with a school near them?

Find out more about the 'Right to Read'

If you would like to learn more about the ‘Right to Read’ programme, or other options available to you and your company or employer, visit the Cares pages »

It is your community and you can use your skills, knowledge and experience to make a positive impact.

When asked what benefits to the students they observed teachers responded:

“Many children are from second generation non-working parents and this is their first interaction with someone approachable from the ‘world of work’, many are expanding their perception of the opportunities available to them.”

 “The children's excitement when the readers turn up to read with them. They love it. “

When asked what benefits the employee volunteers felt the experience provided they responded:

“… the impact that only 10minutes reading with a child can have in improving their reading skills.”

“As the weeks past the children became aware that it was reading time when i knocked on the door and were visibly excited at the challenge! “

“New skills developed - adapting to a different communication style. The feedback received from the school that the children were displaying more interest, motivation and capability with reading following participation in the reading sessions with ourselves.”

”Takes you out of the tedium of everyday life.”