‘You can’t tackle disadvantage if you don’t get all your children reading’

In Bristol, 16 per cent of residents live in areas that are among the 10 per cent most deprived in England, equating in real terms to around 16,500 children living in poverty across the city. There are countless implications of growing up in a more disadvantaged area, but the one a citywide project is focussing on in is literacy rates: in some neighbourhoods, 50 per cent of children leave primary school unable to read properly.

As Bristol City Council’s chief service officer, Dom Murphy, points out, “you can’t be serious about tackling disadvantage if you don’t get all your children reading”.

If children leave primary school with inadequate literacy skills, they are incapable of making the most of their secondary education. If unable to understand the lessons, a child may be more likely to act up, which could lead to sanctions and possibly exclusion. “It’s a huge missed opportunity,” says Dom, “because all those young people could go on and have productive lives that will benefit everybody including themselves.”

Dom Murphy oversees the project, which brings in volunteers to read to young people in school

Bristol’s Reading in Schools Consortium has stepped in to tackle the issue. Dom oversees this partnership, which brings together different organisations who all recruit volunteers to read in schools. The idea behind the scheme is to support teachers in the classroom by bringing in volunteers to work with children showing signs of needing additional support with their reading in Years 1, 2 and 3.

A search for more 310 more people to help with reading in schools has recently been launched. Last term over 250 people from across the city volunteered in 50 schools, but the council’s ambition is to find a volunteer for every child that needs one by June 2020. Volunteers give up just an hour each week but can really make a difference.

Intervening at this crucial early stage represents “an opportunity for a citizen to change a child’s life,” says Dom. “The great thing about reading is that most people can read, and can read confidently, so it’s perfect for an appeal to the citizens.

“And, getting into the habit of supporting the local community and school opens up new social connections and offers all kinds of emotional and wellbeing advantages. To feel wanted, to have purpose: these sorts of things are really important to human beings.”

As many as 50 per cent of children from Bristol’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods leave primary school unable to read properly

Over the course of a term, volunteers can witness a noticeable difference in a child’s reading ability, and in the past Dom has worked with volunteers for whom the experience has prompted a career change: “We can point to a number of incidences now in which volunteers have gone on from doing the one-day training to deciding teaching is something they’d like to do.”

For both the young people involved who could see their future trajectory changed by the simple pleasure of a book, and for the volunteers finding a new sense of purpose in their own lives, the project is benefitting people across Bristol. As Dom puts it: “It’s enjoyable because you’re sharing your love of reading with someone else.”

To find out more or volunteer, visit www.candobristol.co.uk/projects/reading_in_schools