Every Child a Reader
Every Child a Reader developed as a result of a unique collaboration between charitable trusts, the business sector, government and the London University Institute of Education. The programme helps fund highly-skilled Reading Recovery teachers in primary schools, who provide intensive literacy teaching to six year old children most in need. Wider spin-offs for literacy levels for all children in the schools supported are also gained, as a result of the support provided by the expert teachers to class teachers, teaching assistants, parents and volunteers.
The vision is that every child who needs early literacy support receives it and that the numbers of people experiencing long term literacy difficulties are dramatically reduced. Funders of the programme in its three year development phase were: KPMG Foundation, Man Group plc Charitable Trust, Indigo Trust and JJ Charitable Trust, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, SHINE and Mercers’ Company
Why the programme was developed
- Over 5% of children (including nearly 1 in 10 boys) leave English primary schools and go into secondary education without even the most basic skills in reading and writing – over 30,000 children every year.
- If not tackled, these children’s literacy difficulties have life-long and costly consequences (truancy, exclusion, unemployment, poor health, involvement with the criminal justice system - 25% of those in youth custody, for example, have a reading age below 7).
These are high risk, high cost kids- £1 spent on Every Child a Reader can save the public purse £12-19
Results of Every Child a Reader
Over three quarters of children taught - the very lowest achieving children in their age group - reach average literacy levels for their age after an average of 40 hours of daily 1-1 teaching.
The children’s average gain in reading age is 21 months over the year. Similar children in comparison schools who did not have Reading Recovery made 7 months progress over the year– they fell further behind while the Reading Recovery children caught up with their peers. A year later, the children who had Reading Recovery (initially the very lowest achieving 5% nationally) were still well ahead and outperformed the national average for all children in their test results at age seven.
The school serves an area of significant deprivation and constant change. Reading Recovery offers some of our children the opportunity to get individual tuition to catch up with the ‘norm’. We have bright children whose domestic experience and background denies them the privilege of early literacy. Reading Recovery helps bridge that gap and then demands that the school maintain the children at the ‘norm’. Thank you for creating the challenge!’
Headteacher in an Every Child A Reader-funded school
Standards in Every Child a Reader schools have been shown to rise for all children, not just those directly taught, because of the presence of a skilled literacy expert in the school.
Documents and links
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Nearly 1 in 10 boys leave primary school and go into secondary education without even the most basic skills in reading and writing