Read On - Write Away! and children

Support for schools
In developing close links with schools and listening to teachers, ROWA! has been able to translate schools' needs into practical applications that can help the school raise literacy standards. ROWA! provides training for reading volunteers through Better Reading Partnership and School Buddy Reading, a less intensive course, which can include older students as buddies. Other training packages have been developed to provide additional support for children's reading and writing. All materials are tested out in a school environment before being added to the ROWA! menu and marketed to schools.

Training packages include Push on Writing!, Talking Partners and Storybook Weaver. Writing Boxes have been developed for children to use at school or to take home. Designed to look like toolboxes to appeal to boys, Writing Boxes are packed with fun writing equipment designed to stimulate children to write. Training is available to help schools make best use of these extra-curricular packages.

ROWA!'s approach involves improving skills and addressing motivation within the framework of the clearly defined needs of schools. By encouraging schools to see that non-professionals have a role in improving children's learning, there has been a departure away from the 'trained expert' model of learning.

Children's University
With support from the New Opportunities Fund, ROWA! was able to set up the Children's University, which introduced the concept of university to children at an early age with out-of-school opportunities to taste different subjects in a less formal environment. In its first two years 600 students participated in activities with 51 modules in six cluster areas. Two graduation ceremonies enabled students to receive recognition for their achievements. Parents and grandparents were brought back into the learning environment by volunteering to help and share their skills and knowledge.

An evaluation by Almond Associates showed that there were high levels of satisfaction with the Children's University Project. The project raised children's achievements, confidence and self-esteem through out-of-school hours learning. The evaluation reports that it also contributed to improving writing standards across the participating schools which have been reflected in some schools' Ofsted reports.

Case study
The Derby Children's University was set up in two difficult areas of the city, made possible by ROWA! funding, involving two secondary schools and eight partner primary schools. Initially a Saturday morning provision, 50 children regularly turned up to take part in module-based activity such as song writing. The University gradually expanded to include after-school clubs, provision for under sevens (Junior Games) and activities for adults. By November 2001, Merrill School reported having 12 modules with an average of 12 children taking part in each, supported by 11 Millennium Volunteers.

Young people in care

Buddy Reading Project
This project trains disaffected or disadvantaged young people in specific skills needed to support primary school children in their reading, with the result that the literacy skills of both are improved. Around 150 young people up to the age of 25, either care leavers or excluded pupils, are involved as buddies. They are paired with younger children for ten weeks, and although the buddies often have limited reading skills themselves, they still manage to engage and excite the children they work with. They also have the chance to achieve Open College Network accreditation by means of a simple portfolio.

As well as improving the literacy skills of both parties, the scheme provides a positive experience of reading which encourages the children in a better attitude towards reading and school and improves the self-esteem and social and organisational skills of the young people. The enthusiastic response of the younger children to their older buddies, and the fact that the young people are treated with real respect by the school staff, perhaps for the first time in their lives, help to reverse their negative experience of education.

The Buddy Reading Project has been evaluated internally. It was funded in its first two years by the Adult and Community Learning Fund, and is now funded by ROWA! itself. It is run in partnership with the Step Forward Educational Trust and with After Care projects, which are able to provide some of the necessary venues, staff and expertise. The buddies and staff involved have access to other projects and training opportunities within ROWA!

The US! Project and extensions of Buddy Reading
ROWA! has developed a pack to help others set up Buddy Reading Projects aimed at disengaged young people. The Buddy Reading Project has expanded to include Buddy Plus+, which is geared towards young offenders (aged 10-17), and the US! Project for young people in public care (up to the age of 19). The US! Project - shorthand for the Utterly Sensational Books and Reading Project - is a three-year project to address the lack of books in care homes and make a significant impact on the care culture, so that books and reading are at the centre of the homes' work. It is funded mainly by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and also by Derbyshire Social Services and ROWA!

Links
Article on Buddy Reading from Literacy Today
For more details visit www.rowa.org.uk