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Volunteer Reading Help (VRH) is a national charity which trains
and supports volunteers to work one-to-one with children and
help them with their self-esteem and confidence through the
medium of reading. Children (usually in primary schools) are
referred by their class teacher as being likely to benefit
from the scheme; many of the children VRH helps never or rarely
have the undivided attention of an adult.
The volunteer works with up to three children in two half-hour
sessions per week, which as well as reading involve discussion,
games, chatting and other activities. The sessions take place
in school but in an area away from the classroom. Each volunteer
is provided with a box of specially chosen books and games,
which are changed regularly to suit the needs and interests
of the child. The children are encouraged to take the lead
in choosing the books or activities for the session: there
is no set scheme or reading age target, and the child and
volunteer work at their own pace. The aim is to improve the
child's confidence, social skills and attendance and participation
in class, to engender a love of reading and to break down
inter-generational barriers.
The volunteers are police checked and their training includes
how a child learns to read, motivational techniques, child
protection and equal opportunities. They are supported by
VRH field workers and other staff, and benefit from ongoing
training, book exchange meetings, end of term meetings and
other events. Volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds,
reflecting the communities and children with whom they work.
The children's class teacher is asked to complete an annual
survey about the pupils on the scheme. According to the 2002
survey, 83% of children supported by VRH showed an improvement
in reading performance, 79% showed an improvement in self
confidence and 74% showed an improvement in general motivation.
Qualitative evidence from teachers and volunteers also points
to the children's increased confidence, enthusiasm, attention
span and social skills.
Additionally, on many occasions parents of children on the
scheme have approached the school to ask for help with their
own literacy, as their child's growing skills have highlighted
their own limitations. They have then gone on to brush up
their skills, receive guidance on how to help their child
or attend adult literacy classes. Meanwhile, some volunteers
have gone on to get involved in wider community activity.
VRH is funded from a variety of statutory and private sources,
and each of the 32 branches undertakes fundraising. VRH engages
in partnership with the schools involved and also with LEAs,
businesses and other voluntary organisations. It has also
taken part in a number of pilot projects to find innovative
ways of working, which are variations on its theme of one-to-one
activity: for example, it is investigating the use of libraries,
and is involved in pilot projects with children in the transition
to year 7, with homework clubs for older children, with children
at risk of crime and with those in public care.
Background
This was a VRH project working with children aged 6-11 who
were identified by their teachers as being vulnerable either
to committing crime or to being a victim of crime. For example,
they may have shown anti-social behaviour or particularly
low levels of self esteem, or been very withdrawn. The project
was preventative, however, so the children it worked with
had not yet become involved in crime, and one of VRH's main
aims was that the children in the project should not be stigmatised.
What goes on
The project ran for 18 months and trained volunteers to work
one-to-one with children, twice a week. Reading was the main
activity, but discussion and games were also involved. The
children filled in a 'record of activity' booklet to give
the volunteers feedback on the sessions, and the adults got
to know the children quite well. Volunteers commented that
some of the children evidently lacked any interest from adults
in their lives, and the sessions were the only time that they
received one-to-one attention from an adult.
Results
According to the children's teachers, who were questioned
by VRH after two terms of the project, of the 36 children
involved:
- 41% demonstrated a significant improvement in their communication
with peers
- 48% demonstrated an improvement in their communication
with adults
- 25% demonstrated an outstanding improvement in school
attendance
- 38% demonstrated a significant improvement in their overall
achievement, including reading and attitude to reading,
written communication and confidence.
This project ran in three wards in the London Borough of Waltham
Forest beginning in May 2002.
Time for Children is a programme to encourage and support
children and young people in public care in their reading
and learning. It is being run in Greater Manchester and Lancashire,
and is managed in partnership by TimeBank (the national volunteering
campaign), the National Literacy Association, The Who Cares?
Trust and Volunteer Reading Help (VRH).
It follows the normal VRH way of working but, unusually, is
being run outside school, in residential care homes, and involves
secondary school-age children. The volunteers commit themselves
to the project for at least a year, and since the sessions
with the children continue through school holidays (when other
activities often stop) it is hoped that they will bring the
children a sense of continuity in their lives, which are sometimes
quite chaotic. Some of the volunteers specifically requested
to work on this project, because if they are employed they
can still be involved in the evenings or at weekends.
Many
children in care find most reliable adult is their reading
volunteer - news story about Time for Children
(TES, 6 October 2006)
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