Almost 1 in 5 11-year-olds leave primary school every year still struggling to read. These children often get left behind; unable to access the curriculum, they become disaffected and leave school with very limited choices and opportunities.

These children become one of the 12 million adults in the UK who can read no better than they could when they left primary school – that’s one third of the workforce who are functionally illiterate, who could not find a plumber in the Yellow Pages.

Volunteer Reading Help (VRH) aims to tackle the problem of illiteracy at an early age, ensuring the children receive the support they need to catch up in school.

We work in some of the most deprived areas of England, as children living in these areas who struggle with their reading are likely to receive less family support at home.

VRH works one-to-one with the same three children each week for a whole school year. We build constructive relationships with the children we work with, helping to develop their reading ability but also helping to build their confidence and self esteem along the way. This level of focus on the child makes a huge difference to these children and has a far reaching impact on their whole lives.