Help children affected by COVID-19 to catch up after months of lost learning.

We urgently require funding to power our face-to-face programmes and provide books and vital literacy resources for disadvantaged children around the country now that they have returned to school.

COVID-19 is set to have a disastrous impact on the literacy of the 4.6 million children living in poverty in the UK, who already start school with vocabularies up to 19 months behind their peers. This holds them back at every stage of their lives, meaning that they are:

- five times more likely to fail to meet the expected standards in English at age 11

- four times more likely to struggle to read as adults

- twice as likely to be unemployed aged 34

- three times more likely to have mental health problems as adults

The impact of COVID-19 shouldn't last a lifetime. Donate here to help us make sure no child is left behind, or text LIFESTORY to 70085 to donate £10 (texts cost £10 plus one standard rate message).