Call for volunteers to boost literacy levels in schools
Ms Jaggard said five years after the pandemic, which proved "incredibly challenging", the charity now has volunteers in about 90 schools."I think our big focus now is building ourselves back up to what we were pre-Covid and then expanding beyond that."She described literacy across the UK and locally as being in "a bit of a crisis" because of a decline in reading.It follows a recent report by the National Literacy Trust, which showed that fewer than one in five children read daily outside of school - the lowest level in two decades."Individual schools are doing an amazing job, they're committed and passionate, but having the time to spend one-to-one with children [to read] is just impossible," she said."Our volunteers go the extra mile, they spend half an hour with the child, they read together, they have a box of resources, and they spend loads of time really getting to know the children."
Kate Marusiak, from South Wilford Endowed CofE Primary School, said the scheme was working well for its pupils, and it would be "really fantastic" to extend it to every school."Once you get the right book into children's hands, then actually you can turn around a reluctant reader."I think the relationship that [their school's volunteer] has created with the children is really special. They feel really safe, they feel really happy to get things wrong."It's just a joy to see them giggling or hear them chatting and really see that love of reading develop."
'More volunteers'
Ms Jaggard said their target to reach every school in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire would not happen quickly, but that it was "realistic".There are a total of 362 primary schools across both local authority areas, which means the charity is almost 25% towards its goal."We've recently built Bassetlaw back up from losing pretty much every volunteer during Covid, so we're now back in ten schools which is fantastic."It's taking that kind of measuring approach, focussing on the areas that need us most first."She added that to achieve the goal, it required "more volunteers", and to this end the charity had appointed its first ever patron - author and campaigner Jacob Dunne.Mr Dunne, 33, was jailed in 2011 for manslaughter after he threw a single punch at James Hodgkinson, who died. He was then given help to turn his life around by Mr Hodgkinson's mother, Joan Scourfield, after a restorative justice meeting and has since campaigned against violence alongside her.Mr Dunne said he struggled at school only read his first book at age of 20, but wants his own two children to have a better chance.He added: "We need as many people as possible with some time on their hands that want to have an impact on young children's lives."If you're one of them, then you should reach out and get involved."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
13 minutes ago
- BBC News
Halton Library in Leeds to close for major refurbishment
A library is to close for 20 weeks in the autumn to allow a major upgrade of City Council said the work at Halton Library on Selby Road followed calls from users to have the centre £870,000 scheme will include a new entrance and meeting spaces, improved internet speeds and better access for people with disabilities.A report to the council stated the work would be funded by the authority's capital programme and during the project a mobile library would be made available. The report said the library already provided stop-smoking services, police drop-ins, history talks and councillor surgeries."Halton Library continues to support the local community by offering a wide range of services," it said."However, feedback from the users of the service highlights several areas requiring improvement."According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council said investment in the library had not kept pace with the changing needs of the community."The tired appearance of the library building can give the impression of neglect, potentially affecting community pride and reducing engagement," the report council said it hoped the work would create a more "inclusive and welcoming environment". Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
The Guardian
14 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Richard Rusbridger obituary
My brother, Richard Rusbridger, who has died aged 75 from brain cancer, was a leading British psychoanalyst in the tradition of Melanie Klein. He taught, wrote and lectured, in the UK and abroad, as well as training many future analysts. But it was his clinical work over the course of 40 years or more that gave him the greatest satisfaction. Richard started formal training as what was sometimes called a 'post-Kleinian' in the late 1980s. His training analyst was Elizabeth Spillius, who had also been an anthropologist and who was herself one of the foremost Klein scholars. (Richard was later to co-edit her papers.) Once established in private practice, he saw patients in his north London home. When his death was announced, several of his patients took to social media to say what a profound effect their time with him had had. One wrote: 'He completely changed my life, my relationship with myself and with my family.' Another said: 'Richard was my life witness. It's a sad and scary world without him in his chair behind my head, occasionally saying 'quite'.' Richard was born in Lusaka, in what was then Northern Rhodesia, where our father, GH Rusbridger, was deputy director of education and our mother, Barbara (nee Wickham), was a nurse. Our parents returned to the UK from Africa; they had no permanent home here, and another brother, Guy, who had been born with severe disabilities, needed intensive nursing care. So when Richard was only eight, he was packed off to board at a prep school in Taunton in Somerset. Once the family was settled, in Guildford, Surrey, and after Guy's death, Richard returned to live at home. He was a chorister at Guildford Cathedral under the redoubtable Barry Rose, and sang at the building's consecration in 1961. He progressed to become a music scholar at Cranleigh. One of Richard's near contemporaries, James Harpur, wrote a fine volume of poems about the school they both knew, which included the stanza: 'Each night I prayed / for protection / from arrest and sadism / each day believing in / my random luck.' They were lines that would have spoken to Richard. At Magdalene College, Cambridge, he struggled to choose between his two loves, music and literature. One close friend at the time recalled: 'He did incredibly little work, but he was fascinated by other people and the contrast between what we pretend to be and what we are.' After a brief period of teaching he began his long immersion in the world of professionally helping others: as a social worker, as a child psychotherapist and then a child analyst and training analyst. He was, his colleagues said, a skilled clinician, with a combination of sharp clinical perception and sympathetic humanity. He was also a popular supervisor, an inspiring trainer of future analysts, and was appointed honorary reader at University College London. His interest in music and literature surfaced in a number of papers exploring artistic works through the lens of psychoanalysis, including studies of Mozart's Don Giovanni, on narcissism in King Lear, and comparing Shakepeare's Othello and Verdi's Otello. In 1982, he married Gill Philpott, a psychotherapist; they had two children, Charlie and Alice. They all survive him.
Daily Mail
42 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Don't expect a Sunday afternoon slumber! Millions of Brits' phones to buzz as Government announces new test of UK's emergency alert system
Anyone enjoying a Sunday afternoon slumber on 7 September is set to be woken by the latest national test of the UK's emergency alert system. Millions of Brits' phones will vibrate and make a siren sound for around 10 seconds as they receive a text of fewer than 100 words at around 3pm on the day. It will assure the public that they 'do not need to take any action' and include a message in both English and Welsh. The Government has been carrying out a public awareness campaign to ensure people know when the test is taking place, including those facing domestic abuse who may have hidden phones. The Cabinet Office said the text message will be sent to mobile phones on 4G and 5G networks in the UK. It will read: 'This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a UK government service that will warn you if there's a life-threatening emergency nearby. 'You do not need to take any action. In a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe. 'Find simple and effective advice on how to prepare for emergencies at 'Visit for more information or to view this message in Welsh. Ewch i am ragor o wybodaeth neu i weld y neges hon yn y Gymraeg.' Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said: 'Just like the fire alarm in your house, it's important we test this system so that we know it will work if we need it. The alerts have the potential to save lives.' Since the first national test of the system in April 2023, five alerts have been sent, including during major storms such as Storm Eowyn in January when lives were at risk. Other activations have took place when an unexploded Second World War bomb was discovered in Plymouth, as well as during flash floods in Cumbria and Leicestershire. Some MPs have called on ministers to use different modes of communication for the alert in order to ensure it reaches people who do not have access to a phone. Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman Sarah Olney has suggested the Government follows Scandinavian examples where the public have been handed pamphlets about preparing for emergencies.
