Reading Charities
Each year, eight children in an average class will leave primary school unable to read well. These children will often struggle in school, and beyond.
When a child can navigate words, they can navigate the world. That’s why we’re helping children develop the reading skills and confidence they need for a fair chance in life, through our flexible, volunteer-led programme.
The Bookmark app matches schools with fully safeguarded, vetted and trained reading volunteers. During each programme, a volunteer has one-to-one reading sessions, twice a week for six weeks, with a child who needs extra help with their reading. Sessions take place in school and are delivered online through our secure, interactive platform.
Bookmark now provide School Packages, offering more resources and support to schools. Their Rocket Packs gifted an astonishing 5386 brand new books to Bookmark's partner schools. These are termly gifts for schools, with books curated by authors and experts such as Mark Bradley and Dean Boddington!
A school partnership with Bookmark costs just £1 per reading session. To submit an application, click here now.
The Children’s Book Project works with settings across the UK to redistribute thousands of new and gently used books to children and their families.
We collect books from families that have grown out of theirs, remove any that are tatty and then organise them by age and stage prior to gifting to children with very few books of their own via their schools and other organisations.
Who do we work with?
- Schools for children and young people of all ages
- Prisons
- Food banks
- Community groups
- Women’s groups
Coram Beanstalk is a national children's reading charity with over 50 years' experience in creating readers through our one-to-one, in-person reading support. We know, and evidence shows that when children not only can read but choose to read, it has a more profound impact on a child’s academic success than their socio-economic background. In addition, readers also benefit from improved well-being and better life chances.
To become a reader, children need to explore what reading means to them by sharing and talking about a wide variety of brilliant books. Through consistent time and attention, they can discover their reading identity.
Coram Beanstalk has the knowledge and experience to mobilise and equip communities to deliver help to children in schools who need extra support to become readers.
So, we enthuse and enable people to put best practice, based on half a century of experience and the latest evidence, into action:
- Our volunteers – who provide consistent support to children who have fallen behind and need more intensive or longer-term help to change their attitude to reading and build their reading skills, ability and confidence.
- School schemes and peer mentoring programmes – which bring the motivation of the wider school community, and of older students, to help ensure that children at risk of falling behind or becoming reluctant to read stay on track.
- Professionals and wider community groups – who want to understand how a reading for pleasure approach can enhance their own practice.
- Parents, grandparents and others who help children with their reading at home – who want to get even better at doing it.
And we do this from early years, through primary education and into early secondary, by helping children develop their key pre-reading skills, as they are learning to read and as they go on to become effective readers who, rather than disengaging because other uses of their time seem more attractive, continue to choose to read independently because they know it brings value to their lives.
We are a local charity whose aim is to support teachers in improving literacy standards across Norfolk.
We do this by providing trained volunteers to support children's reading on a one-to-one basis within Primary Schools.
Our volunteers are given an understanding of the importance of phonics in leaning to read, in line with the emphasis placed on this in the New National Curriculum. This focus on phonics is particularly welcomed by teachers as it supports rather than conflicts with their class teaching.
Our charity was started in 2015 in response to increasing concern about reading standards across the county and the impact this has on future prospects. In the last few years we have trained over 200 volunteers and we are supporting more than 50 schools throughout the county.
We are a non-affiliated organisation whose sole aim is to improve children's reading skills and lifetime opportunities. Reg. charity no: 1176987. Our email is: info@thenorfolkreadingproject.co.uk
We appreciate that all children need plenty of opportunity to practise their developing reading skills.
The Norfolk Reading Project recognises that it is increasingly difficult for teachers to hear children read on a one-to-one basis within the classroom. Trained Reading Support Volunteers can help fill this gap. If you think your School might benefit from this support please do not hesitate to get in touch via our Contact Us Section.
If you already have volunteers in the classroom whom you feel might benefit from some phonics training we would be happy to include them in one our sessions.
Aims of the Norfolk Reading Project
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We can provide volunteers to support your teachers
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The volunteers will have training in the current methodology for teaching reading, including Phonics and also Child Protection issues
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Our Volunteers are DBS checked
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We can arrange for volunteers to come to your school regularly each week to hear children read on a one-to-one basis
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We are a charity and this service is FREE
The Reading Agency is a national charity helping people to tackle life's big challenges through the proven power of reading to deliver a world where everyone is reading their way to a better life.
Run by The Reading Agency, it’s the UK’s biggest reading for pleasure programme for children aged 4 to 11, delivered via public libraries. We invite you to encourage your pupils to take up this year’s Summer Reading Challenge.
Get Suffolk Reading inspires families across the county to read together, and helps parents to support their children’s literacy skills.
We also work with schools to aid the teaching of literacy and partner with local organisations who support our mission to raise literacy levels across the county. If you would like to get involved please email getsuffolkreading@literacytrust.org.uk and sign up to our newsletter for regular updates.
Get Suffolk Reading is funded by Suffolk County Council and was established with the support of Suffolk Public Sector Leaders.
LoveReading4Kids is a children's book recommendation website which donates 25% of the book's cost to the school of your choice, enabling them to buy books for their library, encouraging reading for all ages and delivering better outcomes for children. In addition, you’ll receive 10% off the RRP on a huge selection of titles.
Schools can create an account with LoveReading4Schools to access a portal which enables schools to create tailored reading lists or adopt the recommended reading lists for every year group and key curriculum areas. If you want to sign up for your school, you can do so by clicking here.
Watch this video to find out more about Reading4Schools and what benefits it can bring to your school!
Find out about how one school successfully maximised the benefit of creating wishlists and sharing it with their school parents and local community here.
Click here to read LoveReading4Kids' Funding for Schools Scheme.
We believe that reading is for everyone, that’s why we have made it even easier to get books into your school with Match Funding. Join our exclusive community and access 1000s of half price books for the rest of the academic year!
From levelled readers to decodables, Hi-Lo texts to diverse titles, our extensive collection offers books tailored to every reader's needs. And the best part? Everything is included!
Match Funding Frequently Asked Questions
To assist with the provision of funding for the education of children and young people in need, both descendants of the late Alderman John Norman, and organisations and charities as defined by the Charity Commission's Scheme for the Foundation.
For funding enquiries please click here.