insideKENT Magazine Issue 96 - March 2020 | Page 159

CHARITY
Volunteers in Kent are helping to boost
reading confidence and enjoyment for local
primary school children
COULD YOU HELP BRING THE MAGIC OF READING TO CHILDREN IN YOUR
LOCAL COMMUNITY?
GINNY LUNN, MANAGING DIRECTOR
OF CORAM BEANSTALK
Across Kent almost 200 volunteers visit their
local primary school twice a week to support children
on a one-to-one basis with their reading.
Trained and supported by the reading charity
Coram Beanstalk, these reading helpers do more
than just listen to children read, they help encourage,
motivate and support them in a way that helps them
feel positive about their reading and sets them up
for future success.
Diana Vincent from Maidstone has been a
reading helper with Coram Beanstalk for over
five years. She says that she gets as much out of it
as the children do: “I am really proud to be a
Coram Beanstalk reading helper and regularly talk
to others and encourage them to do it too. If you
can’t read, you can’t grow, and that is why this is so
important to me.”
Once trained and placed in a school by the charity,
reading helpers (volunteers) will support three children
aged 3-11 through weekly sessions over one academic
year to read well - not just through recognising the
words but through the enjoyment of sharing books
together, chatting about them and developing deeper
understanding of the story.
Ginny Lunn is managing director of Coram Beanstalk
and says that the charity is in need of more reading
helpers across Kent and Medway, in order to reach
more children who need this vital support.
“Our reading helpers work with children who, for
a variety of reasons, don’t feel confident around
books and would benefit from weekly sessions outside
of the classroom with someone who can help ‘open
the door’ to reading. Our vision is to ensure that all
children have the opportunity to become confident
and able readers and we know that the first step to
achieving this is through encouraging a love of books
at an early age. If you feel you could help inspire
children to discover a lifelong love of books in the
local community, we really want to hear from you!”
Coram Beanstalk currently works with around 130
primary schools across Kent and Medway, delivering
a range of evidence-based programmes which support
those children who most need it. As part of the
Reading 321 Programme, each school is provided
with a pack of engaging books which volunteers use
to get their sessions off to the best possible start.
As well as recruiting volunteers for schools and
providing ongoing support and resources, the charity
has also started to deliver its reading helper training
to groups of parent helpers and community volunteers
where the school already has its own very committed
network of helpers.
“The feedback we’ve had from schools where we
have delivered the training in so far has been very
good, with teachers saying that they have found it
to be a very effective way to upskill their parent
helpers and encourage a whole-school approach to
reading,” adds Ginny.
For more information about the programmes
available to schools across Kent and Medway,
or to apply as a volunteer in a school or
early years setting, please visit the website at
www.corambeanstalk.org.uk or call Coram
Beanstalk on 020 7729 4087.
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