Catching up on lost literacy - we're ready for the challenge
We have adapted our service so that we can continue supporting children's reading at home and at school. As well as face-to-face reading support, we're providing a video service - Schoolreaders Storytime - and a new digital volunteering option
What we do
We believe that all children should leave primary school able to read well. Good literacy at this age is the cornerstone of success in secondary education and in later life. But as many as one in four children left primary school in 2019* unable to read well, and this figure will have been made worse by the COVID-19 crisis.
We recruit volunteers to listen to children read in primary schools. One-to-one reading support with an attentive adult helps children's reading fluency, comprehension and enjoyment. It is a crucial supplement to classroom teaching for many children.
Everyone benefits from the Schoolreaders scheme; the children, the schools and the volunteers themselves - a little of their time can translate into life-changing improvements to a child's reading ability.
Christmas with Schoolreaders!
Top gift-giving tips from those in the know...
If you're puzzling over what to give the children in your life for Christmas, we've got some insider advice for you. Earlier this year, just when lots of children were relying on books to get through lockdown, we asked pupils at some of our partner schools to list their all-time favourites for us. Here's what they told us:
Key Stage 1 Top 10
1 Farmer Duck – Martin Waddell
2 The Snail and the Whale – Julia Donaldson
3 The Smeds and the Smoos – Julia Donaldson
4 The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me – Roald Dahl
5 Room on the Broom – Julia Donaldson
6 The Accidental Pirates – Claire Fayers
7 One Ted Falls Out the Bed – Julia Donaldson
8 The Twits – Roald Dahl
9 Nessie Needs New Glasses – A. K. Patterson
10 You’re a Bad Man, Mr Gum! – Andy Stanton
Key Stage 2 Top 10
1 Harry Potter & the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling
2 The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
3 Frostheart – Jamie Littler
4 Toto the Ninja Cat and the Incredible Cheese Heist – Dermot O’Leary
5 Coraline – Neil Gaiman
6 The Unadoptables – Hana Tooke
7 Fing – David Walliams
8 The Secret Seven – Enid Blyton
9 How to Train Your Dragon – Cressida Cowell
10 Gangsta Granny – David Walliams
Give the gift of good literacy this Christmas
Click here to buy fabulous 2020 Christmas Cards and Gift Cards designed specially for Schoolreaders by some of our favourite illustrators. Your purchases will help us reach more children who need reading support.
The Christmas Book Quiz
Sign up here if you'd like us to email you our FREE Christmas quiz. While away a few hours over the holiday with family and friends, puzzling over our questions - there'll be something for everyone, whether 8 or 80, bookworm or occasional reader.
A message for reading volunteers and partner schools
We are recruiting new volunteers; apply today and we will place you in a school that needs you as soon as we can.
If you are already a registered volunteer and would like to discuss the timing of your return to school, or are interested in hearing about options for virtual rather than in-person volunteering, please contact us via email or on the telephone number below.
If you are a partner school and would like to discuss any aspect of the resumption of our services, please contact us via email or on the telephone number below.
The safety of volunteers, children and teachers is of the utmost importance to Schoolreaders. If you have any concerns please don't hesitate to contact us on
National curriculum assessments at Key Stage 2 in England, 2019 (provisional), www.gov.uk, updated 13th December 2019, Department for Education