250,000 sessions milestone: Meet Rob

This spring, as the days grow brighter, we have something special to celebrate at Schoolreaders. Thanks to the commitment of our volunteers across the country, we have now delivered 250,000 reading sessions as part of our pledge for the National Year of Reading. That’s 250,000 moments of encouragement, connection and growing reading confidence for children around the country.

Behind every one of those sessions is a volunteer giving their time to listen to a child read one-to-one. Rob is one of those volunteers.

After retiring in 2021 from a career as an academic librarian, Rob was looking for something meaningful to do with his time. A lifelong reader, he came across an article in his local paper about Schoolreaders looking for volunteers in the North West. It felt like a natural next step.

Following an informal telephone interview, Rob was matched with a local primary school close to home. The flexibility of the process meant he could set out how far he was happy to travel and when he was available, helping to ensure a good fit from the start. Nearly two years on, he now volunteers twice a week, supporting children in Years 2 and 3. Previously, he read with a Year 4 class and followed them into Year 5, seeing first-hand how the regular reading support he provides builds fluency and confidence over time.

“It’s been great fun,” he says. “I’ve really enjoyed it.”

For Rob, the most rewarding part is seeing small but steady progress. He describes one Year 3 pupil who began the year noticeably behind her peers. Week by week, he has seen her grow more confident and read more fluently.

“The second or third time that I read with her she arrived with her book bag, took out one book and read it to me. After she'd put it back into her bag, she pulled out a second book and asked if she could read that as well. "Absolutely" I said and for the past several weeks she has been reading two books to me. She’s coming out of her shell now,” he explains. “It’s lovely to see that improvement.”

There are of course humorous moments too. After finishing a book that included the word “genius”, Rob asked one pupil if she knew what it meant. He explained briefly. After a pause, she replied thoughtfully, “Oh, you mean like Mrs…?”, naming her headteacher.

The precious one-to-one attention that Schoolreaders volunteers can offer is something children clearly value. When Rob arrives to collect a pupil, others often put their hands up and ask if they can go too. For many children who may not get the chance to read one-to-one at home, having a calm, consistent adult to read with can make a real difference.

Schools recognise this too. Rob’s school recently held a special assembly to celebrate volunteers and explain to pupils how they support learning alongside teachers and staff.

Like many of our volunteers, Rob feels he gains just as much as the children do. “It helps to keep me younger at heart,” he says. “It’s lovely to see children experiencing and learning about things for the first time.”

Reading is at the heart of everything we do because it is such a fundamental life skill. As Rob puts it, “If they can read, they can do all sorts of things. They can learn about things they might never have imagined.”

Reaching 250,000 reading sessions in our National Year of Reading pledge is an important milestone, but we are ambitious about what comes next. Our goal is to deliver 1.5 million reading sessions in 2026. With more volunteers joining us, we can support even more children to develop a love of reading and the confidence that comes with it.

Rob’s message to anyone thinking about volunteering is simple: “Definitely try it. It might not be for everybody, but I’ve found it very rewarding and I think the children have got a lot from it as well.”

As we celebrate this quarter of a million milestone, we would like to thank all of our volunteers for dedicating their time to help change children’s life-stories.

There are lots of ways you can get involved to help us reach our 1.5 million reading sessions target.

Find out more and view the live counter at: https://www.schoolreaders.org/national-year-of-reading