"When I worked in glossy magazines every January issue or new year issue would have variations of the cover line, ‘New Year New You!”. Diets, exercises, post-Christmas detoxing were all essential features and, depending on the readership of the magazine, would range from home-made face masks to luxurious spa retreats to cleanse ‘mind, body and soul’, accompanied by pictures of athletic and ecstatic looking adults. Well. Fast forward a few years and nothing much has changed. The concept of a lovely fresh start at New Year is compelling – particularly in the dark days of December and January. But in 2025 somehow embarking on a green juice detox or a wardrobe overhaul seems a bit, well, dull. Why not try something radically different?
One of the most annoying questions around New Year is people asking you if you have any new year resolutions. Quite cheeky really. What if you want to keep your resolution quiet? You might be secretively reflecting on potentially giving up an unmentionable habit or almost worse, it might possibly be something other people find so extraordinarily dull it’s a conversation killer.
Fear not. I am not going to suggest anything that will result in ripped muscles or upset digestive systems. It’s not so much a resolution, more a low-impact activity which you only have to commit to an hour a week. This particular New Year resolution does not involve Lycra or blisters but the knock-on effects of the endeavour are potentially life-enhancing in every possible direction. You could actually argue it is life changing.
I had been toying with idea of reading with children in primary schools for some time. But having just emerged from the coalface of motherhood and watching my own children heading off as young adults into the big wide world with misty-eyed pride, the thought of committing to more school stuff was not appealing at all. It felt regressive. But then I met a friend of a friend who is a reading volunteer for a charity called Schoolreaders and it sounded a good deal easier than I imagined - and with minimal impact on new-found freedoms.
There were two critical bits of information that convinced me I wanted at least to try it. Firstly, that it is a commitment of a minimum of an hour a week during the term time but this is flexible if you are away or on holiday. Secondly, the dire state of literacy in our green and pleasant land. It turns out that 1 in 4 primary school children do not reach the required level of literacy to harness their Secondary School education – and this is nationwide.
We hear quite often how British children are sailing up the international literacy charts but that is the top performing lot – not the bottom 25 percent. It all boils down to reading to and with children – or not. Obviously not everyone is able to read with their children but if, as it turns out, a child’s chances can be transformed by one 15 minute session a week and foster a life-long love of reading, then it had to be a no-brainer to at least try to lend a hand.
The idea that a quarter of primary school children are falling short in what will help them most in life was a real shock to me. Life chances crash when you can’t read easily. In Winchester prison, for example, a high proportion of the prisoners are illiterate. So I signed up.
Founded ten years ago, the Schoolreaders model is simple. Volunteers read for free to children in primary schools for a minimum of an hour a week in the term time. The school selects the children they think would most benefit from the extra one-to-one attention. Schoolreaders offer great choice and flexibility to the volunteers – you can choose how far you would like to travel to a school and they provide information on the demographics of the children. For example, at the school I volunteer at over 50 percent of the children receive free school meals.
The charity conducts a phone interview with a potential volunteer and also require a DBS check before they can start. To volunteer, you simply go onto the Schoolreaders website and fill in the necessary forms. I was struck by how efficient and easy it was and within a month I found myself meeting the friendly, appreciative and impressive staff at the obviously happy Portsmouth primary school I go to. The teachers know what a difference just a little bit of extra attention with reading makes as they see it first-hand. But they also know that a child having the attention of an adult who listens to them one to one for even just a few minutes a week who isn’t a teacher or parent, builds confidence.
The children I help with reading every week are utterly delightful – some are restless and find it tricky to concentrate or even sit on chair – others are serious and eager to please. Every time they enjoy reading a sentence, story or even a few words, it is a joy to share their success and pride. They have all made progress since I have been reading with them ( just a few months) and most of all they seem to be enjoying themselves. It is fun to work out how to get their different personalities motivated and make reading their own thing rather than something they are told to do.
The sweetest thing I experienced recently was one little girl who I read with each week, whispering confidentially that she had something exciting to show me in her school bag. She looked quite furtive and slowly opened it. I thought this thrilling item was going to be a bag of half eaten sweets, or possibly a toy. It was neither. As she grinned up she showed me it was a library book she had chosen herself. She was so proud and excited to show it to me. From the smallest of acorns…I would urge anyone casting around for new year resolutions to consider this. Happy New Year."
Sarah Barclay, Schoolreaders County Ambassador for Hampshire
Schoolreaders County Ambassador for Hampshire Sarah Barclay is a journalist and author. For sixteen years she had a weekly beauty column in the Mail on Sunday's YOU Magazine.
She has written for Vogue, Tatler, The Sunday Times, Daily Mail, Saturday Express, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and Madame Figaro and was the Health and Beauty Director of Woman’s Journal for seven years. Now, she volunteers with Schoolreaders, and wrote the above article about her experiences.