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We've got some fantastic news to share as we celebrate a decade of Schoolreaders making a difference. 2,000 incredible volunteers across 1,000 schools are supporting a whopping 20,000 children with one to one reading support every single week - thanks to you! There is more to this than the numbers; our volunteers are helping to change the life-stories of these children. It couldn’t be done without the incredible support of our volunteers and supporters, so from each of the 20,000 children who benefit from reading support this week—THANK YOU! In our recent annual research, a whopping 93% of participating schools reported that spending time with a Schoolreaders volunteer significantly boosted children's reading confidence. Children just like Sally May… Sally May is a bright and enthusiastic nine-year-old attending a school in one of the top 10 most deprived communities of the country. She has her own story to tell about the impact of Schoolreaders; "Schoolreaders have helped me a lot in my reading. When I was little, my mouth wasn't working properly to say some words, but Miss Nicholson helped me say loads of different words I couldn't say before. It makes me feel proud, and it makes me feel like Miss Nicholson is precious to me—she’s my treasure." If you are planning to make a donation to Schoolreaders this Christmas, between November 28th and December 5th, every £1 you donate will be doubled. That means, for one week, every £30 you contribute, two children get a full year of life-changing one-to-one reading support. It means that every donation will have twice the impact. Thank you once again for helping us to change children’s life chances – one page at a time.

Are you eager to make a positive impact on young readers' lives this academic year? Our County Ambassadors, who are also dedicated volunteer readers, have shared some invaluable tips to help you get started or enhance your experience when returning to school. If you have any ideas to add to this, please feel free to send them to admin@schoolreaders.org. We hope you have a rewarding and enjoyable time reading in school this year. 1. Build Relationships with Reception Staff: Establish friendly connections with the reception staff whenever possible. They can provide valuable support and information during your visits! 2. Consistency Matters: Request a list of the children you'll be reading with from the teacher(s) if possible. Encourage teachers to assign you the same children each week, fostering consistency. Periodically changing students, perhaps on a half termly basis, can also be beneficial if more children could benefit from your help. 3. Address Preferences: Ask the teacher how they want the children to address you. Some may prefer formal titles like Mrs., Mr., or Miss, while others may like the informality of first names. 4. Understand the School's Routine: Ask the school to explain a typical reading session in school, these will differ by age group. Ideally, you'll have time for a brief chat at the beginning and to offer praise at the end of the reading session. 5. Stay Informed About School Schedules: Familiarize yourself with the school's inset days, class trips, and holidays, as these vary among schools. We don’t want you to turn up if the school is closed! 6. Bring a Notebook: Consider carrying a notebook to jot down children's names and the page they reached in their books. This can be especially helpful as children don’t always remember what page they got up to. 7. Maintain Reading Records: While many schools may ask you to complete a reading record for each child, if they don’t, consider writing down how they have read and if there is anything you want to concentrate on with them next time. 8. Don't Be Shy: Some people feel nervous about interrupting a class to pull out the readers – there is no need to feel you are being disrespectful. Teachers would usually prefer you to pop your head in to say hello and to let them know you have arrived so you can collect the first child. Once you have started with one child it can be less disrupting to get that child to send the next one on your list - they like doing that! 9. Choose a Quiet Spot: If you're reading in a public area, position yourself and the child so your backs are to the traffic flow. If it is busy and noisy the children can get distracted but having your backs to the hullabaloo definitely helps! 10. Bring Visual Aids: Consider bringing props or visual aids related to the reading material to engage the children. Always check with the teacher first to ensure it's appropriate. 11. Promote Comprehension: Encourage understanding by asking questions like, "How do you think the character feels?" or "What might happen next?" This helps children develop comprehension and analytical skills. 12. Tailor Your Approach: Recognize that each teacher has a unique approach, and some focus more on volunteer readers than others. If children frequently receive books that are too easy or too difficult, consult the Teaching Assistant for advice on appropriate reading levels. 13. Assist with Difficult Words: If a child is struggling with challenging words, read a sentence aloud, discuss it with the child, and then have them read the same sentence back to you. This method enhances engagement and improves vocabulary. 14. Be Patient and Take Initiative: Understand that teachers are often busy and overwhelmed and may not always be able to make time to chat with you. Be patient and proactive, taking the initiative to build a warm and friendly relationship. Over time, as they witness the children's progress, they may become more engaged with you. 15. Adapt to Changes: Lessons do sometimes change and this can impact on your sessions – you may have to fill in ten minutes if assembly or a PE lesson is scheduled and clashes with your allocated session time. When this happens it is fine to say to the teacher that your volunteer period is set and that because of the change you will have to read with one less pupil and pick them up the following week. Of course if you have the flexibility to stay an extra 10 minutes to read with them that is great. 16. Spread Smiles and Fun: Finally, remember to greet each child with a smile as they arrive, and most importantly, have fun during your time as a Schoolreaders volunteer!

On Friday 28th of July, The October Club, a committee of philanthropists based in the City, held their first fundraising event of the year, raising an incredible £8,580 for Schoolreaders with a day at Ascot Racecourse. Since 1987, The October Club has raised over £15 million for transformational projects across 35 charities. In 2023 it will raise funds for our Northern England expansion programme, allowing Schoolreaders to provide one to one reading support to an additional 26,000 children across areas of deprivation in the North of England. The Ascot Race Day was a great opportunity for representatives from Schoolreaders, including staff, trustees and supporters, to get to know The October Club committee and explain more about the importance of our work in promoting lifelong literacy. With the weather on side, it was a fantastic day of raising funds for Schoolreaders. Funds were raised through a raffle, a live auction, and an enthusiastic game of ‘heads or tails’! A massive thank you must go out to Berenberg, the sponsor for the day’s event, and those who kindly supplied generous prizes for the auction and raffle, including; Richard Morcombe, Alice Garnett, David Coubrough, Elly Polhill, Serena Ansell and Augustine Jewels. The top highlight for all must have been attending ‘The Berenberg October Club Supporting Schoolreaders Fillies Handicap’ stakes, a race dedicated to Schoolreaders. Charity founder Jane Whitbread was asked to judge the most well-presented horse of the race and presented a prize to the winning groom. A huge thank you once again to The October Club, Berenberg, and all those who worked so hard to make the day a great success. You can help to support Schooreaders here.

How to get involved Your link with Schoolreaders can take a number of forms and, with input from both sides, can develop into a long-term relationship which brings many advantages to your company while also significantly benefiting us. Our team will work with you to ensure that we come up with a fundraising or donation plan that is supportive of your overall strategy, strengthens your brand and is scalable. Please telephone us today on 01234 924333 to talk about how you and your staff can get involved. CORPORATE DONATIONS Financial donations Schoolreaders provided more than 250,000 individual reading support lessons in the 2018/2019 academic year. The scale of the scheme and the fact that our sessions are completely free to schools (meaning that every child can benefit, whatever the financial situation of their school) has been made possible by the generosity of companies like yours. If you would like to donate to Schoolreaders, please contact us on 01234 924333, or go to our donate page. ​ Gifts in kind You could choose to donate products or services to help Schoolreaders deliver its programmes or carry out vital fundraising campaigns. At the same time you will be showcasing your brand products and core values to a different audience. Click here to see some of the companies who have supported us. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT Staff fundraising Blah blah blah blah blah. ​ Volunteering and pro-bono work Blah blah blah blah blah. ​ Payroll giving Blah blah blah blah blah. ​ ​ CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT Getting your customers involved in your fundraising efforts can be a very positive way of demonstrating your commitment to the wellbeing of your community, whether you operate locally or nationally. The Schoolreaders team can work with you to set up a campaign which resonates with your clients, builds connections between your staff and customers, stimulates long-term customer loyalty and is easy to implement. It may be something as simple as a 'rounding up' button added to your online checkout page, or a local fundraising event - these efforts, whatever their scale, will provide valuable support for us and will say a lot about your organisation's standards and values. ​ ​ ​ MAKE A DONATION Click here OUR COMPANY SUPPORTERS Read More WE'D LOVE TO TALK TO YOU Please call us on 01234 924333

Click on one of the buttons below for the appropriate book review template. ​ For a Key Stage 1 template... ... click here for a printable PDF For a Key Stage 2 template... ... click here for a printable PDF WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THE COMPETITION - HAPPY SUMMERTIME READING! ... click here for an editable Word version ... click here for an editable Word version

Thank you to those who make our work possible We are very grateful to our many trust and foundation supporters, both those named below and those who wish to remain anonymous. These include: Suffolk Community Foundation J Reginald Corah Foundation Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation "The JR Corah Foundation Fund are extremely pleased to be able to support Schoolreaders in delivering this valuable service to school children in disadvantaged schools. All the trustees consider it a vital initiative as the ability to read is essential not only to get on in life but also to gain enormous pleasure on a personal front" - Peter Corah, For and on behalf of J Reginald Corah Foundation Fund Fowler Smith and Jones Trust “We were happy to offer grants because your message is so strong and powerful….a win-win scenario for the children in the short term, society in the long-term by having better literacy in the community, and also for the volunteers being able to put something back. Having been a magistrate for 25 years, I am only too aware of the problems of poor literacy, leading to low employability, low esteem and isolation. Schoolreaders is helping to address this in a very cost-effective way.” - Grants Administrator, Fowler Smith and Jones Trust The Lady Hind Trust "It is only now that I can look back at my own school days with disappointment, disenchantment, frustration and indeed unhappiness, and realise what went wrong. I was bright up to the age of 10, when reading did not affect my results, but after this age I just went steadily backwards to leave school at 16 with just a handful of O Levels. A few years ago, at the age of 62, I had to take a ‘Professional Examination’ and was actually tested for dyslexia - "yes, you are very dyslexic, somewhat dyspraxic, but a high IQ". Throughout life I have had to suffer these disabilities with no assistance, and I now realise that it was only my IQ that got me through. If only Schoolreaders had discovered me at a much earlier date - then I am sure my school career would have been so much happier. Thank you Schoolreaders for what you do today - I only wish you had been there 67 years ago!” - Charlie Barratt DL, Trustee, The Lady Hind Trust "Basic reading skills are all too easily overlooked in our increasingly digitised age. Schoolreaders provides an invaluable service helping to remedy the reading deficit at crucial stages in our children’s education. We felt it was important to support Schoolreaders by providing a multi-year grant to cover core expenses, to give them the security to build a strong foundation. We then renewed the multi-year grant to assist them to build out their services across the country.” - Multi-Year Foundation Supporters