A life-changing new reading programme launched by the Programme and Project Partners at Sellafield and its supply chain has seen 111 volunteers step up to support primary school age children in West Cumbria.
Using an innovative and secure digital platform from reading charity Chapter One, each volunteer is paired with a child who they will spend the next year supporting.
The initiative has so far been rolled out at:
- Ellenborough Academy
- Northside Primary School
- Kells Infant School
- Broughton Moor Primary School,
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
- Flimby Primary School
Luke Richardson, Programme and Project Partners head of social impact, said:
A child who can read is set up for life, not just because they do better at school and have better job prospects, but because they are happier and more confident.
Government statistics show 1 in 5 children don't have a book of their own at home, and 1 in 3 children from disadvantaged backgrounds aren't able to read at the required level, we're now hoping to change this using the power of our partnership at Sellafield.
Our reading programme, with the support of local schools, is already seeing our volunteers paired with children, aged between 5 to 7 years old, who need vital reading practice.
They meet for 30 minutes every week, during the school day to read stories and play games that build fluency, comprehension and, most importantly, foster reading confidence and enjoyment.
Tanya Peers, headteacher at Flimby Primary School, said:
Chapter One will be extremely beneficial to our children to support them reading regularly with an adult for a sustained period of time every week.
This is quality one to one work with children of all abilities and will help them to improve their fluency, comprehension and use their phonic skills to interpret unknown words.
I'm looking forward to seeing the impact and improvement in results over the year.
Reading programme volunteer Helen Thompson, from McMenon Engineering Services, said:
The reading programme is an amazing initiative, I look forward to the session with the child I work with every week.
I log in from work and we spend the half an hour reading, playing games and learning new words, it's rewarding to see how much the boy I support enjoys our time together.
Spending just half an hour reading with a child is nothing in the grand scheme of things but I know it's going to make a huge a difference over the year.
The support I've received has been fantastic, from attending practice sessions, understanding safeguarding needs, being provided with all the resources we need, and lots more.
Tracey West, social impact manager at Sellafield Ltd, said:
The commitment from our partners and supply chain to initiatives like the reading programme is fantastic to see.
It really shows how our supply chain is embracing Sellafield Ltd's Social Impact Multiplied programme - SiX - which recognises how more can be achieved in partnership, and how the impact can be multiplied through collaboration.
I can't wait to see what we will achieve together this year and into the future.
The reading programme is being supported by the Programme and Project Partners supply chain partners:
- McMenon Engineering Services
- TIS Cumbria
- Mitie
- Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick
- Cavendish Nuclear
- Orano
- Kier
- Metalcraft Engineering
- Seddon
With more partners expecting to join in 2023 as the programme is rolled out into more local schools.
The Programme and Project Partners at Sellafield is a partnership formed in 2019 between: KBR, Jacobs, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, Altrad Babcock and a growing supply chain to work with Sellafield Ltd to deliver some of the Sellafield site's most complex major infrastructure projects over the 20-year contract duration, while opening vibrant opportunities for the supply chain, economy and local communities.
