Charity and Voluntary Sector
YF: A Bradford-based reading support charity, Reading Matters, is being sponsored by Yorkshire Forward this year - the National Year of Reading. The charity helps young people in Yorkshire & Humber improve their reading skills by providing them with one-to-one support through volunteers from local businesses.
Reading Matters trains all volunteers before they are partnered with pupils, who they will spend one or two hours with a week during term-time. Pupils chosen for the scheme are primarily 11-16 years old and struggle with reading skills and confidence.
A report by Leeds Metropolitan University found that after just 10 weeks with a Reading Matters’ volunteer pupils an average gain 15 months in their reading age. Pupils’ attitudes to reading, confidence in the classroom, speech and language also improved.
BIG: Parents of adopted children who suffer from Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD) will be helped to support their children’s learning with a grant from the BIG’s Family Learning programme. FASD is a condition that often goes undiagnosed and covers a wide range of preventable birth defects caused by a woman drinking alcohol during her pregnancy, including facial abnormalities, growth problems and long-term developmental & behavioural problems.
Parents for Children (PfC), a national organisation that provides support services for children with special needs including adoption and foster care, will use the award of £50,000 to deliver residential learning weekends for these children and their adoptive families.
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