Right to Read

Right to Read

Background

Right to Read is a national programme which aims to improve the literacy of primary aged children by providing trained employee volunteers who offer one-to-one reading support in local schools. The programme started following a conversation between a Yorkshire Water Director and a Headteacher in Leeds: programmes have since developed in a number of cities across the country. York Cares maintains a level of about 60 volunteers covering 40 reading places and helping 240 children across the city.

Right to Read is one of York Cares oldest programmes and has proved to be very popular with businesses, employee volunteers and schools. It has provided a good entry point for new volunteers, offering a structured programme with a light level of commitment which fits into the working day. Right to Read encourages sustained volunteering and has become a vehicle through which volunteers have engaged with other York Cares opportunities.

Process

Every volunteer who registers for Right to Read will attend a two hour training session with a local Deputy Head (formerly a Literacy Consultant). The training will cover the recommended government procedures for helping children to learn to read and will provide the opportunity to work through some problem examples. Volunteers will be briefed on the necessary safety and child protection protocol before having their ID verified for a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check, which they will need to complete on-line following the training session. After attending the training session, volunteers will be matched with a school and will attend a brief induction at the school prior to commencing their placement. At the induction, the link teacher for the school will give a guided tour of the building and will usually introduce the volunteer to their specific class and teacher. Volunteers will arrange a start date and a suitable day and time of the week for their placement in mutual agreement with the school.

Frequently asked questions

  1. Can anyone volunteer?  Any employee in a York Cares member company is eligible to volunteer. Full training and support is provided so no previous experience is required.
  2. How much time does my placement require?  Placements are usually one hour a week for a minimum of one academic term. We recruit volunteers for the Summer and Autumn terms and we ask you to continue your placement until the Summer and Christmas holidays respectively. Many volunteers decide to extend their placement beyond the first term though and form an ongoing arrangement with the school.
  3. I can’t manage to go in every week, can I share my placement?  Yes, providing the school are happy for you to do this, you can share your placement with a colleague or with another volunteer at the same school. This would allow you to visit the school on a fortnightly basis.
  4. I often get sent away for work. Will this be a problem?  Possibly. Schools prefer that the children meet a regular volunteer so if you often get sent away then Right to Read may not be suitable for you. However, schools do appreciate that work commitments are often unavoidable so missing the odd week is not usually a problem, providing you let them know in advance. We ask that you consider your commitments in advance and try to commit to the term ahead in full.
  5. Which schools are available for placements?  We work with 17 different primary schools across the city throughout the year. We will have a range of schools available from the North, East, West and Central districts of the city for both the Summer and Autumn terms. This geographical range usually enables us to place volunteers in schools close to their place of work. We are fairly flexible, so if you have a desire to volunteer at a particular school please get in touch and we will see what we can do.
  6. I already have a CRB check, do I need to do another one? Yes, unless you have already completed a CRB check for York Cares in the last three years. If this is the case, please inform York Cares in order that we can check our records.
  7. What documents do I have to provide for the CRB check? You will need to provide up to five documents for your check. We will send you a list of suitable documents prior to the training session. 
  8. Do I have to attend the training session? The training session is compulsory for all new volunteers. There will be one training session in July for those starting placements in September and another in March for those starting after Easter. These take place on a weekday, 12-2pm in the city centre. Existing volunteers are welcome to attend training sessions to ‘refresh’ their knowledge if they wish. To register your interest and find out about our next available training session please contact York Cares.
  9. Do I need to fill in any forms to register for the programme?  You will need to complete a registration form to secure your place on the programme. Prior to the training session, we will ask you to complete a CRB document form. You will then need to complete a CRB check on-line following the training session.  

Get involved!

To find out more about how your organisation can get involved in Right to Read — or anything else about York Cares — just contact our dedicated team, based at the University of York. We would love to hear from you.

Call us ...

01904 323482

... or email us