One hour. One child. One book at a time.
We match trained volunteer mentors with children who struggle to read, in primary schools across Tower Hamlets and Hackney.
Become a mentor
What we do
Every week, 240 volunteer reading mentors sit down one-to-one with a child in 18 local primary schools. Here is how the work takes shape.
One-to-one mentoring
Each child gets a dedicated mentor for an hour a week, every week, throughout the school year.
Mentor training
Volunteers are trained and supported by our team so every session is patient, structured and genuinely useful.
Summer reading scheme
Six local libraries keep children reading through the holidays so the progress made in term time isn't lost.
Who we help
Children who've been left behind by reading
We work with children in Years 1 to 3 who are falling behind their classmates — the ones who go quiet when it's their turn to read aloud, who decide early that books aren't for them.
It works. On average, children gain 2.4 years of reading age in a single year of mentoring. That's the difference between dreading a page and reaching for the next one.
