Phonics support pilot and spotlight on Ocado Group and Bradford

Welcome to June's Partner Talk newsletter!

Read on?to be inspired by the?impact of Innovation for Learning's?TutorMate online literacy?programme!?Share?the perspective of businesses focused on improving educational opportunities for young people and keep up to date with?the latest public policy developments, research?and solutions to the literacy challenge. Pairing employee volunteers with disadvantaged children?to support them to become confident readers?is?not only a great way for companies to demonstrate commitment to corporate social responsibility -?it also?makes good business sense.?If you're not already part of our programme, now is the time to?express your interest?in joining us for the autumn!

From across the pond: IfL introduces Early Literacy Intervention pilot in the UK

Innovations for Learning in the UK is excited to be piloting a new scheme that deploys specialist early learning interventionists (ELIs) to give struggling young readers targeted phonics support. Two specially trained ELIs have been recruited to provide daily support to 30 children across two schools in the Coventry area.?

The ELI scheme has already been launched successfully by our sister organisations in the US and Canada where it runs in parallel to the?TutorMate programme?that pairs corporate volunteers with children to read for 30 minutes a week.?

The Early Literacy Interventionists provide struggling students with what the classroom teacher often doesn’t have enough time for: targeted and sustained 1:1 support that addresses what is holding the student back.

We asked?Sarbjit Khangura, one of the two ELIs recruited for the pilot, to tell us more.?

Volunteer spotlight on...Krishen Vaya, Ocado Group

Business analyst?Krishen Vaya, a?volunteer from one of our corporate partners?Ocado Group,?gives the TutorMate platform a glowing report and shares that special moment when he knew he and his reading partner - a little girl at Byron Primary in Bradford - had become firm friends.?Read more.

School view: Byron Primary in Bradford

The mood is buoyant in Byron Primary School as it comes to the end of its fourth year as part of the TutorMate programme. Read more.

Sign up for the new school year!

This is our key time for onboarding new corporate partners and renewing commitments from existing ones for the start of the new school year in September. If you?want to find out more about how your business can support child literacy then please be in touch! Our business development manager?Sarah Taylor?explains how it works in this?short video.

Reading regularly with a TutorMate volunteer strengthens a child's belief that they’re a good reader, and sparks excitement about the world of books. So far in the 2021-22 academic year, our?volunteers have:

- Supported a record?1,586 children

- Provided a whopping?27,479 reading sessions

- Rated?83%?of their sessions as great?

We set ourselves an ambitious target of reaching 4,000 children by 2024, so we need more corporate partners and volunteers.?If you think your company could help, or you want to introduce us to a potential new partner, then please do get in touch with our Business Development Manager, Sarah Taylor at [email protected].