Reading Leaders

Resource type: Reading mentors

Price band: £££

Key stage: KS3

Region(s): England

Reading Leaders is a peer mentoring programme designed to improve literacy attainment and access to the wider curriculum for students who struggle with reading when they transition to secondary school.

Reading Leaders from years 9-13 are trained and supported to enable them to deliver one-to-one sessions with younger students to help them improve their reading skills, attitude to reading and reading confidence. The programme includes:

A coordinator’s pack with full guidance and templates to recruit Reading Leaders and successfully implement the programme.
Interactive training sessions and supporting materials for Reading Leaders.
Certificates of participation for younger students and references for Reading Leaders.

Training is available online via Zoom or Teams, and face-to-face in London, the South East, Merseyside and Yorkshire.

Cost: Online training for up to 16 students £750. In-person training £1450.

About Coram Beanstalk: Coram Beanstalk (originally called Volunteer Reading Help) is an award-winning national reading charity with over 50 years’ experience of training reading volunteers. It currently has more than 1000 trained volunteers working in schools.

Literacy Hive Likes:

All Reading Leaders courses include two free CPD places for members of staff.
The Reading Leaders programme can help schools develop a strong sense of community and a supportive and engaging reading culture.
Both the younger students (Reading Partners) and older students (Reading Leaders) benefit from the programme: Reading Partners receive evidence-based support and encouragement to help them improve their reading skill and confidence, while Reading Leaders are credited under a leadership programme that they can use to further their education or career.
Coram Beanstalk Reading Leaders is recognised as an Approved Activity Provider (AAP) by the Duke of Edinburgh Award and participation in the programme can be used towards the volunteering section of the Bronze Award.
Peer tutoring is rated as a high impact activity by the Education Endowment Foundation.
Coram Beanstalk’s Reading Helpers programme provides primary schools with access to fully trained volunteers to run one-to-one, in-person reading support sessions with their pupils.