The Chapter One Online Reading Volunteers Programme has six (and counting) years of experience in targeting communities with the greatest needs. Our corporate partners and their volunteers can be located anywhere in the UK, but they can choose to read online with children in one of the schools on our programme that is close to their offices or projects. This allows many of our partners to focus their support in a place-based way, zeroing in on communities where additional volunteers can make the most impact.

We are currently working with our Platinum partner Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation to produce case studies for each location where their volunteers are matched with pupils. These case studies demonstrate the overall impact of Sodexo support on children's reading, and the way they have targeted volunteer activity in specific low-income communities.

Read the impressive case studies below for children in Doncaster, Glasgow, Manchester and London primary schools over the 2023-24 school year.

* All names of the children have been changed

Jacob* is in Year 2 in Hill Top Primary Academy in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Compared to the national average (23.8%), Hill Top school has a higher percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals (32.6%).

When Chapter One interviewed his teacher and Sodexo volunteer, Jacob had been reading online for 30 minutes a week with his volunteer reader for the first term of the school year.

Read the case study

Ryan* is in Year 1 in a primary school in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Compared to the national average (23.8%), his school has a higher percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals (32.6%).

When Chapter One interviewed his teacher and Sodexo volunteer, Ryan had been reading online for 30 minutes a week with his volunteer reader for the first term of the school year.

Read the case study

Ahmed* is in Primary 2 at Blackfriars Primary School, in the heart of South Glasgow. Approximately 64% of the school population live in the two lowest areas of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). Over half of the children in this school have English as an Additional Language.

When Chapter One interviewed his teacher and Sodexo volunteer, Ahmed had been participating in Chapter One’s online reading volunteer programme since October/November 2023, so for approximately four months.

Read the case study

Musa* is in Primary 2 at Blackfriars Primary School in the heart of South Glasgow. Approximately 64% of the school population live in the two lowest areas of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). Over half of the children in this school have English as an Additional Language.

Musa began his Chapter One online reading sessions in November 2023. We spoke to his teacher, Jessica Cox at the beginning of February 2024 and to his Chapter One volunteer Kate Nicholl in early March 2024.

Read the case study

Lily* attends Year 1 in a school in Manchester. In this school, 37.9% of pupils are in receipt of Pupil Premium funding and 87.9% of pupils have English as an additional language. As part of their Pupil Premium Strategy for 2023–24, this school highlights their key challenges for pupils facing disadvantage. Too many children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with lower-than-average language abilities, and the school also has a high proportion of pupils who are new arrivals to the UK.

Lily’s teacher put her forward for Chapter One due to a hearing impairment, speech difficulties, and low reading confidence. Lily is paired with Danni Fitton, an online reading volunteer from Sodexo. Lily began reading with Danni in early November 2023.

Read the case study

Noah* attends Year 2 in Haveley Hey Community School, in Manchester. In this school, 68% of pupils are in receipt of Pupil Premium funding, approximately three times the national average. In addition, 15.8% of pupils have English as an additional language.

Noah is paired with Rachel-Anne Bermingham from Sodexo. Noah began reading with Rachel-Anne in Autumn 2023. Noah’s teacher put him forward for Chapter One for a couple of reasons. First, Noah is from a very large family, with many siblings, and so his parents have limited time to support his reading. Second, he was initially on the school’s speech and language register, and had problems producing some sounds. We spoke to Noah's teacher and volunteer in April 2024.

Read the case study

Juan* attends Year 1 in Earlsmead Primary School in South Tottenham in the London Borough of Haringey. In this school, a significant number of pupils face disadvantage, and 26% of pupils are eligible for Pupil Premium funding. The school has identified key challenges to achievement amongst these pupils, such as low attainment, slow progress, gaps in knowledge and limited cultural or extra curricular experiences outside of school.

Juan’s family is keen to support him in reading but as English is not their native language, they can only offer limited support. Juan’s teacher - Vanessa Robson - put Juan forward for Chapter One reading sessions because, although she noted his potential, she was concerned that he would not reach the expected standard in reading by the end of the school year. Juan was matched with Sodexo volunteer reader Martin Reeve and the pair enjoyed reading sessions from October 2023 to June 2024.

We spoke to both Ms Robson and Martin Reeve at the end of the school year. We were also
able to speak directly with Juan to hear how he felt about his reading after eight months of
additional support from Martin.

Read the case study

How can companies get involved in Chapter One?

Chapter One’s virtual, time-efficient, flexible model for volunteering will enhance your company’s employee value proposition, whilst fulfilling CSR or social value commitments around education, social mobility and inclusion. Employees can:

- volunteer online directly from their desks with no travel

- make a direct impact on the lives of children from disadvantaged communities

- support local communities across the UK

- improve their own well-being by helping others

- reconnect with your company’s social purpose

If you’re interested in joining us, we’d love to hear from you! You’ll find out who we currently work with on our partners’ page. You can contact us here or email sarah.taylor@chapterone.org.