At Oakwood Primary Academy in Eastbourne, there's a moment in class that brings a special smile to teacher Christina Ellwood's face. It's when she asks for children to volunteer to read aloud, and Rohan's* hand shoots up with newfound confidence. For a child who started Year 2 painstakingly sounding out every word, this enthusiasm for reading marks an extraordinary journey.

When Rohan first arrived at Oakwood, written English and the school’s phonics system were completely new to him. English was not Rohan’s first language and reading was a slow, hesitant process. "He would check with me to see if each word was correct before moving on," Ms Ellwood remembers. "Listening to him read was extremely time consuming." Despite finding reading difficult, Rohan showed great determination - he was keen to improve, even though he didn't yet enjoy the process.

Everything began to change when Rohan started his weekly reading sessions with Danielle Green, his Chapter One volunteer from Marsh McLennan. His initial reading style was what Danielle describes as "disjointed," but his eagerness to learn was evident from their very first session. Between them, they created a space where reading became less about getting every word perfect and more about exploring stories together.

Rohan particularly loved choosing books about animals, and Danielle recalls how he seemed to enjoy engaging with an adult and was "always full of it, trying to tell me loads of information." This enthusiasm for stories began to transform his reading ability. As Ms Ellwood observes, "Over time, he sounded out fewer words, recognised more words by sight, and the pace of his reading got quicker." She says that Rohan started to read more of the books that she sent home and is proud to see that he has become "a competent reader".

The transformation has gone beyond just reading faster - his comprehension skills have improved greatly too. "By the end of the year, he was obviously reading more fluently," Danielle shares. "But also, when he was reading the stories, he was putting little voices and things on as well, showing that he was using his imagination and living the story a little bit more than obviously when we first started... that was a massive change."

This newfound joy in reading spilled over into the classroom. Though naturally reserved, Rohan began to shine in new ways. "He's happy to talk to his partner about the text, happy to help someone that maybe isn't quite as advanced as he is," Ms Ellwood explains. "Or he's happy to listen to somebody, if you partner him with somebody that might be slightly better - he's happy to listen and gain from what they've got to say to him."

In Eastbourne, where nearly a third of children live in poverty and 23% of five-year-olds start school struggling with early language skills, creating confident readers is crucial. At Oakwood Primary Academy, where 45% of pupils receive Pupil Premium funding, these one-to-one reading sessions are helping close a critical gap - in 2023, only 50% of Pupil Premium pupils achieved the expected standard in reading by the end of Key Stage 1, compared to 95% of their peers.

Danielle noticed how Rohan's personality began to emerge more with each session, his character shining through as his confidence grew. Ms Ellwood sums up the transformation perfectly: "I think he beams with confidence now".

For Rohan, those weekly reading sessions haven't just improved his reading fluency - they've helped him find his voice, his imagination, and his place in the story.

* Rohan is not the child's real name

Rohan, a year 2 pupil in East Sussex, read with Danielle Green, a volunteer from Marsh McLennan, from autumn 2023 through to the end of the summer term in July 2024

Literacy and poverty rates in Eastbourne, East Sussex

In 2022-23, 32.8% of children in Eastbourne were living in poverty (UK 30%), an increase of 2.8% (2015-22). According to the National Literacy Trust (2024), 23% of five-year-olds in East Sussex started primary school this year without the early language and communications skills they need to learn and make friends; 40% of children in East Sussex from disadvantaged backgrounds left primary school last year unable to read and write well; and 64% of 16-year-olds in East Sussex from disadvantaged backgrounds failed to achieve good GCSE grades in English language and maths in 2017. According to the Department for Education (2024), 58% of pupils in East Sussex met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at the end of primary school, compared to 61% in England.

Sources: End Child Poverty, National Literacy Trust, HM Government

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