In just one year, international law firm Eversheds Sutherland has transformed from a new Chapter One partner to our latest Platinum Partner - doubling their volunteer commitment and creating reading opportunities for over 100 children across England and Scotland. What started as 55 volunteers in autumn 2024 has grown into a firm-wide movement spanning all 10 of their UK offices, demonstrating how quickly a corporate partnership can scale when there is genuine commitment to making a difference in children's lives.

The challenge: too many children falling behind

Far too many primary school children facing disadvantage struggle with reading, which stops them from thriving in life. These are often children who don't have a family member to practise regular reading with and are among the 1 in 5 children who do not have any books at home. Volunteers from corporate partners like Eversheds Sutherland play a vital role in becoming those crucial additional reading influencers.

When Eversheds Sutherland launched their pilot programme with us in November 2024, they initially aimed for 10-20 volunteers. The overwhelming response - with over 90 colleagues expressing interest - showed the genuine enthusiasm within their firm for supporting children's literacy. They quickly expanded to include 55 colleagues from all their UK offices as volunteers. This rapid mobilisation earned them our Volunteer Growth Award at the 2024-25 Partner, Volunteer and School Recognition Awards.

Looking ahead

From September, the partnership will expand to support 120 children with approximately 3,000 hours of one-to-one reading support. Eversheds Sutherland has also become the first corporate supporter of our Early Literacy Intervention Programme, funding daily seven-minute phonics sessions for children who are not keeping up with whole class phonics teaching. Using our bespoke technology tool, a trained Early Literacy Interventionist works within schools to support approximately 40 children over the academic year.