Sarah Taylor (left) and Lisa Barea (right) accepting the Enabling Technology Award on behalf of Chapter One at the Social Value Awards 2024 in Birmingham

We are over the moon to have won the Enabling Technology Award at the Social Value Awards 2024. At Chapter One, the power of connection is at the heart of everything we do, and we have found a way to use technology to enable human connection and deliver social value in areas of deprivation.

Using smart technology, our Online Reading Volunteers Programme connects corporate volunteers with children aged 5-8 in need of extra reading support for remote reading sessions. Children sign in from the safety of their classroom and volunteers join from their workplace. Our programme is the largest online reading programme in the UK.

Thank you to all of our amazing corporate partners, volunteers, schools and funders who are helping us to close the literacy gap and transform children’s futures!

Using our bespoke and secure platform, our pupil-volunteer pairs read online together for 30 minutes a week during the school day over an entire academic year using a voice connection (there is no video). They read stories from our online library of 250+ graded books and play a range of word games to develop their literacy skills and boost their reading confidence and enjoyment.

Our volunteers can be located anywhere in the UK but can remotely support primary schools in 12 areas of deprivation across the country - Birmingham, Bradford, Cumbria, Doncaster, East Sussex, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Middlesbrough and Peterborough.

Our model enables us to achieve a reach and scale that schools rarely achieve with in-person parent or community reading volunteers. It’s a great example of collaboration between the private sector, public sector and third sector, to deliver social value in areas of deprivation.

Our platform was developed by educational experts in line with phonics systems used in UK schools, and also features built-in messaging and timetabling functions - volunteers can schedule their sessions at the click of a button. The platform is single sign-on, and volunteers can access live chat support for any tech issues. The technology seamlessly integrates with classroom life as children aren’t taken out of class (which would require supervising staff and space). Teachers don’t have to supervise the volunteers - classroom life continues as normal whilst the Chapter One session takes place.

The fact that the platform is audio only reduces safeguarding concerns and allows the pairs to focus on reading and communicating.

Our platform also enables us to provide real-time reporting to our corporate partners on volunteering hours and an end-of-year report on impact, detailing the reading progress of the children supported by their employees.

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.