Could you tell us about what led you to volunteer with Chapter One?
My name is Julie Lawton-Kellett and I am a Senior Executive Assistant at Deloitte. I have always had an interest in education. I was awarded Mentor of the Year for the City of Leeds many years ago and became a Chair of Governors at a local Primary School, achieved a degree in Professional Education and then left Deloitte in 2005 to pursue a career in Primary School Teaching. Sadly, teaching never transpired and after then working in the NHS as a Senior Medical Secretary for 13 years, I rejoined Deloitte back in 2022.

You’re reading with two pupils this year, how are they getting on?
I am thoroughly enjoying my Chapter One experience with my two pupils. Both boys are a delight to work with, and both are so engaged in our sessions. I volunteer weekly with my two pupils and having weekly sessions builds a relationship and a routine and enables the boys to develop their reading and communication skills.

You’re also volunteering through our new Book Club Programme, can you tell us more about how that’s going? What led you to sign up?
I signed up to join the Book Club, as I remember my own experience of reading at school and the excitement I got when my class in Primary School used to visit our local library. I remember the silence in the library, everyone was very quiet and it was exciting to see all the books and the illustrations. When I went to high school, I remember reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” in class. Over the past few years, I have struggled finding time to read books, but this has given me the opportunity to read the books which have been selected in the Book Club, so I can speak confidently about the characters and explain the storyline.

How do you fit the volunteering into your working week?
I always make time to fit volunteering with Chapter One into my working week and work around the school timetable. I really want to be able to support the boys and hope that they look forward to our weekly sessions.

What have you found to be the benefits of volunteering with Chapter One? Has it helped you to develop either personally or professionally in any way?
As I have always had an interest in education, it is a great opportunity to use my skills to support young children with their reading. I try to make reading fun and because the boys are so engaged in our sessions, it makes reading interesting. We read books about so many different topics. Even today it was fascinating comparing two school children in USA and Japan with regards to how they greet their teacher, learning about traditions/celebrations such as 4^th July and what was really interesting was learning about the different foods they eat for breakfast!!

I try my best to make the children feel comfortable in our sessions. I am able to use my communication skills to come down to each child’s level, so I see the world in their eyes! The boys know that I am always willing to help them with sounds and tricky words and neither of them are afraid to ask if they require me to explain words they do not understand.

How have you found the support from Chapter One?
The support you receive from Chapter One is excellent. The training they provide with regards to the topics associated with the curriculum and safeguarding enables volunteers to feel reassured that everything is covered. I also need to mention the support you receive by Chapter One during your sessions. If there are technical issues during your sessions, the live chat is available and their support is fantastic. Yesterday I was online with my pupil, and he was experiencing difficulty with his headset. I explained that I was contacting Chapter One and my pupil understood clearly and within minutes the team at Chapter One had resolved the technical issue and our session continued with headset working!

Have there been any standout moments so far this academic year with any of the children you’re reading with?
All the children have their own individual personalities. My pupils are both delightful boys and it is so rewarding when you see them engage in sessions and every week you see them become more confident readers.

When we started the Chapter One session at the beginning of the school year, one of the boys was very shy and although he was participating in our sessions, he lacked confidence. To overcome this, I tried to find out what were his interests and found out that he went fishing. I then tried to select books which he would find of interest. Over the past few weeks, I have seen such a huge improvement in his reading and communication skills. He now is not afraid to ask questions and happily participates in our sessions. The class teacher has also seen a difference and brought this to my attention, as he has started to join in class discussions and is now not afraid to answer questions in class.

Has volunteering changed the way you think about literacy, or about the challenges some children face?
Every child should have the opportunity to be able to read and develop other literacy skills, such as writing, speaking and listening. From my own education, what is taught in primary school forms the building blocks for your education. I can still remember being taught homophones in primary school and how our teacher drilled us, so we could remember their meanings. I still have my handwritten notes from all those years ago! I try to make my sessions enjoyable. We are all individuals and we all use different techniques to learn. Some children may be confident readers, whereas other children may lack confidence, especially if they are struggling to read. Volunteering does enable me to support children of all abilities and I always try my very best to support them.

Many children today face huge challenges. They may come from a background where they never read books at home or have never been fortunate to have someone to read them a story. There are many children today in school reading books where English is not their first language, so again it is so important that we are able to support these children to give them an opportunity to succeed.

What would you say to anyone thinking of signing up to volunteer?
I truly recommend Chapter One to anyone who is interested in supporting children to read. It is so rewarding and I have taken part for the past three years. Every child is individual, they have their own personalities, and each one makes the Chapter One initiative so enjoyable and worthwhile.

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 karen.price@chapterone.org.