NCR Atleos and NCR Voyix are Chapter One Silver Partners, whose 30 volunteers provided 298 hours of one-to-one reading support to Chapter One children this school year. We caught up with volunteers Gillian Smith, Katrina Crowe and Mathew Galbraith to find out how they found this year with Chapter One.

What motivated you to begin volunteer reading with Chapter One?

Gillian: When I learned of the worrying statistics about child literacy and the lack of access to the joy of reading, and having two children myself, I wanted to get involved to help others.

Katrina: When I was in primary school, I really struggled with reading. When I read about Chapter One, and how much it helps young children, I jumped at the opportunity to be involved in something that I know would have benefited me personally. Growing up, I also volunteered with Brownies, and I have loads of siblings, so I'm quite used to sitting down and helping them with homework!

Mathew: It was easy to sign up - I wasn't very much of a big reader when I was younger and now, I really love reading! I really want to push the idea that reading can sound boring, but it's the benefits you get from spending the time widening your vocabulary, for example, that then help make it a joy to read.

What are the benefits of being a Chapter One volunteer?

Gillian: Having a fun 30-minute break from work is very beneficial for me personally! And I do like feeling like I’m playing a small part in helping tackle the child literacy problem. I’ve learned more about phonics than I otherwise would have, and I have enjoyed representing NCR at the events and calls I’ve attended.

Katrina: I feel really good after my reading sessions, knowing that I am helping a child develop their reading skills. We can all be guilty of getting caught up in our work and saying, “I'll take a break at this time,” but not actually being able to. Having those 30 minutes in my diary every week is like an escape for me. In terms of professional development, it’s also essential in helping me practise patience. When you're just sitting with your child and they're taking the time to use their phonics, and go over things multiple times, it helps you gain some perspective when you get people asking questions all the time. Chapter One is also great for time management and adaptability. You've only got your 30-minute session and you need to plan out what you’re going to do and where to fit games in. You also need to be prepared for your child to say “No, I don’t want to do that!” and then have to adapt the session.

Mathew: It's a nice break - it's something to look forward to in your week and it takes you away from something that you might be finding hard in your workday. Usually, I find that when I come back to work after a reading session I'm a bit more refreshed and I can crack things a bit easier because I've had that small break, doing something that's completely unrelated to my day job.

How have you found the support from Chapter One?

Gillian: Impeccable! Getting straight through to a human who understands what I’m asking and promptly suggests solutions is so invaluable during such short sessions.

Katrina: Absolutely perfect - from the newsletters to the virtual Meet and Greet, it has all been wonderful. Luckily, I've not had any issues during any of my sessions, but I've heard from colleagues that as soon as that's happened to them, the support team is amazing, and the issue gets resolved really quickly.

Mathew: The team is always really fast and helpful to resolve any issues.

What progress has your pupil made with reading this year?

Gillian: At the start, my pupil was very tentative, and their reading was not at all fluent. They have made remarkable progress and now read with much greater fluency and are really building a great foundation of knowledge and confidence. For them, winning at 3 in a Row and receiving the ‘Great job!’ stickers have been a fun way of boosting the fun level and their confidence. The flashcards have been a really effective way of starting a session and the stories themselves have been engaging. They have definitely come really far with their fluency and confidence.

Katrina: At the start, she’d have to use her phonics to sound out every single word, and sometimes get a bit of help from me and work through it together. But she's really done a great job of developing her reading. I feel really proud when reading through stories now when she just says words without even having to think twice. I'm like, wow!

Mathew: Definitely confidence. At the start, their reading was quite monotonous, taking it one word at a time, but then sometimes rushing as well. For them, getting the confidence to take their time, put it all into one sentence and read through at their own pace has been amazing to see. Sometimes we take a break from reading the stories and take a look at the tricky words, and run through some tips and tricks. She’s just been getting more confident overall, which has been great.

What standout moments have there been when reading with your child?

Gillian: When I couldn’t keep up clicking the words as my pupil read them, I really knew we’d made a breakthrough!

Katrina: There was a moment when we were playing Word Sort. A lot of the words are quite short words, for example ‘yes’ and ‘no’. And then the word ‘fusspot’ came up, and I was thinking, oh my goodness, that's quite a difficult one. But no - she split the word up into fuss and pot and then said it all. And I felt so proud in that moment because it showed just how far along her reading had come.

Mathew: In our first few weeks, I could tell that she wanted to read but was quite reserved and let me lead. However, in our last session, she was getting ready for it - she was like, “So, what book are we reading?”, and I had to say “Let’s find one!”

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.