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Support our early literacy initiative
Early Literacy
If all children left primary school able to read and write, and confident in their learning ability, our society would change radically: truancy and crime amongst teenagers would be significantly reduced; there would be fewer people in prison; fewer people unemployed, in low paid jobs, or dependent on state benefits; fewer people in poor health, suffering from drug and alcohol abuse or homeless. Meanwhile, more people would be able to explore both their own emotional wellbeing and the perspectives of others through books, magazines and newspapers. Indeed, there would be few people in society who would remain unaffected by such a crucial change.
Although Reading Recovery has now been implemented nationally for 30,000 children with the worst literacy problems, there are at least another 90,000 who need additional help alongside their normal lessons. To make sure that nobody is left behind at the most vital time of their intellectual, social and emotional development, we need to understand more about early literacy so that we can tackle the causes as well as treating the symptoms. By investigating the problems and piloting innovations in how to confront them, we can have a colossal impact on the lives of individuals and their families. With the potential for growth of successful and scaleable practical programmes to tackle the issues, the scope for change is vast.
Please email alumni@ioe.ac.uk to consider supporting this important initiative.