Read Easy Bristol is affiliated to Read Easy UK https://readeasy.org.uk/
We offer one to one coaching for adults who struggle to read and want help (our 'readers').
The Read Easy coordinators assess new readers, match readers to coaches and support them regularly. They also take part in interviewing potential reading coaches. They meet regularly with other coordinators and are well supported by the Read Easy Bristol management team. Read Easy Bristol is affiliated to Read Easy UK https://readeasy.org.uk/
Reading is a basic requirement of everyday life, and for many of us it is a skill we take for granted. Yet there are 2.4 million adults in England alone who can barely read or cannot read at all (Skills for Life Survey, 2011, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills – latest government figures). In turn, people who struggle with reading may also struggle with writing and have quite limited spoken vocabulary.
Learning to read as an adult can be life-changing. The benefits can extend beyond the individual and enable families to break the inter-generational cycle of literacy difficulties.
Reader and their Coach meet for half an hour at a time, twice a week, in one of a range of approved local reading venues which provide space free of charge. They work in spaces where they are not overlooked, but where there will always be other people around for safeguarding purposes.
Coaching is provided through a highly effective, phonics-based reading programme called Turning Pages, published by the charity Shannon Trust. An adult reading journey usually takes two years as a minimum. On completion, learners will have acquired the skills they need to move on to further reading and learning. The programme takes people systematically through the learning process step by step, at their own pace and steadily builds their confidence.
The Turning Pages programme also includes 45 graded reading books, written especially for adults, so that from an early stage people can begin to read for meaning and pleasure. Our Coaches will often tailor sessions and tasks to Readers personal interests, making what they learn both useful and engaging to them.
As people discover that they can read, their self-esteem grows, and they experience a real sense of excitement about the many opportunities that are now open to them for the first time.