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Michael Momoh, the first child to be supported by our charity, is visiting his old school, Oliver Goldsmith Primary School in Camberwell. Looking out across the rows of children sitting cross-legged on the floor where he himself once sat, he poses the question:
“Who’s your favourite superhero?”
A flurry of eager hands goes up – Iron Man, Spiderman, Black Panther. The fourth child hits upon Michael’s own favourite superhero – Batman.
“Let me tell you why he’s my favourite,” says Michael. “There’s a scene in The Dark Knight Rises where Batman is asked, ‘Why do we fall?’ The answer? ‘So we can learn to pick ourselves up’. There will always be struggles in life but with strength and determination you can pick yourself up and get through it.”

As part of the assembly, Michael has been sharing some of the struggles he has had to contend, from the death of his father to dealing with dyslexia. While a student at Oliver Goldsmith, Michael received support from The Children’s Literacy Charity (then called Springboard), developing a love of books and learning thanks to his one-to-one literacy tutors and the school’s team of dedicated staff.

When the children are asked who has ever attended our Oliver Goldsmith Literacy Lab, another flurry of hands goes up. Like Michael, they all know what it’s like to experience challenges in their learning. With the right support and encouragement, and by cultivating an inner-determination, there is every chance they too will go on to succeed.

Indeed, Michael makes for an inspiring role model. In the 25 years that have passed since he left Oliver Goldsmith, he has completed a degree in Digital Arts and Animation at the University of West London, worked as a council officer and now manages his own consultancy, while also studying for an MBA. What’s more, he’s even starred in several plays and films, including a surprising turn as a gorilla in The Legend of Tarzan (he acted out moves which were then rendered in CGI).

After the assembly, Michael sits down to chat to a group of Year 6 pupils who have previously been supported by The Children’s Literacy Charity and are now about to make the big move to secondary school. To help them find their feet, Michael encourages them to pursue their talents, citing his own successes as an athlete (he was his school’s long jump champion five years running) and his love of art. And for the things that don’t come so easily?

“Acting is a brilliant skill to pursue,” he suggests. “During my time at secondary school, I was in Hamlet. The words scared me but I wanted to prove to everyone that I could do it. Memorising lines helped me to train my mind and develop my ability to speak in public. It also helped me understand my emotions.”

There’s one more important entry on Michael’s CV which we have yet to mention. Recently, he became a trustee for The Children’s Literacy Charity. We are truly grateful to have such an insightful and inspirational figure on board, and very much look forward to working with Michael as we develop and grow our work!

Did you know that £15 could provide literacy resources for one child for an entire year? To lend your support, donate here.

 

“My reading experience started in the war years when we took refuge in the air raid shelter,” explains Sir Jim Rose. “My mother and aunt used to read stories to me by candlelight to keep things calm. I had a great diet of traditional stories stretching from Goldilocks, The Gingerbread Man and Jack and the Beanstalk, to just about all of Hans Christian Andersen. I also learnt to write letters on the wall with the burnt end of a candle. It was very exciting.”

In the world of children’s literacy, Sir Jim Rose scarcely needs an introduction. It was his review of early reading (published in 2006) that led to the wide-scale teaching of phonics in primary schools across the UK. A supporter of The Children’s Literacy charity, Sir Jim’s reflections on his own reading journey have been prompted by a visit to our Literacy Lab at St Matthew’s Primary School in Westminster. Here, children identified as struggling with literacy have been benefiting from our one-to-one phonics-based intervention.

One such child is five-year-old Abigail. On the morning of Jim’s visit, Abigail is confidently reading aloud. Her tutor Jane sits reassuringly beside her and two cuddly friends (Cat and Dog) are perched on the table. Abigail barely hesitates as she reads, pausing only to answer Jane’s questions about the story.

Abigail joined the school in September 2017 and joined the Literacy Lab in January 2018, as soon as a space became available. Since she began attending the Literacy Lab, Abigail has made some astonishing progress. “When Abigail first came to the Literacy Lab she didn’t know all of her letters or sounds,” explains Jane. “She’d just moved to London and was going through a difficult time at home.”

For Abigail, working one-to-one with the same adult in the quiet environment has made an enormous difference.  “The bond that you can develop with a child by working in this way is very special – it helps them to grow in confidence and is a safe place from which they can develop,” says Jane.

With many of the school’s children coming from households where there are low levels of literacy, the school begins its formal phonics teaching programme early, identifying children who are struggling swiftly and referring them to our Literacy Lab when they are in Year 1 (ideally at the start).

In recent months, Abigail and Jane have been working through a structured programme, focusing on different phonics sounds. Today’s cuddly props have been carefully chosen to reinforce the sound ‘aw’. Taking a multisensory approach, as part of the session Jane encourages Abigail to reach out and touch the cat’s ‘paw’ and its ‘claw’, saying the words as she does so.  Abigail then comes up with her own sentence, “The cat’s paw was sore.”

And Abigail has now reached the stage where – most excitingly of all – she can read stories for herself. Recently, she received a book in assembly as a prize for excellent behaviour which she loves to read. She also has a big book of fairytales which she reads every night before bed.

“Stories present such a rich seam of possibilities,” says Sir Jim. “I seem to recall feeling quite miffed when the ‘all clear’ sounded to leave the shelter in the middle of a story. Once I learnt to read for myself, I enjoyed reading all those traditional tales again. I seem to recall my earliest solo triumphs were Bambi and The Wizard of Oz, then anything to do with animals. It’s so important for children to be immersed in stories from an early age. They help them to make sense of the world.”

Thanks to her hard work and with the help of Jane in our Literacy Lab, Abigail now has a whole world of stories, and possibilities, open to her.

By making a donation to The Children’s Literacy Charity, you could help make this a reality for many more children like Abigail.

 

 

 

Michael de Souza, creator of hugely popular crime-busting rodent Rastamouse, certainly knows how to reel in his crowd. Within seconds of taking to the floor at our first ever education conference, ‘The Literacy Gap’, he had our audience of 90 delegates moving, shaking and chanting smile-raising rhymes such as the crazy crocodile.

Why? For Michael, when it comes to inspiring a love of literacy, an infectious enthusiasm is non-negotiable. “You need to be enthused by learning and storytelling if you are going to engage and enthuse children,” he says.

Taking place earlier this year, our first ever education conference sought to highlight the literacy gap that exists for so many children, with those from disadvantaged backgrounds struggling the most. In England, 1 in 5 children leaves primary school without reaching expected levels in reading and writing, a figure which rises to 1 in 3 for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. As Rastamouse might say, addressing this problem is ‘crucial’.

With the tagline ‘Know It. Mind It. Close it’, the conference sought to give our audience of teachers, head teachers, school SENCOs, youth leaders and other interested parties a detailed picture of the literacy gap in the UK today, and equip them with ways to support children who are facing barriers.

Alongside keynote speaker Michael de Souza, our roster of illustrious guest speakers included Sir Jim Rose, who reflected on the impact of the wide-scale introduction phonics, Dr Jenny Thomson, from the University of Sheffield, who shared advice about supporting children with EAL, and Matt Hood, CEO of The Institute of Teaching, who outlined ways to develop best practice in literacy teaching in schools.

As well as enticing rhymes, participants went away with plenty of practical ideas to help fuel a love of literacy learning. The Ministry of Stories revealed how songwriting can be a brilliant avenue for helping children tap into their writing talent, Paul Johnson introduced us to the fascinating world of book art with an interactive book-making activity, while the Empathy Lab demonstrated how stories can help children explore feelings and consider alternative perspectives.

Some of our youngest speakers were students from The Knights Templar School in Hertfordshire who explained how our peer-to-peer Reader Leader scheme has been a huge success for Readers and Leaders alike. The conference also provided delegates with the chance to suggest ways in which we as a charity could offer further support and develop our work. Key messages included the demand for opportunities to observe our one-to-one Literacy Lab interventions in action, for guidance on how to set up peer-to-peer reading schemes and for recommendations on how after-school Community Literacy Labs could work. We really value this feedback and will use it to inform our future activities. Thank you to everyone who made the conference such a success!

Interested in setting up a Literacy Lab at your school? Find out how!

Dr Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham, cupcake phonics and an intriguing Tummy Ache game were all on the menu at our Literacy Lab at Oliver Goldsmith Primary School, Southwark. The activities were enjoyed by children and guests from City-based financial communications firm Haggie Partners alike. Even the Tummy Ache game went down a treat!

We are pleased to announce that Haggie Partners have chosen to support the work of The Children’s Literacy Charity. The visit, which took place on 17th May 2018, was designed to give employees a taste for how we help primary age children who are struggling with their literacy skills, including reading, writing, speaking and listening.

As part of the session, our three visitors were shown around the Literacy Lab at Oliver Goldsmith, located on the school’s top floor, by our senior tutor Jose. The Literacy Lab is the space where our one-to-one reading interventions take place. As well as cosy reading areas, there is a range of eye-catching displays including everything from written work inspired by Star Wars actor John Boyega, a past pupil of the school, and a world map showing the countries that are important to the children who attend the Lab.

Jose explained, “We want to make the Literacy Lab feel like a fun place that belongs to the children who come here.”

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Following the tour, our guests joined individual children for their 45-minute Literacy Lab sessions, observing tutors and joining in with stories and games.

Emily Murphy, who is a senior account executive for Haggie, joined a six-year-old girl. She said, “I was struck by how confident she was. She was reading a book about different jobs and decided that she wanted to be a pilot. It’s great to think that with the support of The Children’s Literacy Charity that one day she could get there.”

Emily Sharpe, an account executive, added, “I loved reading as a child. I’m excited that we, as a company, will be helping children to develop this important skill.”[/three_fourth_last]

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Our tutors tailor each session to each child’s needs, supporting them as they work towards personal targets. For World Cup season, our tutors at Oliver Goldsmith have created a football-themed wall display where children will be able to place a football in their goal every time they achieve a target.

Gavin Warren, who is the design director at Haggie, said, “The boy I was sitting with was working on knowing the letter names for vowels and not just the sounds. His tutor said that if he remembers them confidently next session he’ll be able to put a ball in the goal. He seemed very excited by the prospect of this – the chart is definitely helping him to stay motivated.”

And for Gavin, and the wider team at Haggie, the prospect of supporting the children at our Literacy Labs is a brilliant source of motivation to get active through a series of upcoming fundraising challenges. The team will also help to boost children’s passion for writing through a pen pal scheme, writing and receiving regular letters.[/three_fourth_last]

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We are very much looking forward to working with Haggie and welcoming more members of their team to our Literacy Labs. We are excited to see what the coming weeks and months will bring!

Find out more about our corporate partnerships.
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