Our first Reading Heroes project launches outside of North West in London borough of Tower Hamlets

Thanks to a grant by Swire Charitable Trust, Shared Reading charity The Reader will work with 30 care experienced children and young people aged 5-15 in partnership with Tower Hamlets Virtual School, London.  

Volunteers are sought from across the UK to train with us to read online with a care experienced child for just an hour a week instilling a love of stories with a lifelong positive impact. 

The Reader’s Children and Young People’s team is excited to announce its first Shared Reading project for 30 care experienced children and young people in London’s Tower Hamlets. 

It is the charity’s first fully funded Reading Heroes pilot for five to 15-year-olds to take place outside of the North West and will run until March 2025. 

In the East London borough of Tower Hamlets, 56% of children live in poverty, 25 percentage points above the national rate, according to the 2021 Census - the highest in London.  

Kara Orford, Associate Director of Programme Delivery, said: “This is our first Reading Heroes project to launch outside of the North West. We are so excited as it is a great opportunity.  

“Our work will primarily address the importance of nurturing a life-long love of reading for pleasure - a proven major contributor to success in later life. These needs have been identified through consultation with our local authority partners and are supported by academic research. 

“This includes a need to address the life-long impacts of adverse childhood experiences, such as neglect and abuse, which children in care have frequently suffered. 

“It is an ambition of ours to scale up our Reading Heroes and Tiny Heroes projects reading with care experienced children from the ages of two up to 15 across the UK and this is a step in that direction.” 

Reading Heroes first launched in 2016 and pairs care experienced children and young people with highly trained volunteers to read together online or in-person, weekly for a period of six to nine months.  

It has impacted the lives of more than 250 children in the care of Merseyside’s local authorities and was first funded by BBC Children in Need for three years. As a result, Liverpool and Sefton councils commissioned Reading Heroes as an ongoing statutory service. This year the project has expanded further with new commissions and funded pilots. 

The Reading Heroes project in Tower Hamlets has been made possible by the Swire Charitable Trust, which offers grants to charities supporting some of the UK’s most vulnerable people to overcome barriers, improve life chances and realise their potential, including children and young people in care. 

Helen Murphy, Deputy Head Teacher Virtual School for Children in our Care, Tower Hamlets, London, said: “We are excited to be working on this pilot programme with The Reader and look forward to seeing how our children will benefit from this support. We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to The Reader for this wonderful opportunity.” 

The organisation is appealing for volunteers from across the UK who can spare an hour a week to read online and help instil a love of reading for pleasure with care experienced children and young people from the ages of five up to 15. 

This year, 175 care experienced children will take part in Reading Heroes and its sister programme, Tiny Heroes, for two to four-year-olds. 

This unique project is led by an experienced team based at The Reader’s historic home in Calderstones Park, Liverpool who train and support volunteers to deliver lively and engaging sessions.  

Each child will read online with their volunteer for up to one hour weekly, for up to 26 sessions, usually over six to nine months to build in flexibility around changes in circumstances or schedules. Reading will take place online and all books will be provided. 

Ongoing safeguarding for the children, carers, volunteers and partners will be provided throughout. Over the 12 months following their Reading Heroes journey, each child will receive a library of six books by post. 

Kara added: “Reading Heroes can help children in care develop a love of reading for pleasure, increasing their chances of success in later life in spite of their economic background, parents level of education, and their previous life experiences.  

“It can also boost their confidence and self-esteem and increase their wellbeing at a time when the mental health repercussions of adverse childhood experiences make life and learning challenging.”  

A child or young person is 'care experienced' if they are living, or have lived, in care at any stage in their life. This includes children who have experienced, or are currently, living in residential care, foster care, kinship care, or at home with a supervision order. 

Liverpool CAHMS provides a useful link on the impact of adverse childhood experiences here: What are adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)? 

How to get involved 

To apply to be a Reading Heroes volunteer, find out further details here and register here or email readingheroes@thereader.org.uk  

If you are a Virtual School or a local authority interested in finding out more about Reading Heroes contact readingheroes@thereader.org.uk

 How Reading Heroes can help – key findings: 

Findings from children and young people who took part in the Reading Heroes’ evaluation in 2022 revealed that:  

• 80% said they enjoy reading more since taking part   
• 89% are reading things they wouldn’t have tried before  
• 91% found it relaxing  
• 89% said it was good to talk about their feelings 
• Reading for pleasure is the single most important thing that will make a child successful in life (UNESCO, 2011). But, in 2022 only 28% of eight to 18-year-olds surveyed in the UK reported reading daily, and this reduced further in the case of children who received free school meals (National Literacy Trust). 
• Research shows that mental health problems are much more common among children in care; nearly all will have adverse childhood experiences (NIHR, 2022). Partners tell the charity that this can impact children's ability to focus, trust and self-calm, which can lead to challenging behaviour at home and in school where complex needs aren't always met (Virtual School Headteacher). 
• Research shows that mental health problems are much more common among children in care; nearly all will have adverse childhood experiences (NIHR, 2022).  
• Research also shows that reading for pleasure is more important for children's cognitive development than their parents' level of education and is a more powerful factor in life achievement than socio-economic background (OECD, 2002).  

According to latest UK government statistics there were 83,840 children looked after by local authorities in England on March 31 2023, up 2% since 2022.