198- a donation to Read Easy Sheffield to help train new coaches - March 2025

One of our members asked if we could support Read Easy Sheffield, a small, local organisation he has been volunteering with.  

Read Easy Sheffield aims to improve adult literacy in Sheffield by recruiting, training, organising and supporting volunteer coaches to help adult members of the public to improve their reading. These coaches work 1:1 with learners to assess their current reading standard then deliver individually tailored coaching to help them to improve their literacy. 

They have established and are working on establishing new partnerships with local organisations who refer learners to them, including libraries, housing associations and further education institutions. They are affiliated to the national charity Read Easy UK, and follow their well-proven methods. 

Improved literacy skills impact people in all aspects of life, including employment, physical and mental health and connection with their community.

Estimates suggest that 2.4m people in England can barely read or not read at all (Skills for Life, 2011). 

In Sheffield, the constituency of Brightside and Hillsborough, was rated 5th in the country for literacy need, with every constituency in the city having at least one ward with significant literacy need (National Literacy Trust, 2017).

From January to December 2024 Read Easy Sheffield increased their provision from 5 pairs of readers and coaches to 17, but they are a long way from meeting the demand for coaching in Sheffield.

Our donation of £500 will train and support additional reading coaches and cover the expenses related to current reading pairs,  allowing them to cover costs to train two new coaches plus some ongoing travel and equipment expenses.

We were happy to help them in their efforts to change the lives of adults in Sheffield.