Who we are: 

Schoolreaders goal is for all children, regardless of background, to leave primary school to be able to read well so they can go on to access their secondary education fully and maximise their future life chances.

Established in 2013, Schoolreaders matches volunteers to local primary schools - focusing on schools with the greatest need - where they give one-to-one reading sessions.

​Just ten minutes a week with one of our volunteers has been shown to improve children’s reading fluency, comprehension and enjoyment. It also gives them valuable time with an adult who is not a teacher or parent which aids their social skills.

What we looking for:

We do not ask for any particular qualifications, but school readers need to enjoy spending time with children, have a good grasp of written and spoken English and be able to commit to attending school weekly during term time for a minimum of 1 year. Schoolreaders is a free service for primary schools and all our volunteers give their time freely.

Where it is possible, we require a commitment of at least one year for this volunteering opportunity.

What you would be doing?

Schoolreaders need volunteers to go into local primary schools in Salford, Oldham, Tameside and Trafford during the school day to listen to the children read to them 1:1. The volunteer needs to be able to commit to once a week during term time for one hour or more.
Our volunteers get enormous pleasure from seeing the difference that a few hours of their time can make to a child's reading ability, confidence and enjoyment.

To provide consistent help to the children and school, we ask that our volunteers are prepared to attend school at the agreed time on the same day once a week for at least 1 hour and stay with us for at least one full academic year from when you start in school.

Many volunteers are at school for longer than 1 hour and some also go on multiple days. The time commitment is arranged to suit the volunteers' availability and the schools’ needs.  

Each school uses our volunteers differently, so some volunteers see the same few children each week, while others get to spend time with every member of the class over a term.

Important Information:

Each potential volunteer completes an application form online or by post and agrees to the school readers' code of conduct. The partner school whom the volunteer is paired with completes an enhanced DBS check at the school's expense. The school provide guidance and training specific to their school and your activities. We regret we cannot reimburse expenses so try to match volunteers with schools as locally as possible.

Please note: we can only accept volunteers over the age of 18.