20th February 2018

Beanstalk has launched its latest Impact Report demonstrating the impact of providing one-to-one literacy support to children struggling with their reading.

The charity supports children who have fallen behind with their reading by recruiting, training and placing volunteers to work one-to-one with pupils in primary schools across England.

Schools provide Beanstalk with information on the children’s reading attainment before and after they have been supported by their reading helpers, while reading helpers also monitor the children’s progress through Beanstalk’s Reading Records.

Beanstalk’s Impact Report showed the following results:

• 82% of Key Stage 1 (KS1) children who were classed as reading 'Below' age-related expectations when they began working with a Beanstalk reading helper moved up to 'Working Towards' (47%) or 'At' or ‘Above' (35%).
• 57% of KS1 children who were classed as 'Working Towards' age-related expectations when they began working with a Beanstalk reading helper moved up to 'At' or 'Above.'
• The number of KS1 children able to predict what might happen next in a story without additional support more than doubled from 27% at the beginning of the Beanstalk intervention to 61% at the end.
• The number of KS1 children able to use their sounds to work out new words on their own increased from 28% to 67% during their time with their reading helper.
• The number of KS1 children who could talk on their own about a range of books they have listened to and read including stories, poems and factual books increased from 8% to 34% - a 425% increase!
• The percentage of children who were confident when choosing books and games during the session more than doubled - from 26% to 56%.
• Children's confidence and enjoyment also improved; the number of children requiring support in order to maintain a positive attitude throughout the reading session almost halved.
• The impact on KS2 children was less pronounced but significant progress was made - especially in their breadth of reading and engagement in a wider range of genres.

Ginny Lunn, Chief Executive Officer of Beanstalk, said:

“Our 2016/17 Impact Report demonstrates just how much of an impact our reading helpers have on the children they support. This year we captured more data than ever before, with over 2,800 Reading Records being returned by our reading helpers. We’re asking more people to come forward as volunteers to have an impact on local children’s futures.”

St Mary’s R C Primary, a Beanstalk school in London, provided the following feedback:

“Anton* has made lots of progress in reading this year. He is much more fluent and understands stories better. He is also able to answer reading comprehension questions with more confidence and accuracy.”

Read Beanstalk’s Impact Report here.

More than 2,800 Reading Records were returned, reflecting approximately 25% of the children Beanstalk supports. This is a 9% increase on the previous year.

To find out more about how you can have an impact on children's reading please visit our volunteering page. 

*Child's name changed for safeguarding purposes