1. Why should we work with Coram Beanstalk? Expand 1.1 We deliver impact You can find our latest impact information and statistics here. Schools tell us time and time again that they see an improvement in reading ability but also in a child's confidence, engagement and attitude to general learning in the classroom, after having worked with a Coram Beanstalk reading helper. We're very proud of the way we work and the difference our reading helpers can make. 1.2 We can work in any area We can work across the whole of England and Wales. We have a bigger presence in some parts of the country for historic reasons. In some parts of the country we find it easier to recruit new reading helper volunteers than in others. Wherever your school is, rest assured, we will do our very best to find quality volunteers who we can train up to work with you. Sometimes we might ask for your help in publicising the available role. 1.3 We let you choose the children who will benefit most It's entirely up to you as to which children you choose for our one-to-one support. We find that most schools select children who, for whatever reason, do not have access to sufficient positive reading experiences outside of school. Our initial training for our reading helpers covers how to support children from YR to Y6, with additional learning and development opportunities to allow reading helpers to tailor their sessions to the children they are matched with. Our reading helpers are not best placed to support children who need the time for decoding practice as we don’t equip our reading helpers with fully decodable texts or train them in the schools chosen systematic synthetic phonics scheme. 1.4 We provide some great books to get started We provide all of our Coram Beanstalk schools with a starter pack of books chosen to engage children, featuring a range of authors and genres. The new volunteers will have used some of these books within their initial training so will be familiar with them - and different ways to use them to entice more reluctant readers. We then recommend paths for follow on titles and suggest places where the reading helpers can get hold of them. Sometimes this will include looking in the school's own library or borrowing from a local public library. We'd want to avoid using reading scheme books, however if this is required we would dedicate no more than a third of the session to this to allow time for other activities to take place. 1.5 We fit with your reading for pleasure strategy Our one-to-one support gives children consistent, dedicated time with a trained adult who focuses on the child's needs and interests to give them a positive reading experience. We know that this time can transform children's attitudes to reading, ultimately showing them that reading is a good thing to do and help them become readers for life. The children we support often do not have an adult in their life modelling reading for pleasure and our service can fill that gap. Enquire now
2. Tell me about your reading helpers Expand 2.1 How are the reading helpers recruited? We recruit reading helpers in all sorts of ways - through traditional media, social media, leaflets, posters and through local community groups and volunteer centres. We will ask you to support with this recruitment by tapping into your own local communities and sharing the opportunity on your own social media or in newsletters. We ask applicants to provide us with two references, satisfy the DBS requirements, attend our training and commit to delivering the Coram Beanstalk approach, reliably, with dedication, positivity and commitment. Our rigorous training and on-going support ensures that we maintain a high quality community of reading helpers who often give far more than we expect in terms of their dedication to the role. 2.2 Do they have the enhanced DBS with the children's barred list? Yes, we cover this, ask them to subscribe to the update service and manage renewals if required. 2.3 Who manages the reading helpers? We have a team of support representatives who will be the first port of call for the reading helpers if they have any queries and we keep in touch with them regularly through email, text, social media and through our dedicated volunteer portal. We offer them the opportunity to attend peer-to-peer support events and ongoing learning and development sessions. However, we do need someone in school to co-ordinate the service from your side and if you ever have any questions or concerns about the service being delivered, we are on hand to support. You will have a dedicated support representative as your lead contact and they will conduct an annual review to ensure everyone is happy with how things are going. On a day to day basis, if a reading helper can't attend a session for any one-off reason, it's often easier if they let the school know directly and we like to encourage a good relationship between the reading helper and staff at the school so that there can be a mutual exchange of feedback. 2.4 Who is responsible for the ongoing support & training of the reading helpers? We are! As mentioned above, we have a dedicated team of support representatives and trainers who will ensure that our reading helpers are kept up to date and that they are given the support they need to carry out their reading helper role professionally and in accordance with the Coram Beanstalk approach. 2.5 How many children does a reading helper work with and for how long? Each reading helper will support a minimum of 3 children, seeing them each for at least one session a week lasting between 15 to 30 minutes. We'd recommend keeping support in place for an absolute minimum of a term with a lot of schools pairing the volunteer and child for the full year. We would expect reading helpers to attend for at least 30 weeks of the school year. Enquire now
3. Is there a cost involved? Expand 3.1 Aren't volunteers free? Absolutely! The time that our volunteers give is free, however, to make sure this time is put to the best possible use and keeps children safe, we do make an annual charge to cover vetting, training, on-going management and resource costs. Each school benefits from a dedicated member of the Beanstalk team who'll be your main point of contact to ensure the service runs smoothly and takes up very little of your time. We fundraise for the majority of our running costs meaning our partner schools contribute less than £6 per one-to-one session with a child. We make no charge until we're ready to start sessions with children so please don't be put off by worrying about upfront costs. We will work with your school to fit your budget needs and timings, so do fill in the enquiry form below to find out how we can help your school. 3.2 How could we fund your service? Many schools use their Pupil Premium funds to support children with this service as it directly impacts the individual child. It's also worth considering whether you're able to access funding from virtual schools, local businesses, PTA fundraising or small trusts in your local area. We even have some schools benefitting from the support of their local independent schools. Enquire now
4. How do I become a Coram Beanstalk school and when can our reading helper(s) start? Expand 4.1 How do I become a Coram Beanstalk partner school? All you need to do is complete this form and we'll be in touch via email to see if it would be helpful to have a chat about our service and whether it's a good fit for your school. Please be assured we won't bombard you with information or engage in a pushy sales pitch. If you don't hear back from us it may be that our emails have gone into your spam so please do give us a call on 020 7729 4087. 4.2 How soon can my reading helper(s) start? Our service is very popular and it's rare that we will have reading helpers ready to start immediately. Often we need to work together to raise awareness in your local area to attract new people. We aim to take new recruits through the entire training and selection process within 6 weeks. Our biggest challenge is making sure that the public have heard of us so please do spread the word! Enquire now
5. What can my school do to help raise awareness? Expand 5.1 Raising awareness to help attract volunteers Once you’ve heard about the benefits of our one-to-one reading support, we know you will be keen to have reading helpers start as soon as possible. We don’t often have people waiting in the wings and need your help to make sure local people have heard about our brilliant volunteering opportunity. You can find everything you need to support the recruitment of suitable reading helpers here.