School children get switched on to learning
Children at 3 local primary schools are being given a head start in maths and reading thanks to 47 professionals going back to school.
Each week the Warwick-based volunteers from National Grid go back to basics supporting and encouraging individual pupils with their number and reading skills at St Mary Immaculate Catholic Primary School, Sydenham Primary School and Emscote Infant School.
With 15% of 7-11 year olds in England not reaching the expected reading standard for their age, these volunteers hope to buck the trend thanks to the partnership work with Warwickshire County Council.
Feedback from schools, pupils and the staff at National Grid has been excellent. Robert Gargan, headteacher of St Mary Immaculate values the unique support the schemes offer.
He said: “The volunteers are role models and help greatly with the pupils self esteem. The children equate the skills they are learning with being successful.”
Reading Partners work on individual reading skills but also encourage the children to enjoy the stories and books they read each week.
Number Partners use specially designed games with imaginative themes like germs, giants and treasure to encourage the children to develop mental maths strategies. These child friendly games and puzzles, combined with the dedicated attention of their Number Partner, is a successful formula and fun too.
Trish Handsley, National Grid Community Relations Officer, said: “Our community investment programme is delivered through our employees. Our aim is to offer practical support through the sharing of our business skills. We’re keen to support the building blocks of learning and are delighted to have 47 number and reading partners supporting three local schools. We look forward to developing these partnerships into the future.”
Warwickshire Education Business Partnership created the schemes, such as the one National Grid is currently taking part in.
The Partnerhship is part of Warwickshire County Council and works with businesses and schools to help address the constant demand from employers for school leavers to be ‘work ready’. Each year thousands of Warwickshire students participate in a range of activities, which aim to develop their business and enterprise skills.
Georgia Toynbee, Learning Partners Co-ordinator with Warwickshire Education Business Partnership, said: “The EBP has been running reading and number partners for a decade. The fresh input of volunteers from National Grid has allowed the scheme to expand to work with more pupils. National Grid staff provide invaluable one to one support, helping not only with skills but also with independence in handling text and numbers. Feedback from the schemes is brilliant: pupils clearly benefit both personally and academically and look forward to the weekly sessions.”