Helping your staff learn to read

1. Helping your staff learn to read

2. Read Easy UK • is a registered charity, established in 2010 to help adults learn to read • currently has 26 affiliated groups offering 1:1  reading support from trained volunteer Coaches  • provides the structure, resources, training and on-going support for each local group.

3. 1 in 5 adults would not be able to use the index to find a plumber in the Yellow Pages (Skills for Life Survey, 2011)

4. 5 million adults in England and Wales have reading or writing skills below that expected of the average 11 year old (Skills for Life Survey, 2011)

5. £10 billion a year is lost to the economy because employees have difficulty with literacy and numeracy skills

6. literacy problems cost the public purse anything up to £64,000 per individual over a lifetime. (KPMG report, 2009)

7. What is Read Easy doing about this? Your local group is run with support from Read Easy UK: • Confidential, 1-1 tuition • Trained Reading Coaches • Half hour sessions twice a week • Approved local venues • Friendly, flexible and free

8. People can learn to read in 5 months to 2 years • Phonics based programme with additional learning activities • Readers work at their own pace • Adults complete with reading skills that enable them to progress at work and with life • Readers receive a certificate of achievement • Many move on to further learning

9. Some Read Easy groups also provide a one year extension programme to introduce writing skills, called Moving Ahead

10. Why Read Easy is needed • Very isolating – people usually hide their problems and won’t join a class • Few classes can provide 1:1 support and classes have been cut because of funding • Read Easy helps adults read sufficiently well to cope with everyday tasks and to feel confident to progress to further learning.

11. The Top 10 Reading Skills Needed At Work • Understand Health and Safety information • Read instructions • Read forms • Read directions • Find and read information • Read reports • Read timetables, maps, charts, other graphical information • Read staff information on posters • Read technical information • Use reference skills to find and sort information

12. Adults with reading problems are: • able to develop coping strategies, but are likely to make mistakes and are unlikely to reach their potential • likely to avoid training and promotion • twice as likely to have been made redundant or sacked from their first job • five times more likely to be unemployed • four times more likely to experience long-term unemployment • more likely to end up in low-paid work.

13. Some practical and personal barriers to seeking help: • Isolation: “No-one else has this problem; I can’t let anyone else know.” • No access to transport or costs of travel to classes • “I’ll never learn…/ I can get by…” • Concern about job security: “What if the boss finds out?” • Shift work making it difficult to find a class • Stereotyping and discrimination – labelled by others as “thick”

14. Employers can work with Read Easy to make a difference! • Support staff to realise they are not alone and can learn to read • Promote learning and the Read Easy offer • Make it easy - invite Read Easy Coaches to run 1:1 sessions in the workplace during breaks or between shifts  or • Work with Read Easy to identify venues for coaching sessions close to the workplace.

15. What are the possible benefits of your staff improving their reading? • improved productivity • improved customer care • fewer errors • increased effectiveness, confidence and flexibility in your workforce • improved staff retention • improved Health and Safety

16. Questions?

17. What next?

18. Contact {Name of group} To find out more, contact:Read Easy XXX {Team Leader} {name/email/phone number}To refer a Reader:Read Easy Coordinator{name/email/phone number}Nationalreadeasy.org.ukFurther details are on the Read Easy publicity circulated today