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Monday, September 8, 2014
p o n m l y k j x i h w g rstuv f e d c qKIDS b GE p z o T y n x m w l v k j u i t s p h opqr o g f n e m d w abc hijklmn efghijkl G v u t s r q d g f p c e b lmno nopq abcd k j i m l h k g j f i w e h v d g u t f c s ab abcde nopqr klm
THE LITERACY GAP Country
Score
Years
Czech Republic Italy Estonia France Poland Spain Austria Denmark Finland Ireland USA Germany Slovak Republic Netherlands Sweden N. Ireland England
10 14 14 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 26 27 28 30 30
1.4 2 2 2.3 2.7 2.8 3 3.1 3.3 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.7 3.9 4 4.2 4.2
By SHARON HENDRY, LUKE HEIGHTON and RHODRI PHILLIPS
READING for just ten minutes a day can massively improve children’s literacy — and today The Sun launches a campaign to help achieve it. A Save the Children-led report reveals we have one of the biggest problems in Europe and face a future in which one in six adults cannot read at standards set for 11-year-olds.
WHAT KIDS READ
Fiction in print
100%
Non-fiction in print
% change 2010-2013
80% 60% 40% 20%
Poetry in print
England has one of the biggest gaps in literacy Sourc e: National between employed & unemployed adults. The bigger the “score”, the bigger the number of years’ education needed to catch up.
Websites Social network msgs
Blogs
Instant msgs
-40%
Text msgs
-20%
eBooks
0%
MUMS V DADS
GIVE US STORIES SAY 73%
The cost to the economy is currently an estimated £18billion a year. By 2025 that could well have risen to an annual £43billion. The Sun campaign wants you to encourage your child to read for ten minutes a day — books, websites, almost anything. To help, we will give away nine ebooks over the next two months and in Saturday’s Sun we will print the first of a series of stories from top authors and celebrities for your child to read. X Factor judge and Little Britain star David Walliams, a supporter of Save the Children, is one of those joining forces with The Sun. He said: “This country is falling behind in literacy levels so it’s so important for children to get help. “Reading shouldn’t be a chore. It’s a lovely connection you can have with your children, both painting the picture in your heads.” He will kick off a series of tales you and your children can read together written by stars in The Sun. We are taking action as the Read On. Get On. coalition of groups, communities and schools launch a national mission. It is aimed at ensuring 1.5million kids are not left behind over the next decade — with every child born this year reading well by the time they are 11 in 2025. A Read On. Get On. report How Reading Can Help Children Escape Poverty is published today.
By LUKE HEIGHTON
THREE-QUARTERS of children say they would like to read more with their parents. It was one of the stats to emerge from a Sun survey showing one in five parents never read to their kids before they go to bed — despite it being a way to boost brainpower. Eight out of ten mums and dads said they do read a bedtime story to their children — but of those, one in five did so just once a week. As well as 73 per cent wanting to read more with parents, two-thirds said they would like to read more generally. The same number said they would rather play on a computer game or tablet than read a book. The poll of 2,000 youngsters was conducted exclusively by The Sun and ITV’s Good Morning Britain with One Poll. It found 12 per cent of kids do not think reading well is important for their future, while 18 per cent said they do not enjoy it. Jean Gross CBE is the Government’s former Communications Champion for children and an adviser on The Sun’s Literacy Campaign. She said: “The results of the survey don’t surprise me. But I think it is absolutely fantastic that three-quarters of children want to read more and we should listen to that and we must do it. It’s getting them interested in reading which is important.”
63%
would rather play on a computer than read
Difference in reading skills age 11 Frequency
Reading with mum
Reading with dad
Daily Several times a week
0
0
-0.4
-0.3
Once or twice a week
-1.9
-2.1
Once or twice a month
-1.5
-3
Less often than once a month
-6.1
-6
Not at all
-7.3
-13.5
It shows one in four 11-year-olds in England is unable to read well — defined as not only being able to read words but to have a wider understanding of the meaning behind them and be able to comment on them. The report says our kids are the worst readers in Europe bar Romania. And we lag behind Bulgaria, Slovak Republic and Lithuania for reading inequality — the gap between the best and worst readers at ten. The 49-page study highlights the links between poverty and poor reading, and how a circle of misery is completed when children who cannot read well become adults and can find only low-paid jobs. From 2005 to 2013, 40 per cent of children on free school meals were unable to read well. Poor white boys were less likely to read well than boys from similar backgrounds who speak English as a second language, and 45 per cent of low-income white boys were unable to read well by age 11. The gap between the best and worst ten-year-old readers was equal to seven years extra schooling. A quarter of people who earn less than £10,000 a year were not “functionally literate” — compared with fewer than one in 25 for those earning more than £30,000. Meanwhile
Number of books
Months ahead or behind
0-10
12.2 months behind 4.7 months behind
11-25 26-100
0 months behind
101-200
5.2 months ahead
201-500 500+
8.9 months ahead 13 months ahead
Source: Read on. Get on. report
DO BOOKS AT HOME HELP?
12%
The demon reader . . . comic and kids’ author David Walliams, who is backing campaign
half of prison inmates had a reading age of less than 11. The study also found that reading daily to a five-year-old means that child will be almost half a year ahead in their reading compared to a child read to less than once a week. And children read to regularly by their fathers are far less likely to fall behind. Other members of the coalition are Newcastle University, Nat-
ional Literacy Trust, Teach First, booktrust, the National Association of Head Teachers, HarperCollins, Centre Forum, Beanstalk, Achievement for All, I CAN, The Publishers Association and The Reading Agency. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said: “I wholeheartedly endorse this campaign. Eradicating illiteracy and innumeracy is central to our plan for education. That plan is working. How-
ever we know there is more to do.” With The Sun joining in, former SAS hero and writer Andy McNab will talk about his role as an ambassador for adult literacy campaign Six Book Challenge. And in coming weeks we will be sending The Sun Book Bus to your community. Save The Children boss Justin Forsyth said: “We want every child to be given a fair and equal chance to learn to read well. We applaud The Sun for getting behind this campaign,
of children don’t think reading is important
and look forward to working with its readers to restore literacy to its rightful levels in the UK.” National Association of Head Teachers chief Russell Hobby added: “This new campaign has the potential to make a real difference to the lives of Britain’s youngest readers.” The Book Trust’s Viv Bird said: “Getting parents involved is crucial. “All the evidence shows that whatever their background, young children whose parents read to them regularly perform better at school in reading,
writing and even in maths. The more they are read to, the deeper and longerlasting the effects.” National Literacy Trust director Jonathan Douglas added: “This is a game-changing moment for literacy. “We hope everyone will play their part to energise our campaign and give every child leaving school in 2025 the vital skills they need to reach their full potential in life.” sharon.hendry@the-sun.co.uk
The Sun Says — Page Six
BACK our campaign and tell us your reading experiences. Email features@the-sun.co.uk or tweet #ReadOnGetOn #GetKidsReading
45%
of low-income white boys don’t read well aged 11
. £43bn
Cost to UK economy of kids' illiteracy by 2025
.
7yrs
Extra schooling gap between best and worst 10-year-olds
. £10k
A quarter of people who earn this are “functionally illiterate”
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO HERE’S how to encourage your kids to read for ten minutes a day. Read to them, read with them or let them read on their own. A LITTLE reading every day is better than less frequent, longer reading. Kids who read for a few minutes daily improve more. BOOKS and stories are important, but reading anything counts. LET your child choose their own reading — it is more likely they will enjoy it. TRY to integrate reading into everyday life, on the bus or watching TV.
Q Q Q Q