Community News
Local Heroes... 5 Minutes With...
Michelle Paul
Alexandra Lewis nominated Michelle Paul from Turn Around Charity as a local hero. Alexandra said: “Literacy and
numeracy – that many of us take for granted – are crucial to create a happier society and healthy economy. The consequences of not having these skills are not being able to apply for jobs, tell the time, travel or engage socially while causing low self-esteem and depression. Michelle Paul began to recognise that many adults and children struggled with reading and maths when she needed to step in to teach basic skills to her young daughter in 1984. Since 2006, when she officially set up the Turn Around charity, Michelle and a group of dedicated volunteers have helped over 1,500 adults to build essential life skills. In addition she has passionately called for the government to improve its teaching in schools. As a result of her tireless commitment, Michelle was awarded an MBE in the December 2019 honours list.
Michelle has lived in South London (mainly Bromley) most of her life. After leaving school she worked as a solicitor’s articled clerk and an ancillary in the Probation Service. She has two children and four grandchildren, and while her work at Turn Around doesn’t leave much free time, Michelle enjoys country walks, the theatre and cinema, reading, crosswords and Pilates. How does it feel to be nominated as a Local Hero? I certainly don’t think I’m a hero. The heroes in our charity are the students (most of the adults have had to be very brave in asking for help and we salute them), and the volunteers – tutors, trustees and others – who go ‘above and beyond’ to ensure that our students receive the best service that can be provided.
How did Turn Around come to be set up and why? Many years ago, I found that most of the children I knew (including my own) were not being taught how to read through phonics (the sounds of the letters) as I had been, and were struggling - in most cases they were unable to read. I discovered that I could help them using phonics. In recent years the use of phonics has once more been taught, to great advantage. Many adults also came to my attention (I suppose because I was aware of the problem) and I found myself able to help them in the same way. After 20 years, it seemed sensible to set up a charity so as to try to help more people than I was able to on my own, so Turn Around was established in 2005.
What exactly does Turn Around charity offer? We offer children and adults free one-to-one literacy and numeracy tutoring, either at our own centre in St Mary Cray or in various settings in and around the Borough of Bromley. Some 30 volunteers help 50-100 students. We also offer help with English language for native speakers and those for whom English is not their mother tongue. We have a 98% success rate in helping students Turn their lives Around. I should stress that most of our students are native Brits who, whether or not they have any sort of physical or learning difficulty, need not be deprived of the benefits of being able to read, write and do basic maths. More than nine million adults in England are illiterate, innumerate or both.
14 Life in... Orpington June 2020
What does a typical day look like for you? In addition to our St Mary Cray centre we run outreach sessions in Anerley, Downham, Mottingham and various locations in Bromley. Some of these are in facilities kindly provided by another charity and by Bromley council. Three days a week I spend a couple of hours in the morning and up to four hours in the afternoon at one or other of these. Between two and four volunteers are working in each session, and at present we normally see between two and eight students during that time. Material is tailored to suit each student, so every session will feel different. It’s a lot of fun for both students and volunteers, and of course it is rewarding for everyone as a great deal of progress is made. During the Covid-19 lockdown, we have been doing what we can to continue working with students, wherever possible and appropriate, online, by email and by phone.
What plans do you have for the charity for the future? Our current plans are to increase our hours of opening at our St Mary Cray centre as much as possible, and to try to ensure that all those who could benefit get to hear about us; this would also mean trying to recruit more volunteers. We hope that one day our kind of service will be available all over the country. We already offer our training resources (handbook and videos) freely to anyone who wants to provide support where we can’t, and we believe that they are in use by a charity that helps refugees. Our dream is that one day our literacy and numeracy services will no longer be needed, because everyone will be literate and numerate enough to participate fully in society.
How else have you been involved in anything community-related? I was a volunteer for Bromley Home-Start (which has now sadly closed) for some years. Home-Start offers a volunteer to visit and work with a parent of a child under five, to help with any difficulties the family might be having. I also volunteered at the literacy classes provided by Bromley Adult Education. For more information on Turn Around email info@turnaroundcharity.org.uk or see turnaroundcharity.org.uk
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