Over the coming school year, three members of staff from Apex will visit The Model Primary School in Derry~Londonderry, volunteering one hour per week to help pupils with their reading, on a one-to-one basis.
Sharon, Yvonne and Carrie from Apex with pupils Ronan, Erin and Guillermo from The Model PS
This is the fifth year that Apex has partnered up with The Model Primary School for the ‘Time to Read’ programme, developed by Business in the Community and supported by the Department of Education. The innovative programme aims to improve literacy, foster a love of reading and build the confidence and social skills of children.
Staff volunteers come from across the organisation; Carrie McGinley from the Property Services department, Sharon Harkin from Housing and Yvonne Roulston from the Development department.
Carrie volunteered to take part because she loves to read and recognises that it’s one of the most important things a child can do. Carrie commented that, “Reading helps children to learn, to expand their vocabulary, to build confidence and mostly to use their imagination. A child can travel round the earth, to space and to different worlds all whilst sitting in the one spot, just by reading a book.”
Sharon Harkin took part in the programme two years ago and enjoyed it so much she wanted to do it again, “The children really enjoy the sessions at school and their confidence improves so much just by having that dedicated time with a single person sitting and reading with them. I’ve always loved reading and I think everybody should be able to escape in a book and enjoy the experience that a good book can give you.”
Click here more information about the ‘Time to Read’ programme.