Jones-Ryley, Read Easy Sheffield\u2019s Team Leader, said the idea came from a \u201cclear need\u201d for a charitable, free-to-access organisation focusing on adult literacy in the city.<\/p>\n
“From speaking to organisations across the city, there was just an overwhelming enthusiasm for creating spaces for people to access free confidential coaching that happens on a one-to-one basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
This idea of \u201ccreating spaces\u201d, both in terms of the dialogue associated with adult literacy and actual physical locations for people to feel comfortable learning how to read, serves to reflect one of Read Easy Sheffield\u2019s main strategies to help eradicate the stigma attached to adult literacy.<\/p>\n
Jones-Ryley spoke of being surprised at how many people had opened up about their own struggles with reading and writing since founding Ready Easy Sheffield.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/awesome-shockley.77-68-72-77.plesk.page\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Women-reading-together-resized-300x200.jpg\")
Image: Read Easy Sheffield<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cA lot of people who I\u2019ve talked to have admitted to struggling to read growing up, and for me the real joy has been opening up that dialogue and creating spaces where people can say that they would benefit from the work that we do,\u201c Jones-Ryley said.<\/p>\n
Jones-Ryley also believes the confidential and one-to-one nature of the organisation\u2019s coaching sessions, taking place at mutually agreed locations such as a school or library, helps to make what can often seem a very daunting process a lot less intimidating and more personal.<\/p>\n
A nationwide problem<\/strong><\/p>\n From a national perspective, adult literacy continues to represent a deep-rooted problem impacting upon all levels of society.<\/p>\n According to statistics from the UK National Literacy Trust, one in six adults in England have very low literacy skills. This amounts to 16.4% of the overall population.<\/p>\n One in four adults in Scotland, one in five in Northern Ireland, one in eight in Wales also experience problems with low literacy.<\/p>\n Around 10% of the UK population have some level of dyslexia, which can make reading and writing especially challenging. In prisons, nearly 50% of inmates have a literacy rate deemed below what is required for successful employment.<\/p>\n Image: Read Easy Sheffield<\/p><\/div>\n Melanie Cornish-Fleet, Founder and CEO of charitable organisation Bringing Words to Life based in the North East, said the main reasons for continued nationwide problems with adult literacy are related to education and confidence issues.<\/p>\n Melanie said: \u201cIn my experience literacy issues in adulthood always come back to relationships with school and education. This is not to say our education system is failing everyone as it isn’t, but those I work with that struggle with literacy and communication usually have had a bad experience of school.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey were perhaps left\u00a0behind and therefore their confidence\u00a0is impacted due to not understanding.\u00a0The knock-on effect of that then, in some cases, becomes a reluctance to learn, behavioural\u00a0issues and decreased attendance,\u201d Melanie added.<\/p>\n Changing terminology<\/strong><\/p>\n A second key component of Read Easy Sheffield\u2019s work to combat adult literacy stigma is to help alter the \u201cunhelpful\u201d terminology which is often associated with it.<\/p>\n Jo Purvis, Read Easy Sheffield\u2019s Publicity Organiser, thinks it is unnecessary to refer to people\u2019s reading ages which discussing literacy levels.<\/p>\n Purvis said: \u201cI find reading ages to be unhelpful. If you talk about the average reading age and then refer to children, it can sound really patronising even without meaning to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Read Easy Sheffield\u2019s Team Leader Jones-Ryley also declared the organisation\u2019s opposition to the use of language such as \u2018illiteracy\u2019 and \u2018illiterate\u2019 which apply negative connotations to being unable to read.<\/p>\n Instead, the group look to remove these outdated labels by using terms such as \u2018non-readers\u2019 or \u2018new readers\u2019 in order to strip back such negative connotations.<\/p>\n The organisation is currently fundraising to help their coaches receive the resources and support they need, with \u00a3375 of a \u00a3500 target raised so far.<\/p>\n Read Easy Sheffield is raising money to train its first set of Reading Coaches! We would really appreciate any donations you can make \ud83d\ude00 #donate<\/a> on @justgiving<\/a> and RT https:\/\/t.co\/NcNP270Wtn<\/a> #reading<\/a> #Sheffield<\/a> #literacy<\/a> #readeasy<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Read Easy Sheffield (@ReadEasySheff) November 3, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/awesome-shockley.77-68-72-77.plesk.page\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Man-learning-to-read-resized-300x200.jpg\")
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