Time to Read: ‘I didn’t like reading, but now I do’
The scheme is already operating in 15 primary schools but organisers hope more companies will sign up to help children, aged seven and eight, develop their literacy skills. Each volunteer gives two pupils in nearby schools a half hour a week of shared reading time from specially chosen books, with parental involvement and library visits also a key part of the project.
A report evaluating Time to Read — a Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI) initiative — said teachers of the second-class pupils already benefiting are seeing a significant impact on their comprehension and fluency when reading. Each week, they are visited at school by volunteers from sponsor firms that include household names such as ESB, Irish Life, and Bord Gáis, but also local business like Inishowen Engineering in Donegal and Ballina Beverages in Mayo.
