Over 300,000 pupils in UK schools have completed a ReadingWise programme! We hope we can help pupil’s in your school learn, embrace, and enjoy reading, whether they’re in reception or preparing for SATs, and even GCSE or A Level exams.
All of us here at ReadingWise know how lucky we are. We’re lucky because, as children, we happened to be able to learn to read using the method we were taught in school. Early literacy gave us access to the entire educational system, opening up a rich world of possibilities for learning and choices for our future.
Why ReadingWise is committed to this mission to improve literacy for every child
What if we happened to be one of the 20% who struggled with literacy in primary school and beyond - one of those for whom reading didn’t just ‘click’ as it should? What if we were born into poverty, or were raised in the care system - both groups who we know to be particularly vulnerable to problems with reading?
Annual cost in UK of illiteracy is up to £80 billion
20% of children in the UK do not achieve adequate literacy levels at school
Over 57% of people in prison are functionally illiterate
A National Literacy Trust report states that: “1 in 6 (16.4%) adults in England are estimated to have very low literacy.”
The average worker in the UK with very low literacy will earn approximately 7.1% less than if they had a basic level of literacy (Pro Bono Economics, 2021).
It’s easy to see how many of life’s rich possibilities are denied to those 20% who struggle to read. We know that without extra support and timely intervention, educational and vocational outcomes for that 20% can be poor.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. We know that, given the right tools, everyone can learn to read. We know that because we have seen it for ourselves.
And it is this thought that drives us on, as we strive to level the UK’s literacy playing field. That one day, every child will get exactly what they need to learn to read. Because that’s what every child deserves.
