Feature:
Children's Gallery
See poems and pictures by Springboard's children...
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The problem
There are around 250,000 functionally illiterate children in schools throughout England and Wales. Denied the chance of acquiring basic literacy skills they risk ending up in young offenders' centres before their adult lives have properly begun. Under-achieving children, some with learning difficulties, some without English as their first language, some bullied, autistic or lacking parental support, are in danger of becoming a depressing statistic.
The communities where Springboard for Children is involved are some of the most deprived areas in our inner cities. There is high unemployment, crime, inadequate housing, little support for children and poor literacy standards are rife.
As many as 35% of children in some local primary schools are registered as having Special Educational Needs, with only 4% of these receiving statutory help. The children have fallen behind for various reasons: some are so emotionally disturbed they find it difficult to concentrate in the classroom; others are dyslexic; many do not have English as their first language; most have very little educational support at home. All are vulnerable to the cycle of frustration and failure.
The best way to help these children is through one-to-one support with someone who can dedicate time to each child away from the distractions of the classroom. Springboard provides the special care of a committed adult to give consistent, high-quality support.
Springboard for Children making a difference
Springboard for Children is an educational trust and charity which is helping to break that cycle. Founded in 1992 at the Oliver Goldsmith Primary School in Peckham, South East London, Springboard provides a cost-effective way of giving children with learning difficulties a supportive long-term relationship with a committed tutor. Based on Christian values every child, regardless of their faith or background, is treated as an individual, and encouraged and supported to achieve their full potential.
The majority of children referred to us are over two years behind their classmates. Their teachers are concerned that without the basic literacy skills they will be unable to progress with their education in the classroom. Springboard offers those children the additional intensive educational boost that they need.
Once on the Springboard for Children programme, the children meet with their tutor twice weekly for a session of around 40 minutes and will receive a rich and varied ‘diet’ of tuition and support. Most receive one-to-one tuition, while others work in small groups. The tutor develops an individual education programme tailored to suit each child's specific needs and abilities. The programme is modelled on the acclaimed Soundworks literacy programme and our own Junior Programme, developed by Springboard for Children in conjunction with the Institute of Education. Springboard uses a core of qualified literacy tutors, and a team of local volunteers which are given training and supervision to ensure each child referred to us receives a very high standard of help.
The long term results
The results are impressive. Over 60% of the children in Years 1-3 who make little or no headway in the classroom make more than 12 months’ progress in one year at Springboard, so ending their low achievement in the classroom. At the end of the programme, 96% of the children are able to return to mainstream lessons with a reading age comparable to their peer group in the school.
One measure of Springboard for Children's success is in the reading and spelling age tests which each of our children takes every summer: overall, 43% of children improved their reading age by more than 12 months. These are average scores. Some children's reading ages increased by as much as 56 months, over four times that of an average child.
Without special help many children are condemned to failure, but Springboard for Children faces a problem and makes a difference for every child.