A CHARITY that helps adults from Chard and the surrounding area learn to read is hopeful a new BBC documentary will raise awareness of its work.
The documentary will feature Repair Shop presenter Jay Blades, who is learning to read as an adult with the support of Read Easy UK – a charity with 50 affiliated groups and 1,100 volunteers providing free one-to-one reading coaching across the UK.
Blades struggled to learn to read as a child and was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was 31.
In the documentary, ‘Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51’, he meets other people who Read Easy support with the aim of inspiring other adults in the same situation as him.
Ruth Foster, publicity officer of Read Easy Axminster, Chard, Seaton, Lyme Regis and Honiton, said the local branch of the charity has helped around 60 adults since it was founded in 2014.
Before lockdown measures were introduced, there were 24 people learning to read with the local branch, and numbers have fluctuated since.
She said: “We were one of the earliest Read Easy groups.
“We aim to help adults who struggle with reading.
"There are seven million people across the UK with very low literacy skills, and there are 2.4 million adults in England who can barely read.
“We try and teach them. We offer one-to-one teaching with a trained coach.
“The opportunity to form a bond with a tutor does wonders for people’s confidence.”
Readers are encouraged to attend sessions twice a week for around half an hour to follow the charity’s ‘Turning Pages’ adult reading programme.
Ruth said struggling to read can affect adults’ confidence and self-esteem, which can be improved by following Read Easy’s programme of tuition.
The courses also help improve people’s home, family and working lives – and Ruth says it is “inspirational” to see people’s reading skills develop.
“It enables them to improve their life chances,” said Ruth.
“It’s not just jobs – we have a lot of people who were motivated to read when they had children.
“It helps people vote, read health and safety notices at work, and use social media.
“Reading is such a powerful means of communicating with each other.”
One adult from Chard who has benefitted from Read Easy is Gloria, who says the programme has enabled her to read with her daughter and run a small business.
She said: "I found reading at school very difficult, and I didn't get much help.
“When I got older, I realised how important it was to learn to read.
“Read Easy helped me a lot.
“It gave me so much more confidence and belief in myself.
“Now, I can listen to my child read and we can share books together.
“I can even manage to run a small business from my home."
The charity hopes the documentary will raise awareness of its work and encourage people to come forward for support.
Ruth said: “If people see the documentary, they may be inspired by the programme and, if they think of someone they know who can benefit from this, they can get in touch with us.
“We want to create awareness so people who are struggling with reading can contact us.”
People can struggle to learn to read because of undiagnosed or unsupported dyslexia, unidentified sight or hearing problems, a lack of learning support, or problems at home, which can make it difficult for them to concentrate at school.
Ginny Williams-Ellis, CEO of Read Easy UK, said: “Not being able to read as an adult is excruciatingly embarrassing for most people.
“It generally follows years of painful humiliation at school, when failure to learn to read in the early years will have led to an inability to participate in the rest of the curriculum as they got older.
“For the vast majority this was not their choice, or their fault, and nothing to do with their intelligence.”
She added: “I would urge any adult who is unable to read properly to have the courage to come forward, like Jay, and ask for help.
“It really is never too late to learn.”
'Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51' will be broadcast on Wednesday, January 26 at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
To learn more about the local Read Easy branch and how to support its work, email Sheila Abdy (sheila@readeasy.org.uk) or visit its website.
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