Keeping it real: Literacy collaborations in across towns and cities. Insights from a NZ Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship 2015

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1 Keeping it real: Literacy collaborations in across towns and cities Insights from a NZ Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship 2015 Literacy Aotearoa National Planning Hui July 2015 Alison Sutton

2 4 weeks on the road National Literacy Trust London Literacy Action Hub Middlesbrough The Reader Organisation Liverpool Whatever it takes Leicester NIACE: National Voice for Adult Learning Leicester REAL Sheffield Raising Early Achievement in Literacy, Sheffield Learn Barnsley Barnsley, North Yorkshire Grade Level Reading, Baltimore + Washington Champions for Change Conference: Leading a backbone organisation, Washington DC Raise DC, Washington E3 Alliance, Austin Texas Mesilla, New Mexico

3 Overarching Insights Raising literacy - a way out of poverty Health is a major driver and funder for improving literacy Raising literacy requires collaboration - no one sector will tackle this - it s an intergenerational challenge; need to think and act differently Where s our national vision?

4 Data at the centre 20% earning premium for best readers 75% service staff see literacy difficulties less than 50% act 1/3 + residents in poorest communities have literacy below age 11

5 One of 10 very poor communities - a decade of investment Thinking employability long term Working with health Early Words Together Packs for parents of premature babies & children in hospital Training health & social housing providers to recognise literacy issues and know what to do Words for Work collaboration with employers 5

6 Leicester Leicester s successful decade Very poor literacy achievement, early 2000 led to city strategic approach Primary & secondary leads co-chair initiative Targeted support for boys transitioning to high school Inspire reading beyond the curriculum Big weeks - Storytelling & Everybody s reading = 2014, a much improved region

7 Citizens Curriculum - 13 pilot sites - English, maths, ESOL, digital, civic, health and financial capabilities - Learner centred, generated in context (prisons, social housing, migrant centres) The context Very little post-19 funding Workforce training budgets very low Lots stuck in low pay, low training jobs Early trial with police, housing, health, early years, Impact of the curriculum watch this space

8 Save the Children s national campaign to get every child in the UK reading well by the age of 11 by 2025

9 Reading successfully by end of primary school is vital 42% of poor 5 year old boys do not have the language skills expected, compared to 28% of poor girls 25% of young people don t recognise a link between reading and success 1 in 4 students think my parents don t care if I read 20% of students devote less than a minute a day to book reading Community support for 10 minutes reading a day

10 The Reader Organisation Calderstone Mansion, Liverpool Shared Reading groups for mental health and social inclusion

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12 Learning about collective impact Collective Impact ISN T TRICKY it is A structured, planned, coordinated, intentional approach Involving a group of people from different sectors Making a long-term commitment to align their efforts Toward an ambitious goal or vision With clear, shared ways to measure progress. It requires moving from isolated to collective impact 12

13 Grade level reading Growing healthy readers 13

14 Grade level reading Supporting parents 14

15 Grade level reading School readiness Build on the work of others Coordinate across Build a policy alliance Agree on a school readiness definition and measure Work with schools Align with health initiatives NZ data? 61 % of low-income children have no children s books at home. A child s vocabulary as early as age 3 can predict third grade reading achievement. 30 million word gap Poor children hear as many as 30 million fewer words than their more affluent peers. 22 Letters By age 5, a typical middle-class child recognizes 22 letters of the alphabet, compared to 9 for a child from a low-income family. By age 2, poor children are already behind their peers in listening, counting, and other skills essential to literacy. 15

16 Talking about Talking Everyone is doing it! National Literacy Trust Whatever it takes REAL Sheffield - Raising Early Achievement in Literacy Read On. Get On Grade Level Reading +140 cities Strive Together cradle to career movement in 80 + cities 30 Million Word Gap the White House, December 2013 Clinton Foundation - Talking is teaching out Read On. Get On. Language at 2 year can predict reading level on school entry & later attainment The gap starts early: Low income children lag by 16 months on school entry It s hard to hold on. Over 20% of children in poverty with 'advanced' oral language at 3 were behind at 11 (twice as many as high income children) Children who start behind likely to fall further behind 16

17 Simple, free and easy messages for families Babies are wired to learn from birth 80% brain growth by age 3 Talking is good: conversational turns are better Talk, read and sing all of them grow your baby s brain If you want success for your kids promote reading at home. We can help you! 17

18 Thinking and acting intergenerationally Does every adult who is a parent leave your programme with some simple, free and easy ways they can help their kids Are you working to grow language-rich, book rich homes? What is one opportunity for collaborating with ECE, schools and child/family services What is in your investment plan about thinking intergenerationally?

19 Activating local champions 1,000 books before school Book swaps/ give away libraries Run a family-focused workshop Storytelling and reading at any family event Early Reading Together Read On. Get On 10 minutes a day campaign Whānau Reading Champions; train up a group of parents: ask them to influence one family each

20 WCMT Fellowships Close July and-grants---trust-and-fellowship-grants---new- Zealand-Winston-Churchill-Memorial-Trust--- Making-an-application All submitted on line

21 Martin Luther King Memorial Washington DC