Assistant Project Manager, Tegan Martin, had only been working at Leonardo in Bristol for a year, when Dean Fortt, Head of HR for UK Cyber and Security Solutions at the company approached her to participate in a local volunteering programme run by Ablaze.
Ablaze tackles inequality of opportunity for young people in the West of England, through business volunteers who provide support, insight and guidance.
Because Tegan had never considered herself a teacher, she hesitated before accepting the offer.
Tegan said: “Ruby* (not her real name) was 5 years old when I first met her. She was selected by her class teacher for the reading programme, because she was behind her expected reading level and wasn’t reading at home. Her school absence rate meant she missed valuable reading time at school. I had no background or training to teach reading, all I had was a desire to help. I love reading, so I thought I could at least help her in some way.”
Ruby and Tegan began to meet for 30-minute sessions, each of them not quite sure how to negotiate the new learning experience.
After getting to know Ruby, Tegan sought to create a positive and supportive environment where she could thrive. Each session began with a chat about what Ruby had done at the weekend to help her relax, then the session would begin.
Tegan said: “I encouraged her to sound out the words on her own, helping her when needed and always praising her when she worked hard on a tricky word. When we came across a word that was hard to understand, I’d ask if she knew what it meant. If not, I’d use it in another example to help her grasp it better. After each page, I made sure I said ‘well done!’ pointing out when she got a tough word right. I wanted her to feel proud of every little win! I’d ask her questions about the story to get her talking. For example, if there was a dog in the book, I’d ask if she had any pets. I could see it helped her to connect with the story more.”
After a few weeks, Ruby’s confidence began to build in parallel with her reading skills, so that by the end of Spring term, she was reading at the expected level for her year group.
Ruby’s teacher at Begbrook Primary school in Bristol said: “I really saw her confidence in her reading and in herself grow over the course of the reading partners sessions. She seemed to enjoy going each week, and the consistency and support had a positive impact on her reading progress and attitude towards learning.”
Begbrook Primary is located in a suburban area of Bristol, serving a community with families from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Some families at the school are facing challenges such as limited resources or higher levels of deprivation, which is why the school places a strong emphasis on providing additional support to help children reach their full potential.
Dean Fortt, VP HR at Leonardo in Bristol said: “Research confirms that confidence is one of the biggest predictors of academic performance, because students with more confidence are more willing to learn, challenge themselves and overcome obstacles. We have 10 volunteers at our Bristol site including Tegan and they’ve all found the experience profoundly rewarding. I think the beliefs we have about ourselves shape our future. The Ablaze programme has proven that helping young people discover their confidence early on doesn’t just improve their academic performance, it could transform their future professional lives.”