There are 2.4 million adults in England alone – over 7% of the working age population – who can barely read or cannot read at all.

Established as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in 2011, Read Easy UK now includes nearly 100 volunteer-led groups helping 1500+ adults learn to read in their community.

We are continuing to establish groups in areas of high need.

Read Easy UK is the only national organisation in the country which provides a volunteer-led reading coaching programme for adults. 

The support we provide is: 

• Free – our Reading Coaches and Management Teams volunteer their time, and resources and training are funded by kind donations  
• Confidential – only a few people in each group know the identity of our Readers, and all coaching takes place in a private space within a public place so that people feel encouraged to come forward and ask for help  
• One-to-one – many Readers have had a poor experience in a school classroom or group setting, so our personal approach allows Readers to develop a supportive and trusting bond with their dedicated Coach.

Interested in learning a bit more about coaching

A Reader and their Coach meet for half an hour at a time, twice a week, in one of a range of approved local reading venues which provide space free of charge. They work in spaces where they are not overlooked, but where there will always be other people around for safeguarding purposes. Some groups also provide coaching online or over the phone.

Coaching is provided through a highly effective, phonics-based reading programme called Turning Pages, published by the charity Shannon Trust. An adult reading journey usually takes two years as a minimum. On completion, learners will have acquired the skills they need to move on to further reading and learning. The programme takes people systematically through the learning process step by step, at their own pace and steadily builds their confidence.

The Turning Pages programme also includes 45 graded reading books, written especially for adults, so that from an early stage people can begin to read for meaning and pleasure. Our Coaches will often tailor sessions and tasks to Readers personal interests, making what they learn both useful and engaging to them.

As people discover that they can read, their self-esteem grows, and they experience a real sense of excitement about the many opportunities that are now open to them for the first time.