The Ulster Unionist Party has today launched a policy paper called ‘Book Buddies’, which looks at a practical policy intervention to improve literacy standards in our schools.   The paper is the seventh in a recent series outlining the Party’s vision for Northern Ireland across a range of policy areas.   

 Ulster Unionist Party Leader Mike Nesbitt said: 

 “Book Buddies is an internationally tested and proven way to help teachers tackle an issue that lowers a child’s life prospects. I am calling for an army of volunteer Book Buddies to help eradicate poor literacy among our schoolchildren. 

 “I acknowledge there are those who have been engaged in this type of volunteering in Northern Ireland, not least the organisation, Business in the Community. My call is to make it a formal strategy by the Department of Education.  

“The costs are minimal. Volunteers would need an Enhanced Access NI police check, currently costing £33. Even if the Department had to pay for everyone’s, we could have an army of 1,000 volunteers for £33,000, out of a Department of Education budget currently above £2 billion per annum. 

 “For some years now, successive Ministers of Education have promoted the idea of ‘Every School a Good School’. In my vision, the focus switches to the pupils. We must cherish and support each and every one of them, particularly those we fail. The statistics say we do fail pupils. In fact, we fail the same people, from the same communities, generation after generation. In a country which places so much emphasis on equality, why do we tolerate this persistent and life-damaging unfairness?  

“Book Buddies is part of the solution. It addresses a known problem, enhances community cohesion, and places minimal burden on the education system and its budget.” 

In the document, the Ulster Unionist Party commits to:  

* Commission the Northern Ireland Education Authority to roll out a pilot study in the top 10 Super Output Areas of deprivation across Northern Ireland;  

* Engage the community and voluntary sector to identify and attract suitably qualified and motivated volunteers, including, but not exclusively, those in retirement and teacher training graduates seeking experience in a learning environment;  

* Ensure volunteers incur no unwanted financial expense, such as paying fees for an Enhanced Access NI check; 

* Set a challenging target for improving literacy and numeracy rates at the end of formal education.  

You can download the paper (PDF) here: http://uup.org/assets/images/book%20buddies%20report.pdf