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Listeners and celebrities talk about their challenges with literacy

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Listeners and celebrities talk about their challenges with literacy

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BBC Radio 5 Live - In Short - Word Matters

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BBC Radio 5 Live’s project focusing on adult literacy

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Jay Blades, presenter of The Repair Shop, struggles to read. Now he has decided it is finally time to learn.

Jay Blades, presenter of The Repair Shop, has decided it's finally time to learn to read. He has been told he has the reading age of an 11-year-old. Throughout his life he has found ways of avoiding the written word, and this film digs deep into how this has shaped him.

Blades left school with no qualifications and nothing to his name than a reputation as a great fighter. Can he now, in mid-life, tackle what he failed to learn the first time round?

He's not alone in facing this issue. Research findings suggest that a quarter of all children in England leave primary school, like Blades, unable to read to the expected level. More than eight million adults in the UK have poor literacy skills, and half of all prisoners either can't read or struggle to do so.

Using a system developed for use in prisons by the Shannon Trust, Jay commits to learn to read with Read Easy, a charity whose volunteers do one-to-one coaching. Along the way, he revisits key moments in his life that were shaped by not being able to read: the 'learner' class at school, the dead-end jobs he had to take because he had no qualifications, and not being able to read his children bedtime stories. Daughter Zola is now 15, and Jay wants to read her a story before she reaches adulthood on her next birthday.

Following Jay over six months of learning, this intimate and revealing film goes behind closed doors to see how he organizes his upholstery business without the written word, manages on The Repair Shop without scripts and struggles each day with his vowels and consonants as he tries to learn phonics. We meet Jay's girlfriend Lisa, his daughter Zola and his 'adopted' family who all help him with his reading challenge. Jay also meets school pupils and adults who struggle with reading and writing, as he discovers the human stories behind the nation's literacy statistics.

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BBC One - Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51

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Jay Blades, presenter of The Repair Shop, struggles to read. It's finally time to learn.

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Use your library card to access books to read or listen to online for free.

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With Libby, you can enjoy free ebooks, digital audiobooks, and magazines from your library. All you need is a library card.

Step 1

Download or open Libby on your device:

Step 2

In Libby, follow the prompts to find your library and sign in with a library card.

Step 3

Browse your library's catalog, then borrow a book or audiobook or open a magazine.

Your selection will vary based on your library, since each library chooses what titles and formats to offer in Libby.

Step 4

Borrowed titles appear on your Shelf . You'll also find your magazine subscriptions and kept magazine issues on the Magazine Rack on your Shelf.

Book and audiobook loans are downloaded to the app automatically when you're connected to Wi-Fi, so you can read them when you're offline. To save space on your device, magazines don't automatically download, but you can manually download individual issues.

On your Shelf , you can:

Tap loans (at the top of the screen) to only see your book and audiobook loans.

Tap Read With... to choose where you'd like to read a book (Kindle or Libby), then finish sending to Kindle (U.S. libraries only) or start reading in Libby.

Tap Open In Libby or Open Audiobook to start reading or listening in the app.

Tap Manage Loan to see options like Renew Loan and Return Early.

Scroll down to the Magazine Rack to see your magazines:

Tap a magazine's cover to start reading.

Tap to see options, like Download (mobile app only) and Subscribe.

Happy reading!

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With Libby, you can enjoy free ebooks, digital audiobooks, and magazines from your library. All you need is a library card. Download or open Libby on your device: In Libby, follow the prompts to find your library and sign in with a library card.

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Post-assessment pack for adults | Dyslexia Scotland

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Resources for every part of your adult dyslexia personal development journey.

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Digital skills: succeeding in a digital world

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Digital skills: succeeding in a digital world

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This free course, Digital skills: succeeding in a digital world, will develop your confidence and skills for life online, whether study, work or everyday life. It explores a range of digital skills…

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Adult Literacy, Functional English, and GCSE Resources

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For students struggling to learn the alphabet. It is an Alphabet Arc with further practice pages that have an increasing number of blanks to fill in. It is designed to be given out as one page at a time, to help in memorising it.

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Resources for adult learners at the Reading Agency 

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Resources for adult learners at the Reading Agency 

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1 in 6 adults struggle to read and 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health issue at some point in their lives. Our work tackles adult literacy, ...

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The importance of literacy

However, understanding the significance of literacy goes far beyond its definition.

Literacy is essential. Without literacy, it's hard to live the life you want. From your earliest years, literacy skills help you develop and communicate. But when you have a tough start in life, it's easy to fall behind.

At school, having the literacy skills to read, write, speak and listen are vital for success. If you find these things hard, then you struggle to learn. It affects your confidence and self-esteem.

As an adult, without these same literacy skills, you can't get the jobs you want, and navigating every day life can be difficult - from using the internet, to filling out forms or making sense of instructions on medicines or road signs. If you have children, it's hard to support their learning, and so the cycle continues.

Low levels of literacy undermine the UK's economic competitiveness, costing the taxpayer £2.5 billion every year ( KPMG, 2009). A third of businesses are not satisfied with young people's literacy skills when they enter the workforce and a similar number have organised remedial training for young recruits to improve their basic skills, including literacy and communication.

Adult literacy rate

16.4% of adults in England, or 7.1 million people, can be described as having 'very poor literacy skills.' Adults with poor literacy skills will be locked out of the job market and, as a parent, they won't be able to support their child's learning.

Find out more.

But that's not the end of the story...

We believe that together, we can break the cycle. We believe that literacy is for everyone so we continue to work in schools and with communities to bring real change through our inspiring and evidence-based programmes, resources and activities.

Read our story

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What is Literacy? | National Literacy Trust | National Literacy Trust

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Discover literacy information and statistics for the UK from the National Literacy Trust.

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What are Individual Training Accounts?

In line with the Scottish Government's Labour Market Strategy, Individual Training Accounts were launched in October 2017.

This targeted funding aims to support employability by focusing funds on those actively seeking employment and those who are currently in low paid work and looking to progress.

Up to £200 towards a training course

Individual Training Accounts are available to help people develop the skills they need for work, giving learners who meet the eligibility criteria up to £200 towards a single training course or training episode per year. And because it's not a loan, the money doesn't need to be paid back.

Aligning to the needs of learners and the economy

To ensure Individual Training Accounts meet the needs of learners and the overall aims of the scheme, training providers must demonstrate the quality and outcomes of their courses.

ITA courses are selected and monitored according to the positive outcomes they can offer to the learner and their career prospects.

Individual Training Accounts aim to improve work-related skills and qualifications. They align to the training definitions set out by the Scottish Government.

All ITA courses must be in one of the curriculum areas aligned to the Scottish Government's Labour Market Strategy which includes: Agriculture, Business, Construction, Early Years and Childcare, Health & Safety, STEM, Social Care and Transport.

By increasing the employability of those seeking employment and those who are in low paid work looking to progress, ITAs also allow employers access to a trained and motivated workforce.

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Individuals who meet the eligibility criteria for SDS Individual Training Accounts (ITA) may qualify for £200 a year towards training. And because it's not a loan, the money doesn't need to be paid back.

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February 1, 2023 An optional subscription service, economically priced, for tutors and learning providers that can be used together with our free learner web app and printed learning resources or independently. It is a genuinely groundbreaking development in adult literacy support, designed to be simple to use but extremely powerful.

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How it works

The Big Plus is a free service that puts you in touch with a local tutor, who can help you with reading, writing or numbers.

They'll meet you in a local place, like a library or college. You'll have a chat to decide what things you want to learn.

If The Big Plus could help you or someone you know, call us on 0800 917 8000.

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What happens next

Once you've made contact with your tutor, you'll agree how often you want to meet, either one-on-one or in a group. At each session, you'll take part in activities that'll help you build your skills.

Online support

BBC Skillswise has lots of free videos and worksheets to help with English and maths. For more information, visit BBC Skillswise.

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The Big Plus is a free service that puts you in touch with a local tutor, who can help you with reading, writing or numbers. They'll meet you in a local place, like a library or college. You'll have a chat to decide what things you want to learn.

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Improving reading & writing skills through BBC Teach

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Improving reading & writing skills through BBC Teach

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A collection of free videos and downloadable worksheets to help adult learners improve reading, writing and numeracy skills.

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Learning with the National Literacy Trust

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Learning with the National Literacy Trust

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Adult literacy rates in the UK

In England, 16.4% of adults, or 7.1 million people, can be described as having "very poor literacy skills." This means they can understand short straightforward texts on familiar topics accurately and independently, and obtain information from everyday sources, but reading information from unfamiliar sources, or on unfamiliar topics, could cause problems. This is also known as being functionally illiterate.

Adults who have struggled from their earliest years to access support with their literacy may have fallen behind their peers during their school years too. Challenges with all aspects of literacy can affect your confidence and self-esteem as well as making it difficult to get the jobs you want and navigate every day life. Imagine how difficult it must be to use the internet, fill out vital forms or make sense of instructions if, as an adult, you find reading and writing challenging? If you have children, it's hard to support them in their learning too and so the cycle continues.

But you can break the cycle.

At the National Literacy Trust, we believe that literacy is for everyone. No limits, no lost causes, no last chances. Literacy gives you the tools to get the most out of life, and the power to shape your future. With literacy, you can change your story however old you are.

Many adults are reluctant to admit to their literacy difficulties and ask for help. One of the most important aspects of supporting adults with low literacy levels is to increase their self-esteem and persuade them of the benefits of improving their reading and writing.

Words Rising

Words Rising with Anawim Women's Centre is funded by our Birmingham Hub and Birmingham University, and delivered by the Adult Literacy Team. Learn how we are equipping women in...

Solace

We work with women who are accessing Solace's services and refuge accommodation, with support from Slaughter and May.

Books Unlocked

Our work in the adult literacy space also includes an empowering programme called Books Unlocked in collaboration with the Booker Prize Foundation and National Prison Radio. The programme aims to encourage prisoners to find ways to increase their frequency of reading in order to foster a love of books and build a culture of reading for pleasure.

Learn more

Further support and information about adult literacy in the UK

Visit the Gov.uk site for improving your English skills, or call the National Careers Service helpline on 0800 100 900

If the adult is employed and has access to a union, their union learning representative will be able to provide confidential advice. Information is on the Union Learn website

Adults looking for literacy support can contact a local adult education college directly to find information on courses in the area. Equally, visit your local library which will also provide support to find appropriate reading materials and reading groups.

Parents who would like guidance and resources to be able to support their children on their literacy journey can visit the Parent Support hub on our Words for Life website.

Parents can also find support family learning activities provided by local colleges, libraries, schools and other organisations. Being able to become more involved in their children's learning can be a powerful motivator to adults to improve their literacy skills.

Read Easy recruits, trains and supports volunteers to give one-to-one tuition to adults who struggle with reading

The Learning and Work Institute aims to improve access to learning for adults

The Reading Agency provides a number of free resources to help improve adult reading skills

Learn Direct provides online courses and a network of learning centres. Call 0800 101 901 for advice and information on their adult literacy courses

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Adult literacy | National Literacy Trust

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Information on adult literacy in the UK and our Books Unlocked programme.