Paired reading partners: Semple Fraser
How the project came about
Semple Fraser LLP is a firm of solicitors specialising in commercial law. It is based in Glasgow and Edinburgh, with 25 partners and over 120 staff.
A representative from Semple Fraser contacted Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) after reading about the Scotland Reads paired reading programme, where volunteers help children in schools to develop confidence in and positive attitudes towards reading. The Scotland Reads volunteer experience struck a chord with Semple Fraser, as making contributions to the community is an important part of its ethos. It also had an enthusiastic response when it sought volunteers from amongst its staff.
What was involved
In partnership with LTS, Semple Fraser enabled six of its staff - the majority of them trainee solicitors - to participate in the programme by offering an hour of their time on a weekly basis to Glasgow schools. The volunteers were actively encouraged to participate, with a regular time slot each week set aside and transportation made available if required. They were already used to having time allocated to their personal and professional development (such as attending seminars) and welcomed this additional opportunity to broaden their experience.
Prior to going into schools and working with pupils, the volunteers received comprehensive training in paired reading from one of Glasgow City Council’s literacy tutors. The programme was scheduled to run from Oct 2008 to June 2009, with Miller Primary and St Mungo’s Secondary being the schools involved. The next step was then for the trainees to be matched to and introduced to their school.
Once disclosure had been processed and the volunteers were ready to embark upon the paired reading programme, each volunteer assigned to St Mungo’s Academy worked with on average two pupils once a week, with sessions lasting for approximately 20 minutes. Those involved at Miller Primary were each assigned one pupil.
Benefits of the project
The Semple Fraser volunteers welcomed the opportunity to work in a different environment and felt that the successes they had and the challenges they encountered enhanced their own interpersonal and organisational skills. For example, one trainee felt that she was now more reflective in her own area of work, and another felt that he had become more confident in dealing with a variety of people.
In addition, the gains reported from pupils were most encouraging. Many of the children grew in confidence, not just when reading but when discussing what they had read and their preferences. Some children were choosing to buy books for the first time and the children, in general, developed more positive attitudes towards reading.
The trainees felt that they were also able to look at ways of improving comprehension during their sessions, using the training manuals that formed part of their training programme. The Semple Fraser model is an interesting example of how an employer can make a valuable contribution to the local community whilst extending the range of development opportunities for its staff.
Scotland Reads
More information on the Paired Reading Partners programme.