Manchester Withington MP, Jeff Smith, has visited his old school, Old Moat Primary School, to see first hand the ‘Born to Read’ programme run in conjunction with Save The Children and Beanstalk.

Save The Children’s partnership with Beanstalk is helping to give children in the UK the reading skills they need for a better future by getting volunteers into local primary schools to support children with their reading.

Jeff Smith said: “Reading well is key to a child’s future. Learning to read unlocks a world of opportunity. It underpins a child’s chances of achieving at school and, beyond that, of finding work.

“But far too many boys and girls in the UK fall badly behind in literacy in their first few years at school. Most of these children never catch up, leaving school without basic reading skills or good qualifications. It’s vital we break that cycle at an early stage and I was proud to visit my old Primary School to see how the ‘Born to Read’ scheme is working locally.”