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Care leavers often lack qualifications. Nevertheless, in Derbyshire they are being set to work helping younger children to read - a project that spells benefits for both sides, writes Natalie Valios.

More than two-thirds of looked-after children leave care at 16 with no qualifications, compared with only 6 per cent of all children. Care leavers' lack of educational achievement is the subject of targets in Quality Protects as well as more recently becoming the focus of a social exclusion unit consultation exercise.

In both Derbyshire and Derby Councils an independent partnership organisation called Read On - Write Away! is gently re-introducing care leavers to education through one of its schemes, the Buddy Reading Project.

The project trains young people in shared reading skills so they can then work as volunteers in supervised placements where they partner younger children to help them with their reading. The buddy scheme originally worked with sixth-formers, who then went into primary schools to help children with reading difficulties.

Two years ago, the project's remit was expanded to include work with care leavers. To this end, it teamed up with local voluntary organisations running after care projects, such as Barnardo's and NCH. Selling the idea of buddy reading to care leavers, for whom school will often be a distant or bad memory, sounds like a tough call. But the project hasn't found it difficult to engage their enthusiasm, says Carol Taylor, director of Read On - Write Away!

The project starts by taking books for care leavers to look at. "It's amazing how many haven't looked at books for a long time, particularly if they have been in residential care," says Taylor. "We work on a model that they can do this, and tell them that they are absolutely brilliant."

Care leavers who want to become a buddy volunteer go through a two-day training process where they are taught how to help children with poor literacy. They are also taught about confidentiality and how they should act when in a school.

"They don't need very high literacy skills, but they do need personal skills. Most can read well enough to help six and seven year olds. It's very much about confidence and fun," says Taylor.

While any adult who wants to work with children is given a police check, buddy volunteers are gently asked during their training about their background and past experiences. Information is treated confidentially, and schools are told that they will have to trust the project on whom it sends in as volunteers, says Taylor. Buddies are never left alone with children - they read with them in the school library or staff room in the company of a project worker.

Care leavers commit to a certain number of weeks - generally between six weeks and a term - as a buddy volunteer, working with several children for about 30 minutes at a time. Overall, the project has worked with more than 100 young people in 13 projects, helping more than 300 children from primary and junior schools with their reading.

Care leavers who have taken part have found it a rewarding experience. In many cases, it is the first time somebody has believed in them or told them they have done something well, says Taylor. Their past experiences of school have generally been poor. Many left school at 13, were kicked out of care at 16 and then became homeless.

"It's about making them realise that they can take part in society and that they have a role to play," she says. "We never work on a deficit model - it is all about telling them they're great."

Care leavers' self-esteem is also boosted by working with younger children who look up to them and can't wait for them to come into school and spend time with them.

A couple of care leavers have gone on to become volunteers in schools, another has started to help train buddies, while others have gone on to train as nursery nurses.

A key aim behind the project is to encourage care leavers back into education. They are offered help onto further education and training courses, and many have gone on to do computer and basic skills courses. The project has also obtained Open College accreditation so that buddies can gain formal recognition for their work as volunteers.

Read on - Write Away! works with all 500 schools in the Derbyshire and Derby local authorities. The organisation chose eight schools that it knew would support its plans for care leavers and would treat them as adults, not children.

About two or three buddy reading schemes are run each term so at any one time three or four schools are involved. As the two councils cover a wide area, schemes work in one locality for one term and another the next.

As it is, project co-ordinator Terry Smith spends a lot of time driving around picking care leavers up from various venues and taking them to their schools, says Taylor.

Each school decides which pupils would benefit from help with their reading, and then the head teacher asks the parents' permission to use the buddy project. So far, it has had a 100 per cent positive response from parents.

Using buddies has changed the way that these schools work with their pupils in personal and social education classes. By asking their buddy volunteers about their lives, the children can raise concerns that arise when people don't have, or don't live at home with, birth parents, says Taylor.

In 1999, the project won a Community Care award for its inter-agency work. It used the award money to set up two multi-agency conferences highlighting care leaver issues. Several initiatives sprang from these, including buddy book boxes. These are boxes of books distributed to family and children's centres and foster carers that are swapped on a regular basis.

Another scheme to emerge from the project is story sacks. Buddies make up a sack of goodies to go along with a book. So, for example, if the book is The Hungry Caterpillar, this book will go in the sack, along with maybe a furry caterpillar toy and some of the items it is described as eating. The buddy reads the story onto a tape and works through the items in the sack with the child.

A long-term aim of the project is for care leavers to work as buddies with children in care after school or in holidays, so that they can act as mentors and share their care experiences.

The project shows that, with good support, many care leavers are committed, reliable and skilful in helping children struggling with their reading.

The benefits the project has brought to both groups of young people - the volunteers and the partners - are considerable. Everyone involved in the project believes that these benefits provide a firmer foundation from which children and young adults can move forward and avoid the "disaffection" label.

Project profile

- History: The project was set up in early 1999 by independent partnership organisation Read On - Write Away! It is a partnership of Derbyshire Council, Derby Council, North Derbyshire Training and Enterprise Council, Southern Derbyshire Chamber, the Basic Skills Agency, the National Literacy Trust, Derbyshire Libraries and Heritage and Derbyshire Learning and Skills Council. Young people known as buddy volunteers are recruited and supported through partner organisations. They are trained in shared reading techniques. Buddies work for several weeks for an hour each week helping buddy partners with their reading.

- Funding: Initially the Adult and Community Learning Fund financed the project. This ran out in March 2001 and the project is funded for the next two years by Read On - Write Away!, Derbyshire social services department and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. The projects costs about £40,000 annually to run.

- Staff: Project co-ordinator Terry Smith with support from project workers from the partner organisations and staff from the eight partner schools.

- Clients: Care leavers in Derbyshire and Derby aged between 15 and 25.

- Contact: Terry Smith, project co-ordinator, The Buddy Reading Project, Read On - Write Away, County Hall, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 3AG. Tel: 01629 585603.