PRH announces two-year partnership with National Literacy Trust

16 July 2018 Books+Publishing

In the UK, Penguin Random House (PRH) has announced a two-year partnership with the National Literacy Trust (NLT), an independent charity that works with disadvantaged children to develop their literacy skills.

PRH will support several initiatives run by NLT through a colleague volunteering program, colleague fundraising, and a goal to donate 150,000 books to NLT hubs in disadvantaged areas across the UK.

PRH will also fund 12 NLT programs to be delivered in 2019 by colleagues at schools near to its London offices and schools near its warehouses in Frating and Grantham. Focusing on disadvantaged primary and secondary schools that would benefit the most from additional support, the programs will centre on improving literacy and language development, fostering a love of reading, and improving communication skills to prepare students for the workplace.

NLT’s research currently shows that one in six adults in England and Northern Ireland currently lack the literacy skills expected of an 11 year-old, and, in England, struggling to read is more closely linked to unemployment than in any other country. Research reports from the NLT also revealed that England one of the most unequal countries in terms of children’s reading levels, second only to Romania in the EU.

‘The stark figures on the implications of low literacy on social mobility underline just how important … this [issue] is for the future of the UK. It also plays a major role in what we call the creativity gap … which we as a publisher have a mission to help close,’ said CEO of PRH UK Tom Weldon.

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Category: International news