Welcome to the Literacy Pirates
Your child has been nominated by their school teacher to attend our programme. We help pupils aged 9-13 improve their reading and writing skills.
- Our programme offers your child:
- Weekly literacy sessions in person or online,
- 1-1 or small group support from trained teachers and volunteers,
- Exciting projects which will boost your child’s skills in reading and writing.
Our programme is free of charge for families.
Click here for a Turkish translation / Türkçe Çeviri
Please watch our video to learn more, then register your child by filling out the form below.
Why has my child been referred to the Literacy Pirates?
Children are nominated to our after-school programme for lots of reasons. Our main focus is to develop your child’s literacy, confidence and perseverance so they can better succeed in the classroom.
Some teachers feel that some children could improve their reading and writing. Other teachers can see that some children would boost their confidence from the extra adult attention and the fantastic published projects that each child works on during their time with us.
As we spend a number of weeks working on a written project, some teachers nominate a child to help them develop their perseverance and ability to keep on going when things get hard.
As well as these above reasons, many teachers feel that the programme is a great way to get children more excited and more engaged with their learning.
My child loves to read and is doing well in English – why should I send them to this after school programme?
It’s fantastic that your child has a love for reading. Studies show that literacy is the gateway to doing well in all subjects at school.
Many of our Young Pirates love to read but unfortunately they cannot always get the attention they need in the classroom to reach their full potential. That’s why teachers see the benefit of students attending the Literacy Pirates as they are able to advance their ability and put themselves in a better situation to do well in school.
Each week your child can expect one-to-one or small group attention from a trained volunteer in a class lead by a qualified teacher.
Do you work on subjects like Maths or Science?
We do not work on Maths or Science. Studies show that literacy is the gateway to doing well in all other subjects in school, including Maths and English.
We are very proud of the programme that we have put together. Our qualified teachers carefully plan the sessions to bring out new skills in your child’s approach to learning. Many teachers take note of children being much more studious as a result of attending Literacy Pirates sessions and this can have an effect on how they perform in other subjects.
Will they work with the same person each week?
Our aim is for children to work with a different volunteer in each session. We do this for lots of reasons, one being that we can see this as a direct link to how children gain confidence from meeting a different adult volunteer each week.
Another reason is we think it’s really important for children to see that anyone can be a provider of learning, not just teachers. They get to work with people from all backgrounds and ages who individually provide a support system for children to know more about the outside world. Many of the Young Pirates often look forward to meeting their new volunteer each week.
How much does this cost?
Our programme is completely free to families! We believe support should be provided to the people that need it, not the people than can pay for it.
How long is the programme for?
We offer a year-long in-person programme and a term-long online programme. Both take place after school. Both follow the same structure.
Your school will decide which programme they would like you child to attend.
Can my other children or child’s friend attend too?
Our current programme requires teachers to nominate children to our programme. We work with children aged 9-13 years old.
If you would like other children to attend, then please speak with your child’s teacher to find out if they are able attend our programme.
Will this help with my child’s SATS?
We are confident that our programme will help children do better in their SATs. We are not school and do not have lessons that are specifically designed to help children in their tests, but we believe the advancement of their reading and writing abilities will have a huge improvement on how your child engages with reading the questions and expressing their answers.
Contact us:
Hackney- 07912178037
Haringey- 07706002254
Virtual- 07834372257