hanks

The Reader Organisation

Contents

There‟s an early twentieth-century snapshot I‟m fond of, by the Hungarian photographer André
Kertész, which shows three small boys crouched together over a book. What‟s striking about it isn‟t About The Reader Organisation ………………………………………………………… 2
that two of the boys are barefoot or even that they‟re reading outside, in the street, rather than in Extending a Hand ………………………………………………………… 3
school. It‟s the sense that they‟re engaged in a communal endeavour – a shared experience. Bringing About a Reading Revolution ………………………………………………………… 4

We tend to think of reading as a solitary activity. But books give us access to the minds and hearts REACHING OUT ………………………………………………………… 5
Get Into Reading ………………………………………………………… 6
of the people who appear in them. And when we discuss a novel together, or take turns at reading
Mersey Care ………………………………………………………… 7
poetry aloud in a group, we‟re brought into tangible contact with fellow readers too. It‟s the
Wirral Young People ………………………………………………………… 8
therapeutic effect of such contact that The Reader Organisation seeks to promote. The many GIR Get-Together ………………………………………………………… 9
initiatives it has set-up on Merseyside and beyond show that reading can make us feel both better in GIR Beyond Merseyside ………………………………………………………… 10
ourselves and better about ourselves. They also democratise the reading process, by taking poems, Case Study: Louise Jones ………………………………………………………… 11
classics and literary novels out of the classroom into the community.
Community Shakespeare ………………………………………………………… 12
In his 1543 Act for the Advancement of True Religion, Henry VIII criminalised reading aloud by
women; men of the „lower classes‟ were banned too, for fear that „naughty and erroneous opinions‟ Liverpool Reads ………………………………………………………… 13
would ensue. Five centuries later such prohibitions have disappeared, at least in the West. But Case Study: The L8 Girls ………………………………………………………… 14
there‟s still a feeling in less privileged parts of society that „books aren‟t for the likes of us‟. The work
Read to Lead Training ………………………………………………………… 15
of The Reader Organisation is crucial in undoing that damaging misperception – and in making the
Case Study: James Freeley ………………………………………………………… 17
pleasures and healing powers of great literature available to everyone.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ………………………………………………………… 18

READER EVENTS ………………………………………………………… 21

THE READER MAGAZINE ………………………………………………………… 24

Website and Blog ………………………………………………………… 25

In the Spotlight ………………………………………………………… 26
Awards ………………………………………………………… 27

ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ………………………………………………………… 28

Trustees ………………………………………………………… 29
Staff ………………………………………………………… 31
Our Aims ………………………………………………………… 32
Public Benefit ………………………………………………………… 33

Blake Morrison SUMMARY ACCOUNTS ………………………………………………………… 34

Chair of The Reader Organisation Board of Trustees

Books enable us “better to enjoy life, or

better to endure it”
Samuel Johnson The Reader Organisation
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 The Reader Organisation The Reader Organisation

About The Reader Organisation Extending a Hand…

In the summer of 2001 I walked nervously into a community education building in the north end of
The Reader Organisation is a charity that exists to bring about a Reading Revolution: that means
Birkenhead to start the very first Get Into Reading group. As I faltered in the doorway, I had no idea
great books reaching everybody. Our work encourages people of all ages and backgrounds, in
that the project would run beyond its allotted five weeks. Suddenly it seemed quite stupid to
whatever life situation they find themselves, to become readers, or to extend their reading habits,
attempt to recreate the type of group I had enjoyed teaching in my classes at the University of
and to share the reading experience.
Liverpool with the adults I was about to meet: people not interested in books, or unaccustomed to
„literature‟, or maybe only just becoming literate. But that is what I was trying to do: get great books
For us, reading is a force for social good that can build community and enhance lives. We‟re turning
out of the University and into the hands of people who – like myself, I assumed – needed them.
non-readers into readers, one page at a time.
By 2008, seven years later, that shaky first step had led to the founding of a charitable company, The
This report details our activities from August 2008 to April 2009.
Reader Organisation, with thousands of beneficiaries, the subject of national and international
interest, and with a turnover in its first year of half a million pounds. It has been a wonderful, fast-
paced, and moving journey. Many people have helped enormously but two people played key parts
and must be mentioned by name: Susan Blishen at the Paul Hamlyn Foundation saw the potential of
the project and backed it, teaching me a lot along the way; Blake Morrison, by featuring our work in
his „Reading Cure‟ piece for the Guardian, invited the world to look at our model, an invitation which
has been taken up by readers across the UK as well as in Europe, Australia and the United States.

I ought not to have worried as I hesitated in that doorway: of course, the power and sheer demand
of the reading experience interested the group enough to bring them back the following week.
When one reader was moved to tears by Tennyson‟s „Crossing the Bar‟, and when at the end of that
session another reader reached out his hand to her and said quietly, “Well done, kidder”, I knew
something powerful had happened. Get Into Reading has taught me that syntax, ever flexible, precise
and tough, makes written language the most complex and experiential modelling material we have,
and great writers use it to model what it is to be human, helping us to name, and thus in some sense
to know our feelings. By reading aloud, together, these groups are able to experience a possibly vital
knowing or feeling together. That is why we have always said that Get into Reading builds community.

When we look up and see the bigger problems our world faces it is easy to lose sight of the value of
that small act of extending the hand (“Well done, kidder”), but if humanity is the problem, humanity
is also the answer and nothing is more important than that we understand ourselves. It is a
commonplace assumption, here in the West, that we have universal, free education. We don‟t. Most
people leave school and never read a book or a poem again. Does that matter? Yes it does, and that
is why we are building the Reading Revolution: to make access to great books available to everyone.

It has been hard holding tight to the feeling of this vision whilst laying the foundations for an
organisation. Many thanks to Board members, Staff and Volunteers, to friends and colleagues in
other areas of life, and above all to the readers who have helped and inspired us all.

Jane Davis
Founder and Director

“The reading group mends holes in the net “Most people leave school and never read a book
you would otherwise fall through” or a poem again. Does that matter? Yes”
GIR member, Birkenhead The Reader Organisation Jane Davis The Reader Organisation
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 The Reader Organisation
Bringing About a Reading Revolution
The focus of all our work is engaging ordinary people in sharing a wealth of great writing: getting
books off shelves and into the hands of those who most need them. We call this the Reading
Revolution. To achieve such a Revolution we undertake the development of projects and
partnerships which will make books and poetry more widely accessible and available to the general
population. The strategies we use to do this include:
Providing a range of services and interventions which brings books and reading into the lives
of people for whom they might not be a natural resource;
Focusing attention on the social and personal value of books and reading through PR
campaigns;
Working in partnership with other agencies to develop new projects which will promote
books and reading;
Developing research which will support the value of reading in a variety of areas, e.g. mental
health, education, regeneration.
Liverpool – European Capital of Culture 2008
“To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable
that is spelled out is a spark”
Victor Hugo -4- The Reader Organisation
Reaching Out
Reaching Out
Through working with a number of local authorities and NHS Trusts, developing an Events
programme and offering training to a national and international audience, The Reader Organisation
tries to reach out as widely as possible to bring about a fully literate and healthy society, while
operating within the constraints of financial and legal limitations.
Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what’s a heaven for?
Robert Browning
Get Into Reading is our pioneering shared reading programme; we have developed Read to Lead
training to enable people across the country to deliver Get Into Reading in their own area; Liverpool
Reads aims to get the whole city reading and engaging with the same book; and our Community
Shakespeare project exists to make Shakespeare‟s writing more accessible to a wider audience.
“It’s like going on holiday without packing your bags!”
Reaching Out
Full-time Carer, Birkenhead -5-
 Reaching Out Reaching Out

Get Into Reading Mersey Care Reads

Get Into Reading delivers informal reading sessions to the public: from those who wouldn‟t normally
pick up a book to keen readers. Groups meet weekly in community centres, hospitals, drug rehab
units, prisons, libraries, arts centres and schools. Uniquely, texts are read aloud, with members
joining in as much or as little as they wish. Engagement is immediate – and enriched by the
spontaneous sharing of life stories and experiences as confidence builds over time. The groups aim
to improve wellbeing, build social cohesion and extend reading pleasure.
Mersey Care Reads has had a busy and successful year. In August 2008 we had ten groups running –
by the end of April 2009 that number was twenty-two, with another half-dozen waiting for a slot.
The evaluation of the pilot year, produced by the Service Users Research and Evaluation team
(SURE), was overwhelmingly positive, recording “clear and tangible benefits of Reader groups to
service users across all settings”. Trust executives have continued to back the project
enthusiastically, facilitating their own reading groups with service users and publically promoting it on
radio and in conferences.

It’s like another door has opened and the light has come in.
What could be more human than sharing a story? The reading groups have been
Get Into Reading group member very cost-effective and have had a beneficial impact for service users and to the
changing culture of the organisation.
This year at a glance: Alan Yates, CEO of Mersey Care

By April 2009 the weekly number of Get Into Reading beneficiaries was 532. To further embed it within the Trust, Mersey
This constituted approximately 18,000 individual reading experiences during the year. Care librarian Cath McCafferty took over
The areas in which we delivered Get Into Reading were Liverpool, Bootle, Wirral managerial responsibility for the second year of
(particularly Birkenhead and Wallasey), Halton, Salford and East London. the project in September 2008, with the support
The types of people benefited by Get Into Reading were people with mental or physical of a Stakeholders team of senior Trust employees.
health problems, learning disabilities, dementia; also young mums, recovering drug addicts, We restructured the training of our Key
homeless people, frail elderly people, carers, looked-after children, excluded teenagers, Professionals (ward staff who first co-facilitate
primary school and secondary school children, people for whom English is a second reading groups with the Readers-in-Residence and
language, asylum seekers, patients in neurological rehab, isolated people – and just people then go on to run the groups themselves), with
who would like to get into reading! funding for a number of them to attend the Read
to Lead Accredited Facilitator Training.
We now run more than 100 sessions each week, reading with more than 500 people, and our
partnerships have also brought about much-needed consolidation. The Mersey Care NHS Trust Members of the Crown Street reading group
Reader-in-Residence scheme is no longer time-limited, giving project workers the chance to embed
it within the organisation. Wirral PCT has decided to build on its investment, awarding Get Into Our Readers-in-Residence deliver monthly training sessions at different Mersey Care sites to
Reading further core funding for the next three years, which has been match-funded by Wirral MBC accommodate as many of these busy professionals as possible. We will also be working in
and greatly strengthens our roots in the borough. These funding successes show a growing partnership with the Trust in putting on sessions for their Adult Learners Week Programme, and
confidence in the health and well-being benefits of the Get Into Reading model. will be jointly organising events with the Bluecoat‟s Chapter & Verse festival in October 2009.

There has been expansion in group provision for both old and young, with more volunteers reading
in care homes for the elderly, and a new Reader-in-Residence on Wirral‟s Woodchurch estate, I haven’t looked at a book in fifteen years. It makes me wish I hadn’t thrown
reading with children aged 4 – 16. We have also won funding to read with young mums in Rockferry, those years away, because I’d forgotten what it feels like when you read
Wirral and with women involved in the criminal justice system at the Together Women Centre in something like this, the power of words I mean.
Liverpool.
Service user at drugs detox unit
reachingout.thereader.org.uk/get-into-reading

“It’s something normal – you can join in without having “Get Into Reading is exactly the kind of work the
to talk about mental health problems” NHS should be developing in the next ten years”
Mental health service user, Wirral -6- Reaching Out Professor Louis Appleby Reaching Out
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Wirral Children and Young People

Get Into Reading Get-Together
We have continued our thriving Reader-in-Residence scheme with Wirral Children and Young
On 12th November 2008 we held our annual Get Into Reading Get-Together at Bromborough Civic
People‟s Department. As well as reading with eight looked-after children aged 10-15 on a weekly
Hall. Over one hundred group members turned up to celebrate their involvement in GIR over the
basis, we facilitated Young Summer Shakespeare, a programme which ran alongside Wirral
past year. There were poetry readings, book recommendations, a raffle and, of course, a very hearty
Community Shakespeare during the summer holidays and helped sixteen looked-after children to
buffet lunch much appreciated by all! As a special treat, guest actor Pauline Fleming teamed up with
engage with The Winter’s Tale through a variety of creative workshops.
the Shakespeare GIR group to perform scenes from the first act of King Lear.
In January 2009 the scheme was expanded to include another project worker who has weekly one-
to-one meetings with eight young people aged 8-14. We have already seen significant changes in how Days like this are important because they remind us of who we are – I like seeing
the children are approaching books – such as G, a very reluctant reader, who asked during his fourth the organisers at work on such occasions because it helps me to appreciate how
session, “Can I keep the book to read on my own during the week – it‟s good this book, isn‟t it?” hard they work to make it all happen just as I like hearing from members of other
groups on the day talking about what Get Into Reading means to them.
The reading has led to noticeable improvements in the confidence levels of the
GIR group member
young people involved. Foster carers have commented that the project has been an
added support to them, and both enjoyable and beneficial for the young people.
All members were awarded with a certificate and a copy of the Poem for the Day anthology.
The young people are really benefiting from the dedicated one-to-one time.

Simon Fisher, LAC Services Manager, Wirral Children's Service

We have increased our work on the

Woodchurch estate, an area of Birkenhead
that experiences social deprivation at more
than twice the national average, enabling us
to reach more disadvantaged young people
on a weekly basis. We run groups in primary
and secondary schools and at a weekly youth
club at the Woodchurch Leisure Centre.
The response and enthusiasm from young
people has been fantastic.

Reading group at a Wirral primary school

Our Reader-in-Residence project at Weatherhead High School Media Arts College also continues.
There are now ten weekly reading-for-pleasure groups running in the school, during lesson-time and
after-school. Group members have attended many out-of-school reading events, most recently a
„Meet the Author‟ event at Bebington Civic Centre as part of the Wirral Paperback of the Year
Award and the National Year of Reading Celebration at Wallasey Town Hall.

I love reading club, I really look forward to it; it’s the best part of my week. I wish GIR members at the 2008 Get Into Reading Get-Together
we could have it every day.
Pupil at Weatherhead High School Media Arts College

“Can’t you stay a bit longer? I want to find “It’s been great this – a real boost – I’d forgotten what
out what happens in the story” it feels like when you read”
Looked-After Child, Wirral -8- Reaching Out Service user at drug detox unit, Liverpool -9- Reaching Out

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Get Into Reading beyond Merseyside
With greater numbers of people from the UK and abroad becoming trained Get Into Reading
facilitators, we‟re beginning to see more and more reading groups starting in more and more areas –
and so the Revolution spreads!
Salford
In Salford, Get Into Reading is run by one of our project workers along with Sarah Coyne, Reader
Development Librarian for Salford Libraries. Get Into Reading Salford initially targeted elderly people
in care homes, particularly those with dementia, people of all ages with mental health problems and
the homeless. It continues to work with these people, as well as with local residents, and has now
become an established and ever-expanding network of reading groups and contacts. Regular groups
meet at libraries, care homes, a centre providing artistic activities for those with mental health
problems and a drop-in centre for the homeless.
We are in a situation where everything is done for us. We get out of the habit of
thinking. This group presents us with the opportunity to think for ourselves. Stirs
up the old grey matter. It’s good for us.
Care home resident
London
As a result of Read to Lead Training, Get Into Reading is currently being developed in London.
Having attended the Five-day Accredited Facilitator training course in 2008 and qualified as a Get
Into Reading facilitator, Penny Markell has started groups at the Idea Stores in Bow, Chrisp Street
and Whitechapel, all of which have regular attendees. Idea Stores are an expansion of the idea of a
library, often including learning spaces, community events and a café, as well as books.
It helps me to make friends more easily, improves my own understanding of
English and is helping me to develop my reading and listening skills.
Group member
Since January, Penny has been running another group at Crisis Skylight, a learning space for people
who are homeless, asylum seekers or refugees. She has received funding from the East London
Mental Health Trust for a pilot group in the Mental Health Unit at Mile End Hospital.
“It helps you to forget about yourself and opens up
your eyes to what’s out there”
GIR member, Wallasey - 10 - Reaching Out
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Reaching Out
Case Study: Louise Jones
Jelly and Ice-cream
Louise‟s story is one of triumph over adversity and a great example of the power of reading. A
sufferer of Asperger‟s Syndrome, a form of autism, and debilitating diabetes, social situations are
frequently challenging for Louise. Books have always provided a welcome escape but it wasn‟t until
last year, The National Year of Reading, that the social benefits of reading came to the fore.
To celebrate National Year of Reading and Liverpool‟s year as European Capital of Culture 2008,
The Reader Organisation put on a production of Shakespeare‟s The Winter’s Tale in Birkenhead Park.
As preparation for that we started a Shakespeare Get Into Reading group in March and invited
members of our existing reading groups to join it, with a view to being involved in the play in some
way at a later stage. “I did not think I would like it,” says Louise, “but I wanted to try it. It was hard.
Shakespeare seemed incomprehensible and the weekly group threw me back at first.” As a child
Louise had been an elective mute, and she found that the first few weeks of the Shakespeare reading
group brought back old feelings of fear and incomprehension. “I did not say a word. Then one week
in May I thought I am going to do this, and I offered to read a tiny bit – I can remember the feeling of
it – and I read some out loud.”
Louise Jones at the GIRTY Get-Together
“I felt great afterwards and skipped all the way home. I was absolutely ecstatic!” From this point on
Louise was able to join in the reading each week. In August 2008 she joined 29 other members of
the local community in performing The Winter’s Tale to an audience of 1,500 people in Birkenhead
Park. “She was a wonderfully supportive member of the cast,” says Director Neil Caple. “A beautiful
presence – committed, resourceful and hard-working. Incredibly supportive of the others. She‟s
come out of herself so much. She‟s come so far.”
I’ve always found reading easy. But reading Shakespeare has helped me to connect to
other people in a way I couldn’t imagine. It is the best thing I have done. Having
Asperger’s is like having jelly with fish. But I feel I have found my jelly and ice-cream here.
Louise Jones
“It’s the best thing I have done”
Louise Jones - 11 - Reaching Out
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Community Shakespeare Liverpool Reads…

William Shakespeare‟s writing is among the best and most meaningful in humanity‟s literary heritage.
We want to demonstrate that Shakespeare can be experienced and enjoyed by ordinary people,
regardless of age, culture, background or education. Our inclusive community productions attempt
to inspire those who previously considered Shakespeare out of their reach.
Wirral
It was years in the thinking and months in the planning, and thanks to many hard-working people,
Community Shakespeare – organised by The Reader Organisation and Aspire Trust – presented five
open-air performances of The Winter’s Tale in August 2008.
The production was an astounding
success, thrilling audiences and instilling
enormous pride in everyone involved in
the project. Directed by Brookside‟s Neil
Caple and starring twenty-eight members
of the local community, with Coronation
Street‟s Pauline Fleming as Paulina, it was
an unforgettable show. It is estimated that
more than 1,500 people saw the
performances in the beautiful and historic
setting of Birkenhead Park.
Get Into Reading members in The Winter‟s Tale
Liverpool Reads is our city-wide reading adventure. Each year a book is selected and thousands of
free copies are distributed around the city. We co-ordinate school and community initiatives, with a
focus on hard-to-reach groups, to get as many as people as possible reading and talking about the
chosen book. We aim to harness the cultural diversity and creativity of the city's people, to foster
shared understanding and to bring people together through reading.
This year at a glance:
20,000 people were involved in Liverpool Reads 2008-2009.
The Liverpool areas reached were: Alt Valley, Childwall, City Centre, Dingle, Kensington,
Toxteth Walton Vale.
We worked with the Criminal Justice Service, Cobalt Housing, Jaguar, Kensington
Regeneration Libraries, local primary and secondary Schools and Mersey Travel.
In 2008, Liverpool Reads merged with The Reader Organisation and
has now become one of our outreach campaigns. 2008 was unique for
Liverpool Reads as there were two books chosen: Keeper and Tamar,
both by Mal Peet. We distributed a total of 13,000 free copies. More
than one hundred people – most of them young people – took part in
the launch event at Liverpool Central Library, and Mal Peet met over
three-hundred and fifty readers on his tour of Liverpool‟s community
groups on European Good Neighbours Day.

Free tickets and huge involvement by the local community – in the cast and crew – plus some big Mal also led a reading with forty prisoners in Walton Prison.
names, ensured that our aim to make Shakespeare more accessible to people in the wider
community was realised. Councillor Phil Davies, who attended the performance on Friday evening,
said: “I'm sure the fact that tickets were free encouraged people who may never have read or seen a As a result of the campaign, the Liverpool
play by Shakespeare to attend. All in all, it was a great night and I very much hope that other plays Reads website received 1,897 new visitors.
and performances can be staged in the park in future years.” One hundred schools across the city were
given a copy of our reading guide; and
Community Shakespeare was the best thing I've been a part of in years. After a long pupils from Palmerston School worked
time spent stagnating on sickness-related benefits, it was wonderful to feel like part with artist Ben Small to produce a Big
of a team and to have a purpose again. My only regret is that I didn't do something Book version of the selected reads for use
like this years ago. in special schools. This was sent out to
Wirral Community Shakespeare participant thirteen of Liverpool‟s SEN schools.

It was a remarkable inaugural year for Community Shakespeare and we hope, due to the thereader.org.uk/liverpoolreads
overwhelming amount of positive feedback and support received, that The Winter’s Tale is just the
first of many productions…
Author Mal Peet reads with local pupils at launch event
reachingout.thereader.org.uk/community-shakespeare

“The beauty of this was that it came directly from ideas in the “I really enjoy everybody’s company. We learn, have fun and
reading group” build our confidence”
Crew member, Community Shakespeare - 12 - Reaching Out GIR member (seeking asylum), Liverpool - 13 - Reaching Out

GIR member, Wallasey

 Reaching Out
Case Study: L8 Girls
The Stuff of Dreams
We first met these girls from the Toxteth area in Liverpool (postcode L8) in summer 2008, and
through the Liverpool Reads outreach campaign we set up a weekly read-aloud group in which they
could explore a variety of texts, stories and poetry, as well as other activities such as watching film
adaptations.
By November, five girls aged 10-15 were attending the group and reading a diverse selection of
stories, ranging in subject from child trafficking to Zen South American footballers. Malorie Blackman
became a favouite with the group: we watched an RSC play based on her book Noughts & Crosses
after reading it and then went on to read The Stuff of Nightmares.
The girls used the reading group time for building their social confidence and improving and
developing their literacy skills. What happened next was phenomenal: the girls were seconded to the
Bluecoat Arts Centre for a series of creative activities. The first was to take part in the Liverpool
Arabic Arts Festival, creating a medium for young people to understand the exhibition in the centre.
One of the girls, after participating in an art masterclass, had her ideas incorporated into a design for
one of the Super Lamb Bananas that would decorate the city.
The Reader Organisation coordinated the Shipping Lines Literary Festival in collaboration with the
University of Liverpool in November 2008. The girls were very excited to learn that it was to
feature their favourite author: Malorie Blackman. As if her appearance wasn‟t exciting enough, the
girls were given the responsibility of organising a Q&A session with Malorie, interviewing the author
in front of an audience and speaking with her about the books they had so enjoyed reading.
The girls were nervous – but no one could tell: they were very cool in the interview. Afterwards,
they spoke with festival guests, representing Liverpool Reads. It was a great success.
“Really interesting and fun – well done the L8 girls!”
Shipping Lines attendee
- 14 - Reaching Out
Reaching Out
Read to Lead Training
The Reader Organisation now delivers specialist Read to Lead training throughout the country for
those with a desire to spread the pleasure and power of reading. Courses are open to people from
all professional and social backgrounds: a love of books, a belief in the social value of reading, and a
passion to share this vision are our only criteria. The creation of our training programme was one of
the most significant developments this year, disseminating the Get Into Reading model and enabling
us to offer our experience and expertise to a national and international audience.
This year at a glance:
169 people received Read to Lead training: 96 attended Read to Lead One-day workshops;
51 attended Read to Lead Accredited Facilitator Training; and 22 attended Masterclasses.
We held training events in Aberdeen, Bath, Birmingham, Bolton, Liverpool, London,
Manchester, Newcastle and Oxford; and people from all over the country have travelled to
attend them.
Those purchasing training included: librarians; dementia workers; teachers; psychotherapists;
mental health workers; lecturers; community workers; dyslexia tutors; broadcast assistants;
doctors; authors; arts & health project workers; occupational therapists; freelance
journalists; counsellors; and passionate independents from all kinds of different backgrounds.
While Read to Lead training is offered as a professional course, we have made sure it is also available
to members of the public who would not be able to pay the fee by offering one free place on each
course we run.
Read to Lead trainees at Burton Manor, September 2008
“The stimulus is both spiritual and intellectual, as well as
humanitarian”
Read to Lead trainee - 15 - Reaching Out
 Reaching Out
Our training programme:
Read to Lead One-Day Workshop
This workshop offers the opportunity to take part in an intensive reading experience as part of a
Get Into Reading group, observe the principles of our work in action and learn specialised reading
and group facilitation techniques. Attendees get to meet like-minded people from their part of the
country who are interested in Get Into Reading and discuss strategies for development.
It was a joy and a privilege to be there. I think it's such a wonderful thing you're
doing – on so many levels. Very many thanks for an inspiring day.
Workshop attendee
Read to Lead Five-Day Accredited Facilitator Training
This residential course is intended for people who want to become accredited Get Into Reading
facilitators. It gives participants from the UK and abroad – librarians, youth workers, retired
teachers, volunteers and freelancers – the skills and confidence to found, fund and facilitate groups in
their area. In an intensive but enjoyable schedule, they are given the insider view on what makes Get
Into Reading work. Expert advice is offered by our project workers, and trainees are able to meet
group members and hear first-hand the difference reading for pleasure has made, and is making, to
their lives.
A conflation of spirit – enthusiasm, energy, joy – with formalised skills-centred training.
Course attendee
Read to Lead Masterclass
The Masterclass is a half-day reading workout, based around a certain issue, situation or author,
arising directly from the needs and experiences of Get Into Reading facilitators. It combines great
texts with great company, and is an ideal way to polish facilitation skills, keep up-to-date with the
latest practice and share good ideas face-to-face.
Immensely good and nourishing.
Masterclass attendee
In all its forms, Read to Lead Training will continue to provide and develop a platform for those who
believe in the social value of reading to share this vision with others, and to spread the Reading
Revolution throughout the country and beyond.
thereader.org.uk/read-to-lead-training
“It was a privilege to attend a course that feels like it
could truly change the way I work”
Read to Lead trainee Reaching Out
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Reaching Out
Case Study: James Freeley
Durham Reads Together
In January 2008 the Guardian printed an article by Blake Morrison on the benefits of reading poetry,
which referred to the work of Dr Jane Davis and the Get Into Reading programmes operating
throughout Merseyside. Following this, James Freeley contacted The Reader Organisation. At that
time, James‟s wife, sadly now deceased, was a resident in the Hallgarth Care Home in Durham City,
where she had been diagnosed with dementia. We suggested that James attend a Read to Lead One-
day workshop in Manchester. Inspired by what he saw and learnt that day, on his return to Durham
he approached the management of Hallgarth for permission to start a poetry reading group.
After a successful meeting with a Dementia Consultant, James set up the group. A simple record of
each meeting – the names of participants and their reactions to the poetry and subsequent
discussions – was kept and updated by Karen Craggs, Deputy Manager of Hallgarth, and Gail
Bowden, Events Organiser. After a three-month trial period it was agreed to extend the reading
group as a regular fortnightly event. Since then, the group has made extraordinary progress both
collectively and as individuals. Texts are read aloud from enlarged prints given to each person; there
are frequent stops to allow discussions for everyone who wishes to do so; and there is no pressure
on any member, which provides a very relaxed and happy environment.
James Freeley with The Reader Organisation’s Director, Jane Davis
In September 2008, James attended the Read to Lead Accredited Facilitator Training course in
Cheshire. “This was a wonderful experience for which I am most grateful to The Reader
Organisation,” says James. “It has enabled me to develop my interest and to work with the most
amazing people. It also opens many opportunities to develop the work in the North East of England
where the reputation of The Reader Organisation is now more widely known.”
“It moves you, I mean it hits you inside where it meets you
and means something”
Dementia sufferer, on reading poetry Reaching Out
- 17 -
 Research and Development
Research and Development
Research and Development is a rapidly growing area of The Reader Organisation‟s work that
supports and seeks to empirically justify our outreach programmes. We aim to document findings
about the impact of reading with a view to changing public policy in health, social care and education,
encouraging partner engagement and spreading the Reading Revolution.
Research
Reading in Practice project
The Reading in Practice project, a collaboration between the University of Liverpool‟s School of
English and The Reader Organisation, funded by the English Subject Centre, places undergraduates as
Get Into Reading group facilitators or volunteer helpers in the local community, in settings as diverse
as homeless hostels, dementia care homes, day centres and drug rehab units.
Being involved with this has given me an opportunity to share my passion for literature
with people who would not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy literature the way I
do. It is a fantastic way to use literature in a new and practical way.
2nd year student
Reading in Practice undergraduates
On 6th February 2009 we held a one-day conference to showcase the fascinating work undertaken
by student volunteers and to publicise the scheme to new undergraduate recruits. The student
volunteers spoke powerfully and movingly of their involvement with Get Into Reading.
Inspirational. This project is a credit to the University.
John Flamson
Director of Strategic Partnerships and Development,
University of Liverpool
“There’s much more to a reading group than
just reading a book”
GIR member, Liverpool - 18 - Research and Development
Research and Development
Reading and Depression
In partnership with the School of English and the Faculty of Medicine, we were awarded funding by
MerseyBeat – a collaboration between Liverpool Primary Care Trust, local authorities and NHS
Trusts, and Universities – to investigate the therapeutic effects of reading on depression. The
investigation will involve voluntary adult participants in two weekly community reading groups, who
have a GP‟s diagnosis of depression, and will seek to assess the effects of shared literature on mental
health. We hope to gather experimental evidence which can inform the design of a future
Randomised Control Trial (RCT).
Our findings will be published in social scientific/clinical journals and made available through
workshops and in situ presentations for health care professionals.
Reading and Personality Disorder
We have now completed the design of a pilot project at a local prison to research the benefits of
reading in secure settings with female prisoners who self-harm. The project has been developed with
and funded by the NHS National Personality Disorder team and the Department of Justice, and
subject to ethical approval will be underway during 2009.
Reading in Practice MA
The Reader Organisation is involved in the delivery and development of an MA degree in Reading in
Practice at the University of Liverpool.
I have always felt that reading is a powerful thing, but the course has helped me
think about why that is, and given me the opportunity to explore the connections
between literature and life.
Current MA student
The Reading and Practice MA is concerned with the wider and deeper ways in which books „find‟
people, emotionally and imaginatively, by offering living models and visions of human troubles and
human possibilities. The first MA of its kind in the country, it invites open-minded investigation into
the role of reading in relation to health – in the broadest sense of that word.
research.thereader.org.uk
“The small decisions a writer’s made, that’s
where thoughts can be found: the author’s
and our own” Current MA student Research and Development
- 19 -
 Research and Development Reader Events

Development Reader Events

Bibby Line Group Reader-in-Residence
Last year we began working with Bibby Line Group Limited, a Liverpool-based company with
operating locations throughout the UK, to get books into the workplace and create a culture of
reading for pleasure. Bibby Line Group has now become the first business in the country to
welcome a Reader-in-Residence into its offices and depots.
Our live literature events bring people together – professionals and members of the public – to
engage with and share books and ideas in stimulating environments. They offer an entry point to the
world of books and reading for those who might not otherwise find a way in. We run events such as
Readers‟ Days (with a fee) and many others which are free or which have a nominal fee, such as the
Penny Readings (1p). In addition we run events which help publicise the work of The Reader
Organisation to professionals who might not yet realise the value of reading in their particular field.

Since September, our Reader-in-Residence has visited various sites – from Aberdeen to Banbury –
to set-up and facilitate regular reading groups. These groups, usually meeting at lunchtime, offer staff
a forum for relaxation and the opportunity to share the pleasures of reading and discussing stories
and poems together. We also run a „Books at Bibby Line Group‟ blog and other web-based initiatives
such as Poem of the Week and Reading Surgery. Essentially, literature is being used as a tool to
improve communication, confidence and even team-spirit, and to make work a better and more
meaningful place to be.
This year at a glance:
Thousands of people attended Reader Events in 2008-09, which included the Penny
Readings, Shipping Lines Literature Festival, Readers‟ Days and Book at Breakfast.
We held in events in Liverpool, London, Manchester, Runcorn and Wirral.
Events were attended by members of our reading groups, literature lovers in the wider
community, librarians, young people, teachers, writers, researchers, publishers, councillors,
health professionals, and many more.

Events Calendar

Children’s Summer Storytelling, August 2008

the Bluecoat, Liverpool

Reading and Health Event, 30th September 2008

Liverpool Medical Institute

Chapter & Verse Literature Festival, 9th – 19th October 2008

Reading group at Bibby HQ, Liverpool the Bluecoat, Liverpool

The reading group has reintroduced a lost love of literature to me… It’s like a gift and
Get Into Reading Manchester Showcase, 21st October 2008
when the group has finished I find myself thinking about the session for a long while
Manchester Town Hall
afterwards... I’m quietly proud of Bibby Line Group for their bravery in piloting this – it’s
very forward thinking and I love telling other people about it!
Bibby Line Group employee
events.thereader.org.uk

Building on this success, we recently ran our first Read to Lead corporate training programme to
improve Bibby Line Group staff communication skills. A number of employees were trained to
become Reading Champions within the company, ensuring the Reading Revolution will continue to
spread throughout Bibby Line Group in the years to come!

“It’s like a gift” “Inspirational – made me want to read

more poetry”
Bibby Line Group employee Research and Development
- 20 - Shipping Lines festival attendee - 21 - Reader Events
 Reader Events Reader Events

Shipping Lines Liverpool Literary Festival, 3rd – 9th November 2008
To celebrate the National Year of Reading and Liverpool‟s year as
European Capital of Culture, we delivered a weeklong programme of
lectures, talks and workshops, showcasing a selection of top-quality
contemporary writing. Commissioned by the University of
Liverpool‟s School of English, with funding from the Arts Council
England, the festival attracted more than two-thousand visitors.
The Reading Cure, 14th January 2009
Wellcome Collection, London
As an introduction to the area of reading and health, The Reader Organisation and The Lancet
hosted this pioneering event at Wellcome Collection, London. It brought together over one
hundred people – medical professionals, academics, librarians, researchers, journalists, policy makers
and representatives from funding bodies and publishers – to open up a discussion about the
relationship between reading literature and the health/well-being benefits that arise from it.

My fifteen-year-old niece travelled up here for a weekend of Why should literature matter to health professionals? Can reading a good book really make a
Shipping Lines, missing school on Friday because “it's difference to someone suffering from cancer or terminal illness? How will a dementia sufferer benefit
educational and my English teacher is going to be SO jealous”. from reading poetry? In what way could a busy GP be helped by reading Wordsworth?

Shipping Lines attendee

Among the impressive line-up of guest writers were Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy, Malorie
Blackman, A. S. Byatt and Roger McGough. The festival‟s special guest was Philip Pullman, who
delivered a fascinating and characteristically witty lecture on the importance of reading in childhood.
Out of a total of fifty-one events, nineteen were family and/or community orientated and free to
attend. Our focus on inclusiveness, and providing something for everyone, meant that 66% of the
week‟s visitors were attending a literary festival for the very first time.

Penny Readings, 7th December 2008

St. George‟s Hall, Liverpool

An eager crowd of over 500 gathered in the

Small Concert Room of Liverpool‟s St.
George‟s Hall on a chilly December evening to
enjoy the fifth annual Penny Readings. Special
guest actor Janet Suzman, acclaimed for her These were some of questions that were presented to the panel by chair Blake Morrison (author,
Shakespearean roles, gave a spellbinding journalist and Chair of The Reader Organisation‟s Board of Trustees, pictured centre). The panellists
reading from Great Expectations; Brian Nellist were (left to right): Dr Jane Davis (Director, The Reader Organisation), Clare Allan (author and
treated us to a couple of Old Possum’s Practical journalist), Dr Richard Horton (Editor-in-Chief, The Lancet) and Dr David Fearnley (Consultant
Cats; and Philip Davis delivered a passage from Forensic Psychiatrist and Medical Director, Mersey Care NHS Trust).
A Christmas Carol with true Dickensian gusto.
Audience at the Penny Readings
My belief is that if you were to scan someone’s brain whilst they’re reading aloud,
But it wasn‟t just readings: there were live music, poetry and dance performances from Daywalker, there are probably very few parts of the brain that won’t be working.
Kensington Choir, Sarah Jane Vespertine, Somalifields poets and the El Ghawazee belly-dancers!
Dr David Fearnley, Medical Director Mersey Care NHS Trust
And all for just one penny. Would Dickens have approved? Yes, he would!

“The Penny Readings is the very heartbeat “You need something more than just tablets
of what Liverpool ’08 should be about” – that’s only a crutch”
Liverpool Daily Post Reader Events Mental health service user, Liverpool Reader Events
- 22 - - 23 -
 The Reader The Reader

The Reader magazine Website and Blog

Founded in 1997, The Reader magazine is published quarterly and combines new fiction and poetry
with thought-pieces, books news, reviews and reader recommendations. Edited by Professor Philip
Davis, it is concerned with the direct effect of books on readers, with the human content and
purpose of literature, and encourages readers to extend their horizons.
Three new issues of The Reader magazine were published between August 2008 and April 2009.
Subscription during this time increased from 499 to 580 and you‟re now able to find us in selected
bookshops across the country and abroad.
The Reader Organisation‟s website (thereader.org.uk) and blog (thereaderonline.co.uk) are
continually updated with news and information about our work and events.
Our website attracted 13,647 unique visitors between November 2008 and March 2009. In April
2009 we set-up an Amazon aStore, „The Reader Bookshop‟, through which visitors can purchase
books and other products and help support our work.

Issue 31 – Relative Time

Frank Cottrell Boyce gave us his funny and moving new story, „Accelerate‟; we began
our serialisation of Mary Weston‟s „The Junction‟; actress Janet Suzman was
interviewed on rhythm and pace in speech; we featured the second half of Les
Murray‟s personal selection of his favourite Australian poems; and Raymond Tallis
gave us his account of the role of the asterisk in literature: „Reader, I Sh*gged Him‟.

Issue 32 – Happy 400th Birthday Mr Milton

We celebrated the 400th anniversary of John Milton‟s birthday with special essays
by Brian Nellist and Jane Davis; there was new fiction from Home by Marilynne
Robinson (author of Gilead) and the second instalment of Mary Weston‟s „The
Junction‟; Laura Coyne was the „Poet on Her Work‟; D. H. Lawrence‟s Sons and
Lovers was the novel for „Readers Connect'; and Christopher Routledge added to
his occasional „Crime Spree‟ series with a piece on Dashiell Hammett.

Issue 33 – The Current of a Word

The first issue of 2009 included new poetry by David Constantine, Gary Allen,
Andrew McNeillie and Angela Leighton; fiction from Clive Sinclair and the
conclusion of Mary Weston‟s three-part story; Camille Paglia wrote on the poems
that did not make it into her collection Break, Blow, Burn; and Jonathan Bate gave us
a wonderful extract from his new Shakespeare biography, Soul of the Age.
Our blog featured 187 new posts between August 2008 and March 2009, including news and
reviews, upcoming events, featured poems, updates on our outreach work and a weekly YouTube
video starring the inimitable Brian Nellist. The blog received 73,625 unique visitors during this time,
and in March 2009 had its 100,000th visit.

thereader.org.uk
thereaderonline.co.uk
magazine.thereader.org.uk

“One of the best things to thump through the letter-box” “This was exactly the poem I needed to read as I clicked
onto this site. Thank you”
Seamus Heaney
- 24 - The Reader Blog post - 25 - The Reader
 The Reader The Reader

The Reader Organisation in the Spotlight Awards

Why Reading Matters
Quentin Blake Award 2008
On Monday 9 February 2009, The Reader Organisation was featured in a BBC Four documentary,
th
Winner
Why Reading Matters. The documentary investigated how modern neuroscience has revealed that
reading unlocks remarkable powers in the brain, and showed footage from a Get Into Reading group
at The Lauries, Birkenhead, where members were enjoying Emily Brontë‟s Wuthering Heights. It NHS Centre for Involvement Award 2008
included an interview with Professor Philip Davis about the „Shakespeare Brain‟ – how the structure Nominated
of Shakespeare‟s writing, with its sudden functional shifts, increases brain activity as we read.

Art ’08 Inside, Outside and Online Award

Key Media Appearances Finalist

Coverage of Wirral Community Shakespeare in local newspapers (Daily Post and Echo) and on
City Talk and Radio Merseyside, August 2008
„Frontline‟, Radio 4, Philip Davis, 5th September 2008
„Unity Britain Through Literature‟, Liverpool Daily Post, 5th October 2008
„Words and Music in the „Penny‟ Tradition‟, Liverpool Daily Post, 3rd December 2008
„Meet the Reading Heroes‟, The Sun, 18th December 2008
„Reading Heroes‟, Radio Merseyside, Jane Davis and Louise Jones, 23rd February 2009
„The Importance of Reading Aloud‟, The Times, Damian Barr, 24th March 2009
Reading Heroes
As 2008 drew to a close, National Year of Reading wanted to acknowledge and celebrate those
whose personal effort to support reading had made a difference to others, or whose acquisition of
reading skills in challenging circumstances had transformed their own lives. We nominated two
people for „Reading Hero‟ awards and they both won medals – our Director, Jane Davis, in the
professional category, and Louise Jones, a member of Get Into Reading and Wirral Community
Shakespeare, in the personal category.

Articles

„A Reading Revolution on the Wirral‟, Public Libraries Journal, Julie Barkway, Jane Davis and Jen
Tomkins, September 2008
„Get Into Reading: Removing the Fear Factor‟, Incorporating Writing, Issue 5, Volume 4, Jen
Tomkins October 2008
„Trusts back reading groups to boost health and wellbeing‟, British Medical Journal, Vol. 388, Oona
Mashta, 24th January 2009
'The art of medicine - Enjoying and enduring: groups reading aloud for wellbeing', The Lancet, Jane
Davis, February 2009
„The Reading Cure‟, Therapy Today, Karen Brown, March 2009
Louise Jones with Sarah Brown

Book Chapters On 26th February 2009, Louise and Jane travelled to London for a special reception at 10 Downing
Street, where they met Sarah Brown and were awarded their medals. Double congratulations!
CHAPTER 5 „Getting Into Reading‟, Jane Davis: in Hornby S, Glass B (Eds). Reader Development in
Practice: Bringing literature to readers, London: Facet Publishing, 2008

“Literature replicates more faithfully than any other man- “The Reading Heroes all show how reading can enrich
made form the sense, structure, and feel of experience and transform lives”
itself” Jane Davis, The Lancet Sarah Brown
- 26 - The Reader - 27 - The Reader
 Organisational Development Trustees

Organisational Development Trustees

Blake Morrison (Chair) (appointed 01/08/08)

In August 2008, The Reader Organisation “spun-out” of University of Liverpool control and became
constituted as a Company Limited by Guarantee and a registered charity governed by its
Memorandum and Articles of Association.
The Reader Organisation is administered by a Board of Trustees which must have between three
and twelve individuals. The Board meets four times a year. A Director has been appointed (to act in
the role of Chief Executive) by the Trustees to manage the day to day operations of the charity.
Author, journalist and bibliotherapy advocate
A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and former Chair of the Poetry Book Society and Vice-Chair
of PEN, Blake Morrison has written fiction, poetry, journalism, literary criticism and libretti, as well as
adapting plays for the stage. His best-known works are his two memoirs, And When Did You Last See Your
Father? and Things My Mother Never Told Me.

Philip Davis (appointed 02/06/08)

Company registration number: 06607389 Professor in English, University of Liverpool

Philip Davis is Professor in English and current Head of the School of Music at the University of
Charity registration number: 1126806 Liverpool, and author of many books including Bernard Malamud: A Writer's Life (Oxford; OUP 2007). He
took over editorship of The Reader magazine in 2007 and now runs a part-time M.A. – „Reading in
Practice‟ – the first of its kind in the country, dealing with literature and bibliotherapy.
Registered office:
19 Abercromby Square
Liverpool
L69 7ZG Bec Fearon (appointed 02/06/08)
Head of Participation, the Bluecoat

Bankers: As Head of Participation for the Bluecoat, Bec Fearon leads a team dedicated to the provision of
Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank plc participatory arts experiences. The scheme is varied and includes a public programme of family activities
Bootle as well as more bespoke projects relating to community groups and young people in educational settings.
Merseyside
GIR 0AA
Jill Forrest (appointed 02/06/08)
Head of Special Projects, University of Liverpool
Statutory Auditor:
Mitchell Charlesworth
Jill Forrest has worked with The Reader Organisation for many years. Prior to its incorporation, as Head
Chartered Accountants
5 Temple Square of the Regional Office at the University, she helped to identify and secure funding to support our early
Temple Street work with libraries and local communities. She is immensely proud to have been part of the University‟s
Liverpool first “spin out” organisation from the Arts and Humanities.
L2 5RH

Rosemary Hawley MBE (appointed 01/08/08)

Chair of Knowsley Primary Care Trust

Rosemary Hawley has a record of outstanding public service, especially in the field of public health. She
was a Board member of the Merseyside Regional Health authority in the mid-1980s, and her association
with the NHS has continued ever since: first with Liverpool Family Health Services Authority, then as
Chair of North Mersey Community Trust, and now as Chair of Knowsley PCT. She is also a magistrate.

- 28 - Organisational Development - 29 - Trustees

 Trustees Staff

Chris Jones (appointed 01/08/08)

Merseyside Operations Manager, Tomorrow‟s People
Staff

Christopher Jones is Merseyside operations manager for national employment charity Tomorrow‟s Operations The Reader Magazine
People, helping and supporting disadvantaged people in the labour market, into sustainable
learning/employment, paid and voluntary work. He has a good knowledge of local and regional networks,
and serves on a number of local groups and committees. Jane Davis Philip Davis
Founder and Director Editor

Chris Catterall Sarah Coley

Jane Mathieson (appointed 02/06/08)
Business Manager Deputy Editor
Regional Reader Development Co-ordinator, Northwest
Jen Tomkins Maura Kennedy
Jane Mathieson co-ordinates a regional partnership of reader development practitioners working in public Communications Manager Co-Editor
libraries across NW England to share information and good practice in developing the audience for
reading across the region. The partnership – „Time To Read‟ – develops promotions with the aim of Kate McDonnell Angela Macmillan
encouraging people to read more and borrow more from public libraries. Get Into Reading Project Manager Co-Editor

Josie Billington Eleanor McCann

Research and Development Manager Co-Editor
Dr Shyama Mukherjee MBE (appointed 01/08/08)
Medical Director, NHS Wirral
Casi Dylan Brian Nellist MBE
Training Manager Co-Editor
Dr Mukherjee has been a General Practitioner for twenty-nine years in the Wallasey locality at a
University teaching practice, which has been awarded the Beacon Status. For seven years Dr Mukherjee Hamida Yusufzai John Scrivener
has held the role of Medical Director for NHS Wirral; he currently leads in a number of service Liverpool Reads Co-ordinator Co-Editor
redesigns. Alternative therapies leading to well-being and better health are his particular interest.
Lee Keating
Office Administrator
Jill Rudd (appointed 01/08/08)
Senior Lecturer, School of English, University of Liverpool
Get Into Reading
Jill has been a co-director of Graduate studies in the School of English and has been an informal contact
point for graduate student helpers at the beginnings of The Reader Organisation. She has participated in Julie Barkway Alexis McNay
various Reader initiatives, such as Readers‟ Days, and is now the appointed liaison representative Project Worker, seconded from Wirral Libraries Project Worker
between The Reader Organisation and the School of English.
Amanda Boston Sue O’Connor
Project Worker Project Worker
Ivan Wadeson (appointed 01/08/08)
Amanda Brown Sophie Povey
Chief Executive, Arts About Manchester Project Worker, Salford Project Worker, Young People

Arts About Manchester is the audience development agency for Greater Manchester, working with Katie Clark Samantha Shipman
nearly fifty arts organisations. Ivan had worked extensively in theatres and arts centres before taking his Project Worker, Mersey Care Project Worker, Young People
current role in 2003. He is on the Boards of the Everyman and Playhouse theatres in Liverpool, and
Network, the national network of audience development agencies. Ella Jolly Mary Weston
Bibby Line Group Reader-in-Residence Project Worker, Mersey Care

Wendy Kay Clare Williams

Secretary: Jill Forrest
Project Worker Project Worker and Fundraiser
Chief Executive: Jane Davis

- 30 - Trustees - 31 - Staff
 Our Aims Public Benefit

Our Aims Public Benefit

The Reader Organisation‟s object as set out in the company‟s articles is: to advance the The activities provided by The Reader Organisation are funded by third parties, principally public
education of the public in the appreciation of literature including poetry and drama. In sector bodies but also charitable trusts and other partner organisations.
order to achieve this object we set aims each year and undertake a range of activities, projects and
campaigns in order to make them happen. Therefore, we ensure there are no barriers to accessing these activities based on ability to pay.

Whilst there are no concessionary subscription rates for The Reader magazine, back issues are
Aims for 2008-2009
available at heavily discounted rates and can be downloaded from the website free of charge.

1. Organisational The Trustees have had due regard to the guidance published by the Charity Commission on public
To produce an extensive Business Plan for the period 2008 – 2011 benefit.
To “spin–out” from the University of Liverpool
To constitute as a Company Limited by Guarantee
To become a registered charity
To develop a robust governance framework Future Developments
2. Delivery
Following our strategic review we have now established a range of objectives for the next period:
To expand the Get Into Reading project across Merseyside
To create a high-quality training offer Engage with Education, Library Services, Healthcare and Social Care to deliver Get Into
To make Liverpool Reads a TRO campaign Reading;
To develop a research programme Disseminate Get Into Reading to interested parties both nationally and internationally;
To deliver a stunning programme of events for Capital of Culture 2008 Provide personal development opportunities for people who have been involved in Get Into
Reading groups;
Progress against these aims for 2008-2009 Raise and maintain awareness about reading and about The Reader Organisation‟s work;
Publicise the personal content of reading;
1. Organisational Undertake all types of research into Get Into Reading;
Business Plan produced Maximise The Reader Organisation‟s potential by attracting resources consistent with its
“Spin-out” completed immediate and long term needs and by using them effectively and efficiently.
Became a Company Limited by guarantee
Became a registered charity
We have developed a governance framework but this is a work in progress and we
look forward to further development in the year ahead Lindsey Dyer secondment
2. Delivery
Get Into Reading projects have run in three of the six Merseyside boroughs; we are In February 2009, Lindsey Dyer, Director for Service Users and Carers at Mersey Care NSH Trust,
still working towards the aim of expanding across all the boroughs was seconded to work part-time for The Reader Organisation. She will be working in a consultancy
We have successfully created a high-quality training offer and development role, promoting reading for well-being and encouraging other Trusts to develop
Liverpool Reads has been incorporated into TRO, beginning the campaign process the Get Into Reading scheme. The secondment is further recognition of the relationship between
A research programme has started; we won a research grant from Liverpool PCT reading and mental health.
TRO delivered a stunning programme of events for Capital of Culture
My secondment reflects a forward-thinking partnership between Mersey Care and The
Reader Organisation. By working closely together I hope we can encourage other health
and social care organisations to follow the Mersey Care lead and get everyone reading!

Lindsey Dyer

- 32 - Our Aims - 33 - Public Benefit

 Summary Accounts Summary Accounts
Balance Sheet
at 31st March 2009

Summary Accounts 2009

£ £
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 2,707
Statement of Financial Activities
for the period ended 31st March 2009 Current assets
Debtors 23,518
Cash at bank 176,993
2009
200,511
Unrestricted Restricted Total Creditors
Incoming resources £ £ £ Amounts falling due within one year 14,500

Incoming resources from Net current assets 186,011

generated funds:
Net assets 188,718
Voluntary income 44,500 92,630 137,130
Investment income 724 - 724
Funds
Incoming resources from charitable
activities 213,149 216,486 429,635 Unrestricted funds
General funds 64,502
Total incoming resources 258,373 309,116 567,489
Restricted funds
Get Into Reading Merseyside 39,312
Resources expended Get Into Reading Training 15,958
Wirral Community Shakespeare -
Charitable expenditure: Reader Events -
Charitable activities 190,371 184,900 375,271 Liverpool Reads 3,132
Governance costs 3,500 - 3,500 Research and Development 65,814

Total resources expended 193,871 184,900 378,771 Total funds 188,718

Net incoming resources for

the period 64,502 124,216 188,718 These summary accounts are not statutory accounts but a summary of information relating to both the
Statement of Financial Activities and the Balance Sheet. As such they may not contain sufficient information to
Accumulated funds brought forward - - - allow as full an understanding of the results and state of affairs of the charitable company as would be provided
by the full accounts and reports. For further information, the full accounts, the auditor‟s report on those
Accumulated funds carried accounts and the Report of the Directors should be consulted.
forward 64,502 124,216 188,718

The accounts were approved by the trustees on 4th September 2009 and signed on their behalf by:

All of the company‟s activities are classed as continuing.

Blake Morrison
Chair

- 34 - Summary Accounts - 35 - Summary Accounts

 Summary Accounts

Independent Auditors’ Statement to the Trustees of The Reader Organisation

We have examined the summarised accounts for the period ended 31st March 2009 set out on
pages 38 and 39.

Respective responsibilities of the trustees and the auditor

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the summarised accounts in accordance with applicable
United Kingdom law and the recommendations of the charities SORP.

Our responsibility is to report to you our opinion on the consistency of the summarised accounts
with the full annual accounts and Trustees‟ Annual Report.

We also read other information contained in the summarised annual report and consider the
implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements or material
inconsistencies with the summarised accounts.

We conducted our work in accordance with Bulletin 2008/3 issued by the Auditing Practices Board.

Opinion

In our opinion the summarised accounts are consistent with the full annual accounts and the
Trustees‟ Annual Report of The Reader Organisation for the period ended 31st March 2009.

Mitchell Charlesworth
Statutory auditor

4th September 2009

The Reader Organisation is supported by:
5 Temple Square
Temple Street
Liverpool
L2 5RH

The Reader Organisation – 19 Abercromby Square, Liverpool, L69 7ZG –

+44 (0) 151 794 2830 info@thereader.org.uk – www.thereader.org.uk

Registered charity number: 1126806

- 36 - Summary Accounts