Westfield Stratford City works closely with schools and other education organisations to engage young people in the process of regeneration and the changes that are taking place around them.
The Mayor's Reading Guarantee
Twelve staff from Westfield Stratford City Centre Management have joined forces with staff from John Lewis and volunteered to work in primary schools across Newham, helping children learn to read. Working with eight year olds, the group of volunteers will read with the children from ten schools across Stratford every week, developing the children’s confidence and ability.
The programme is part of the Mayor of Newham’s Reading Guarantee and will be rolled out to 17 primary and secondary schools this academic year. The Mayor’s Reading Guarantee has three main elements and will involve teaching children how to read through phonics where they will connect the sounds of spoken English with letters or groups of letters. Pupils will also be taught how to blend the sounds of letters together to produce approximate pronunciations of unknown words.
The other element includes one-to-one support for pupils that fall behind in their learning and reading. Westfield volunteers are part of the solution, tasked with visiting schools to listen to children read and help them to progress their skills.
The programme culminates in May with a ceremony hosted in the centre to mark the achievements of the staff and students. The venue of the final celebration is the Olympic Suite, overlooking the Aquatics Centre in John Lewis, giving several of the children their first view of London’s Olympic Park.
“The Mayor’s Reading Guarantee is an excellent opportunity for Westfield Stratford City management team to support the local community. It is an honour to be asked by the Mayor to assist develop the reading and literacy skills of young people in the heart of Newham.” - Rob Staniford, General Manager, Westfield Stratford City