Aztec Group supports local charity to help children’s literacy skills

Volunteers from the Aztec Group in Guernsey and Jersey have supported Every Child Our Future (ECOF), a charity helping to provide equal reading opportunities to primary school children in the Channel Islands.

A collaboration between local communities, schools, Education Departments and the Channel Islands’ business sector, ECOF aims to improve both literacy and numeracy standards on the islands. The charity actively promotes a culture in which the community takes responsibility and participates in the education of its children.

ECOF has been supported by the Aztec Group since 2012, with staff volunteers attending weekly reading sessions with young readers at schools in the islands. The volunteers take time out to read one-to-one with children who need extra support, helping them to develop their literacy skills.

In addition, the Group has designed and produced a series of five bookmarks for ECOF, featuring colourful animal characters. The series of numbered bookmarks has been given to 900 children, helping them to advance through reading levels while learning more challenging words. Aztec Group employees have also donated more than 300 children’s books to Samarès School in Jersey and to Amherst School in Guernsey.

Nick Kershaw, Director, Every Child Our Future, said:

"The support Every Child Our Future has received from the Aztec Group, both in the form of volunteer readers and financial help, has been hugely appreciated. Giving bookmarks to all the ECOF-supported children in Jersey and Guernsey will be a great incentive to encourage them to read. The generous donation of books will help to foster their enjoyment of reading, essential to every child's education."  

Nadia Assaadi-Irtizaali, Associate Director with the Aztec Group, added:

“I’ve volunteered as a reader with ECOF at Samarès School during the last year, and thoroughly enjoy it. It’s an amazing feeling when you read with children and see their confidence and reading ability come on in leaps and bounds. I hope they enjoy their new books and bookmarks.”