Diverse books to empower our students

Care about social justice? Want to make a difference to the lives of young people in London? This Christmas buy a book. 
 

Fostering a love of reading in young people isn't just about their ability to enjoy a book. Literacy is fundamentally a social justice issue.

 

Researchers have found that literacy is arguably the most important factor to a child's success in school. Poor literacy creates generational inequalities; weak readers at school continue to be weak readers as adults and often find themselves locked out of educational and employment opportunities. These weaknesses as adults are then transferred to their children, in whom they are unable to support effectively with their education.

The scale of this problem is significant; 16.4% of adults in England, or 7.1 million people, can be described as having 'very poor literacy skills.'

To achieve social justice- in a pandemic- we must place the empowerment of literacy at the heart of what we do at school. We have set up an initiative called Reading for Pleasure;  students in form time read the same book together twice a week.

This initiative seeks to foster a joy for literacy with carefully selected books to challenge, provoke and inspire. Books act like both mirrors and windows on the world; it provides an opportunity for us reflect upon our own lives as well to understand the lives of others. Research on diverse literature shows that by creating 'contact' with those who are different- 'others'- we can reduce prejudice by closing the gap, and making them less 'otherly'.

Oasis Academy Silvertown is a school in the heart of Silvertown, Newham. As a community, we've seen how COVID-19 has placed great strain on children and we are seeking to raise money for diverse literature to address these challenges.

And yet the reality is dispiriting:

 
Only 4% of the childrens books published in the UK in 2017 featured Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic characters


Only 1% of the childrens books published in the UK in 2017 had a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic main character

 
At Oasis Silvertown we are looking to raise £2500 in order to reach our ambitious goal of ensuring all students in the academy have access to a great range of diverse books. Please can you help us this Christmas to make a difference to the life chances of our students!


Links

https://www.newham.gov.uk/downloads/file/1629/towards-a-better-newham-covid-19-recovery-strategy-july-2020

https://clpe.org.uk/library-and-resources/research/reflecting-realities-survey-ethnic-representation-within-uk-children  

https://learningspy.co.uk/learning/the-matthew-effect-why-literacy-is-so-important/

https://www.gov.scot/publications/works-reduce-prejudice-discrimination-review-evidence/pages/5/