Reading scheme cut ‘criminal’, says MP

READING well ... Michael Meacher joins in with the reading scheme with (from the left), Emaan Raehman, Trish McConnell, Karen Quinn and Akran Khan.

Oldham MP Michael Meacher is to raise in Parliament the importance of a borough-wide reading scheme facing the axe.

The Oldham West and Royton MP says cutting the Every Child A Reader (ECAR) scheme to save Oldham Council money will impact on the chances of vulnerable children.

The reader recovery scheme aims to make sure that every child can read well by the age of seven and targets children having difficulties, to stop them falling behind.

Mr Meacher visited Limeside Primary School, which has a purpose-built training centre where pupils from 18 primary schools across Oldham are given specialist teaching for half-an-hour a day for up to 20 weeks. Around 20 per cent of children aged five to seven are targeted, with up to 185 children helped last year.

The Labour MP met staff and youngsters involved in the scheme to hear how it is helping transform children’s lives.

Mr Meacher said: “I think we need awareness among people in Oldham of this service. The costs can’t be much but the benefits are literally priceless. To cut services like this is criminally irresponsible. It’s a very important initiative and needs to be expanded and certainly not dropped.

“This is not just an improved facility for young people, it sticks with you all your life. Without it, it is a huge handicap. This is a false economy. In the short term you make a saving but in the long term it costs more. I shall be raising this in Parliament and would be happy to get an adjournment debate. We can certainly put down questions to dispute that this should be done.”

The National Union of Teachers claims that up to 40 people working with very young children, those in deprived areas and ethnic minorities could lose their jobs in April, 2011.

Councillor Jack Hulme, cabinet member for children and Families, has agreed to meet the NUT.