Do you ever think about all the things you read in a day? I don’t just mean books.

I tried making a list of everything I read the other day. That list got very long, very quickly. First, all the stuff on my phone – emails, text messages, social media posts, more websites than I could count. Next, the life admin paraphernalia – my to-do list, credit card statement, letter from the doctor, instructions for how to descale the kettle (long overdue), cooking instructions on a packet of a noodles, recipe for dinner. On my journey to London – train departure boards, adverts, discarded Metro paper, coffee shop menu. Finally, the fun stuff – a lovely card from a friend, a postcard from another friend on holiday in Croatia, cryptic crossword clues (way too hard, didn’t get any), questions on Pointless, the book I’m reading. There’s probably tons of other things I read without even noticing. 

When you’ve been able to read for your whole life, you take it for granted. It’s like breathing; something you do without thinking. Dead easy.

But for many people, reading isn’t easy at all. According to government figures, 2.4 million adults in England – over 7% of the working-age population – can barely read, or can’t read at all. In Medway, it’s estimated around 24% of people don’t have functional literacy and numeracy skills; that’s more than 42,000 people.

One local charity is determined to change this: Read Easy Medway, which offers free, confidential, one-to-one reading coaching for adults. I used to volunteer with Read Easy Medway, and it remains a cause close to my heart.

Today on Medway, She Wrote: I sit down with some of the Read Easy Medway team to chat about how reading changes lives, their flagship Celebrating Reading in Medway event, and their ambitious plans to expand across Kent.

Building momentum

For two people just days away from hosting an event whose line-up includes the Mayor of Medway, Martin Reid and Sadie Smallman are remarkably calm.

Set up in July 2022, Read Easy Medway is currently the only Read Easy group in the whole of Kent. Martin took over as team leader in September 2025. Sadie has been the group’s coordinator – responsible for matching up adult learners with coaches – since its inception.

We’re having coffee at Chatham Dockside on a Saturday morning. On the following Thursday, Read Easy Medway will be hosting its first ever event – Celebrating Reading in Medway – at Mid Kent College. Bringing together local organisations, creatives, volunteers and reading enthusiasts, the event will showcase the transformative power of reading, as well as the achievements of the charity’s readers, volunteers and coaches.

The event comes on top of the team’s usual activities, and our conversation is peppered with brief asides about other things on the to-do list – interviews with potential volunteers, visits to reading pairs, emails to be answered. This is clearly a busy charity that’s garnering real momentum. What’s led to that momentum, and why hold this event, I ask?

Every conversation is positive

It’s the culmination of several months’ work, Martin explains. Read Easy Medway’s early years were focussed on the necessary administrative tasks of setting up the charity, and recruiting a volunteer management team. Now, it has several readers matched with coaches, funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, and support from Go Slow to Go Fast. Its social media channels feature testimonials from its readers, and the team is regularly out and about in local libraries and events like the Sticks ‘n’ Stones Festival.

The designation of 2026 as the National Year of Reading has further galvanised activities. Commissioned by the government and delivered by the National Literacy Trust, it’s a UK-wide campaign aimed at helping people discover the joy of reading. Aligning perfectly with Read Easy Medway’s mission, it seemed an ideal opportunity to hold a community event aimed at building connections, and getting others involved.

It’s not just about highlighting what’s already been achieved though. Boosting awareness of the support on offer is another goal. Although around 24% of local adults have difficulties with literacy, Read Easy Medway has only scooped up a handful of them so far, despite having capacity to help many more. It also has a big ambition: expanding its activities to support adults in other parts of Kent.

Expanding Kent-wide isn’t a pipe dream; demand is already coming in from Thanet, Dartford and other places, but – as Martin explains – Read Easy Medway needs to grow its small army of volunteers to be able to cover the whole county. “Every conversation we have is positive,” he says, “getting people reading is a mission that resonates; people want to help.” The charity is hoping that the event will “create a spark” that leads to greater awareness, plus more volunteers, supporters and advocates – because for those who struggle with reading, Read Easy Medway’s support is truly life-changing.

Struggling in plain sight

With 7% of the working-age population in England struggling with literacy, you may already know who someone can’t read. You might also have met someone who has difficulty with reading, without realising it at the time.

I remember meeting a young woman on the train to London once. She sat down next to me and asked if I would tell her when we got to a particular station. At each stop afterwards, she would check with me whether it was the one she wanted. Previously, I might have just shrugged this off as an unusual encounter. Now, I wonder whether she couldn’t read. That would explain her nervousness; she was having to rely on the kindness and awareness of me, a stranger, to make sure she wouldn’t miss her stop because she couldn’t read the station signs for herself.

The reasons why people struggle with reading are myriad. Bad experiences at school. Teachers dismissing a need for extra help as lack of capability. Learning differences. Lack of family support. Read Easy UK has pages of stories from adult learners who were left to flounder in their school years, when some additional support would have made all the difference.

Adults who have difficulty with literacy have to find ways of navigating life without reading, such as finding jobs where reading isn’t necessary. They might also develop strategies for avoiding reading, such as pretending to have forgotten their glasses, memorising travel routes so they don’t have to rely on directions and signs, or using speech-to-text to dictate messages. The mental load of these strategies can be exhausting.

It takes courage to come forward as an adult and say you need help with reading, which Read Easy Medway knows only too well. Another thing they know very well? It’s never too late to learn. That’s where coaching comes in.

Coaching and chemistry

The success of Read Easy Medway’s coaching is evidenced by the testimonials from their adult readers on their social media channels. “I’ve started reading with my daughter, who’s in Year One. In the past I’ve told her, ‘I’m too busy to read,’” says one. “My self-esteem has increased massively. I am now able to text with my friends and family and work colleagues too, which is amazing for me,” says another. All of the testimonials are anonymous; part of Read Easy Medway’s commitment to complete confidentiality for their learners.

What makes the coaching so successful? “The real strength is the relationship between the reader and their coach. There has to be chemistry,” Martin tells me. Sadie agrees, having seen first-hand in her role as coordinator the friendships that build up between reader and coach. The coaches’ passion, combined with readers’ enthusiasm, “works magic.”

Every person’s reason for coming to Read Easy Medway is unique, Sadie explains. That means the coaching is unique to each reader too. A reader’s goal might be to read stories to their grandchild, or to be able to cook from a recipe book. Their coach will tailor their sessions accordingly, while sticking to the phonics-based learning course that Read Easy uses.

Another success factor is the welcoming, flexible, style of the coaching. “It’s not regimented. It’s not one size fits all. It’s adaptive and comfortable,” Martin says. There’s no judgement, no bossiness, no classrooms, no tests and no lectures. Just two adults working together towards the same goal, at a time, place and pace that suits the reader.

Coaching isn’t just beneficial for the reader. It’s enormously fulfilling for Read Easy Medway’s volunteers too.

This is about more than reading

“Until you start – that’s when the penny drops; this is about more than reading. You give more than you think you will,” Sadie says.

The benefits of volunteering are many and varied. Giving time and support to others is one of Medway Council’s 5 Ways to Wellbeing. Other benefits include making new friends, gaining new skills, boosting your CV, and using your own experiences in different ways. But with so many volunteering opportunities around, what is it about Read Easy Medway’s work that particularly resonates with people?

People often initially volunteer because of their love of reading books, Martin explains  (yep, that’s why I volunteered!), but the importance of being able to read transcends reading books for fun. Volunteering as a reading coach means making a real difference to someone by giving them the skills they need to do everyday tasks like filling out a job application, or understanding a utility bill. No special experience or qualifications are needed to be a coach (Read Easy Medway provides full training), but patience, compassion, and adaptability are essential – as is the ability to commit to regular sessions with a reader.

What makes it so rewarding? “Hearing stories of the transformational difference it makes – not just for the reader, but their family and social circles,” says Martin. For Sadie, it’s the impact on the reader’s personality: “You see their whole demeanour change – they’re more confident, have more self-esteem.”

You can also volunteer to join Read Easy’s management team. ‘Management team’ might sound officious and bureaucratic, but Martin stresses that this isn’t a boring committee. Joining the management team is as much of a serious commitment as becoming a coach, and a vital part of keeping the show on the road. You also get to do a bit of event management…

Celebrating Reading in Medway

It’s Thursday 24 September and the Celebrating Reading in Medway event has arrived. Sunshine is pouring in through the windows of Mid Kent College. Read Easy Medway team members past and present are here, alongside reading-related organisations – Medway Libraries, Medway River Lit, Medway Council and more – and members of the public. The atmosphere is convivial and chatty; good vibes infusing the whole space.

We hear some sobering stats from Martin Reid and Lily Staunton Howe from the National Literary Trust. Adults who struggle to read are five times more likely to be unemployed. They are less likely to vote, more likely to have low self-esteem, and more likely to have poor physical and mental health. Recent research from The Reading Agency shows that time pressures, low confidence, and limited access to relevant reading materials has led to a decline in adult reading.

The benefits of reading though? Major. Reduced loneliness. Improved wellbeing. Better employment opportunities. I researched this after the event too; Cambridge University says reading for pleasure means better sleep, better memory and reduced risk of cognitive decline. A study by The Queen’s Reading Room found that just five minutes of reading fiction can reduce stress by up to 20%.

Celebrating Reading in Medway isn’t just about stats and facts though. Local poets Sam Rapp and Chika Jones perform, as does singer-songwriter Ally Round, the audience rapt as all three tell stories through poetry and music. Sam Rapp also shares how encouragement from a mentor helped her to overcome reading challenges as an adult, enabling her to become a lawyer as well as an award-winning poet.

The Mayor of Medway, Douglas Hamandishe, speaks about the importance of reading in his family, and how reading opens doors to opportunities. Read Easy Medway coach Paul talks about his first-hand experiences of taking readers through their coaching journeys, summing up by saying, “It’s amazing how you can turn a life around if you want to and you’re motivated.”

The Read Easy Medway team’s passion and dedication is infectious. At the end of the evening, everyone’s chatting over tea and coffee. People are telling the speakers and performers how much they enjoyed their work. There are selfies, smiles, swapping details, animated conversations. That aim of igniting a spark that Martin and Sadie mentioned? Mission accomplished, I’d say.

Extraordinary people, extraordinary results

“Read Easy Medway exists because people choose to do something extraordinary.” Martin says at the Celebrating Reading in Medway event. ‘People’ encompasses everyone: readers who take the courageous step to learn, the volunteer coaches and management team, the venues that provide space for coaching, funders and donors, and more.

What Read Easy Medway itself does is extraordinary too. They help adults to open a door, not just to books, but to those everyday pieces of reading –  letters, newspapers, birthday cards, the annoying reminder from the dentist, bedtime stories with the kids, and much more. Read Easy Medway’s success is the result of steady perseverance and quiet determination. So far, it’s been carrying out its work in a modest, down-to-earth, even understated way; now it’s stepping into the spotlight. It may be a small charity, but it’s doing mighty, life-changing work. It’s earned the right to celebrate.

And finally…

Do you know someone who would like support with reading? Do you have a few spare hours a week to volunteer with Read Easy Medway? Have a look at their website to find out more about getting involved.

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