Read Easy Medway

Home
United Kingdom
Rochester
Read Easy Medway

Call Directions Website Contact the organisation

We provide free, confidential, 1:1 reading coaching to adults in Medway. Contact us to find out more.

17/10/2026

There’s a great piece in The Guardian about Read Easy ambassador Peter Lloyd, who also features in a BBC documentary on iPlayer, ‘The Book that Changed My Life’.

It’s never easy for adults to seek help with their reading. Bad memories of school, sticking with coping strategies, difficulty in finding the right help. But it’s never too late!

We are here for you. Read Easy Medway is a charity that helps adults learn to read – our coaching is free, one-to-one and confidential.

There are 2.4 million adults in England who can’t read at all or can barely read.

Do you know someone who wants help with learning to read? Or would you like to become a volunteer with Read Easy Medway? We are looking to recruit more coaches.

You can really make a difference. Contact [email protected] or call 07469 040215.

Read Easy Medway is supported by the National Lottery.

14/10/2026

Read Easy Medway is a charity that helps adults learn to read – our coaching is free, one-to-one and confidential.

There are 2.4 million adults in England who can’t read at all or can barely read.

One of Read Easy's Reader Ambassadors will share his reading journey in a new BBC documentary, airing tonight on BBC2 and iPlayer. Peter learned to read with Read Easy Merseyside.

Marking the National Year of Reading 2026, the documentary sees Her Majesty Queen Camilla explore the transformative power of reading, meeting four remarkable people, including Peter, whose lives have been changed by books at moments when they most needed them.

The film explores how reading can lift us, open our minds and, sometimes, change the course of a life.

The film also explores the growing scientific evidence that demonstrates how reading can improve health and wellbeing.

We want to thank Peter for his willingness to share his story so publicly and express our gratitude to everyone involved in the production for their commitment to telling a story about an adult learning to read.

The Book That Changed My Life is available on iPlayer and will be shown on BBC2 at 9pm Wednesday October 14.

Do you know someone who wants help with learning to read? Or would you like to become a volunteer with Read Easy Medway? We are looking to recruit more coaches.

You can really make a difference. Contact [email protected] or call 07469 040215.

Read Easy Medway is supported by the National Lottery.

10/10/2026

It’s World Mental Health Day (October 10) and at Read Easy Medway we know that not being able to read as an adult can have a severe impact on your mental health.

Read Easy Medway is a charity that helps adults learn to read – our coaching is free, one-to-one and confidential.

There are 2.4 million adults in England who can’t read at all or can barely read.

At our recent event, Celebrating Reading in Medway, team leader Martin Reid described how adults who struggle to read are more likely to suffer poor physical and mental health.

They are more prone to low self-confidence and self-esteem, and experience isolation and loneliness.

In contrast, a survey of 4,000 UK adults by the Reading Agency found that those who read regularly are 32 per cent more likely to say they do not feel anxious or depressed than those who don’t read.

As one of our readers told us this summer: “I feel so much better about myself now. 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. It has helped me so much in my everyday life, in ways I didn’t even think about.”

Do you know someone who wants help with learning to read? Or would you like to become a volunteer with Read Easy Medway? We are looking to recruit more coaches.

You can really make a difference. Contact [email protected] or call 07469 040215.

Read Easy Medway is supported by the National Lottery.

03/10/2026

The National Literacy Trust has done a brilliant job with its National Year of Reading campaign. Read Easy Medway held an event last month to celebrate it.

We’re grateful to Lily Staunton Howe, who came down to MidKent College campus in Gillingham to tell us about the Trust and its activities.

Now the Trust is aiming to set a new world record for the most people reading online in 12 hours. They want to get everyone reading for 10 minutes with on Thursday October 8.

Read Easy Medway is a charity that helps adults learn to read – our coaching is free, one-to-one and confidential.

There are 2.4 million adults in England who can’t read at all or can barely read. We’re passionate about helping everyone to read.

Let’s get together with the National Literacy Trust to break the record – and raise the profile of literacy at the same time. Go to https://literacytrust.org.uk/events/take-10-record-attempt/

Do you know someone who wants help with learning to read? Or would you like to become a volunteer with Read Easy Medway? We are looking to recruit more coaches.

With Read Easy Medway you can really make a difference. Contact [email protected] or call 07469 040215.

Read Easy Medway is supported by the National Lottery.

01/10/2026

October 1st is National Poetry Day, when we celebrate those brilliant, talented writers who can make just a few words mean so much.

Some of the greatest poems are only a few lines long. William Blake’s ‘And did those feet in ancient time’, which became the hymn Jerusalem, is 16 lines long.

‘Ozymandias’ by Shelley? 14 lines. All of Shakespeare’s 154 Sonnets, 14 lines long. It doesn’t take many words to stir the emotions and make the heart sing.

At Read Easy Medway we want to help adults who can’t read. They don’t have to worry about tackling big, thick novels of hundreds of pages.

In a short time, they could be reading the most extraordinary poetry, and writing it – only about as long as a text from a friend or a menu in a cafe.

At our recent event, Celebrating Reading in Medway, we were inspired by the Dyslexic Poet, Sam Rapp (pictured). She showed us what can be achieved.

There are 2.4 million adults in England who can’t read at all or can barely read. Help us to change their lives and make a real difference.

Do you know someone who wants help with learning to read? Or would you like to become a volunteer?

Contact [email protected] or call 07469 040215.

26/09/2026

Read Easy Medway would like to thank the wonderful people who helped us with ‘Celebrating Reading in Medway’ on Thursday, and MidKent College for hosting our event.

To mark the National Year of Reading we shared our love of reading with a variety of speakers and performers.

Read Easy Medway is a charity that helps adults learn to read – our coaching is free, one-to-one and confidential.

There are 2.4 million adults in England who can’t read at all or can barely read.

Special thanks to our speakers (pictured), Medway’s Mayor Douglas Hamandishe, Lily Staunton Howe of the National Literacy Trust, local poets Sam Rapp and Chika Jones, and singer-songwriter Ally Round.

Reading coach Paul Ives, team leader Martin Reid and Jan Rodemark talked about the charity’s activities.

We are passionate about helping local people to change their lives and make a real difference.

Do you know someone who wants help with learning to read? Or would you like to become a volunteer?

Contact [email protected] or call 07469 040215.

22/09/2026

“I feel so much better about myself now. 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.”

That’s what one of Read Easy Medway’s readers told us this summer, after making enormous progress with coach Tanya.

There are 2.4 million adults in England who can’t read at all or can barely read.

Read Easy Medway is a charity that helps adults learn to read – our coaching is free, one-to-one and confidential.

When we hear a testimony like that, we know that we can make a difference and change people’s lives.

Come and find out more at our special event on Thursday evening, Celebrating Reading in Medway.

To mark the National Year of Reading, we’ll be sharing our love of reading with a variety of speakers and performers, and talking about the charity’s activities.

Celebrating Reading in Medway is at The Community Hub on MidKent College’s Gillingham campus on Thursday, September 24 from 6pm to 8.30pm.

Admission is free – to book, go to https://bit.ly/4q7dBWT

17/09/2026

There’s just a week to go until our special event, Celebrating Reading in Medway.

Read Easy Medway is a charity that helps adults learn to read – our coaching is free, one-to-one and confidential.

To celebrate the National Year of Reading, we’ll be sharing our love of reading with a variety of speakers and performers, and talking about the charity’s activities.

Celebrating Reading in Medway is at The Community Hub on MidKent College’s Gillingham campus next Thursday, September 24 from 6pm to 8.30pm.

There are 2.4 million adults in England who can’t read at all or can barely read.

At Read Easy Medway we are passionate about helping local people to change their lives and make a real difference.

Come along and find out more. Admission is free but tickets are limited so please book a place – scan the QR code or go to https://bit.ly/4q7dBWT

12/09/2026

Read Easy Medway’s Sadie has hosted five drop-in stalls at libraries across Medway this summer. She works tirelessly to help change people’s lives.

We are a charity that helps adults learn to read – it’s free, one-to-one and confidential.
There are 2.4 million adults in England who can’t read at all or can barely read.

Sadie is our brilliant Coordinator – she pairs up our coaches with readers and provides ongoing support to these pairs.

We are looking to appoint another Coordinator to help Sadie – and we also want to recruit more Reading Coaches.

Contact [email protected] or call 07469 040215.

Come and hear more about the important work our volunteers do. At Read Easy Medway we are improving lives and really making a difference.

We’re holding a special event, Celebrating Reading in Medway, at The Community Hub on MidKent College’s Gillingham campus on Thursday September 24.

Admission is free. You can book a place at https://bit.ly/4q7dBWT

08/09/2026

Today is International Literacy Day (September 8). Sixty years ago it was proclaimed by Unesco to create “a more literate, just, peaceful and sustainable society”.

Unesco said: “Literacy is a fundamental human right for all. It opens the door to the enjoyment of other human rights, greater freedoms and global citizenship.”

Imagine not being able to read street signs, food packaging, medicine bottles, text messages. There are 2.4 million adults in England who can’t read at all or can barely read.

Read Easy Medway is a charity that helps adults learn to read – our coaching is free, one-to-one and confidential.

Come and hear more about our work at Celebrating Reading in Medway, a special event at The Community Hub on MidKent College’s Gillingham campus on September 24.

Admission is free. Share our love of reading and hear some great speakers. You can book a place at https://bit.ly/4q7dBWT

Do you know someone who wants help with learning to read? Or would you like to become a volunteer?

Contact [email protected] or call 07469 040215.

Address

Rochester

Telephone

+447850430354

Website

https://readeasy.org.uk/groups/medway/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Read Easy Medway posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to Read Easy Medway:

Want your organisation to be the top-listed non profit organisation in Rochester?