An insurance group has pledged to support a charity that provides literacy and numeracy training to people with learning disabilities.

The Argus Group is donating to the Reading Clinic’s Core Reading Programme, which is designed for students with reading disabilities such as dyslexia, a disorder that affects spelling and pronunciation.

“Students show significant progress in decoding, oral reading and spelling from the tutoring they receive in this programme,” said Dr Julie Dunston, executive director of The Reading Clinic.

“Children use literacy skills to discern and interpret information and we understand the importance of developing these at an early age.

“We are grateful to Argus for their support of The Reading Clinic.”

Alison Hill, chief executive officer of the Argus Group, added: “Being able to read and speak clearly are vital to personal development.

“Research shows that good literacy skills can lead to a better job, increased income and greater productivity. It is important that children with learning disadvantages have access to the additional tutoring they need to succeed.

“We are proud to support this great organisation in the important work that they do.”

The programme is geared towards children in primary school and the Clinic incorporates the Orton-Gillingham approach — an individualised, multi-sensory, language-based teaching strategy specifically targeted to children with learning disabilities. One-on-one tutoring sessions are scheduled three times a week and, on average, a student is enrolled at The Reading Clinic for two years.

In the 2013-2014 school year, the Clinic delivered a total of 8,288 hours of one-on-one tutoring to 267 students and the Core Reading Programme assisted 98 individuals, including children from 31 schools.

The Clinic’s services include structured, multi-sensory and phonetic instruction in reading and spelling; strategy-based math instruction; neurodevelopmental/psychoeducational assessments; family consultations; as well as consultations and workshops for educators.

• For more information about The Reading Clinic, visit www.readingclinic.bm