How 10 minutes reading to children each night can transform their prospects

Or that a child’s experiences [positive or negative] from birth to three years old will have a lifelong effect on them?

Recently my report “No Child Left Behind” was launched which seeks to identify some of the causes of Educational Underachievement that we know exist in Northern Ireland and offer possible solutions.

The roots of this problem are many and varied. Part of the process of dealing with them involves recognising the fact that there is neither a magic money tree to produce endless intervention funds nor a single silver bullet with which to eradicate the issue.

Educational Underachievement is also not something that is unique to Northern Ireland as it exists in all parts of the world to a greater or lesser extent.

Too often discussions about educational policy in Northern Ireland narrowly focus upon fixed positions on academic selection. Regardless of our own particular stance on the system of transfer to post-primary schooling, the problem of children failing to develop and achieve will remain.

From the moment of conception, it is clear that some children face significantly greater obstacles which need to be overcome before they are in a position to realise their full potential.

Some manage to overcome these barriers and others do not. Academic research generally supports the theory that those who struggle the most are often from deprived socio-economic backgrounds.

It further suggests that teachers and parents are the two key factors that directly affect whether a child will succeed or fail.

Leadership in schools, especially in these particular areas, is also crucial to challenging both teaching and parental aspirations for the child.

Therefore any strategy to tackle educational underachievement must be both comprehensive in its scope and demonstrate an understanding of all the conditions which perpetuate underachievement.

Tackling this issue [especially for Protestant Free School Meals Boys] is something I have been passionate about for a number of years and, in fact it was the key theme of my Mayoral term in 2014-15.

During that year I launched my ‘CS Lewis Reading Challenge’ which challenged 600 P5s to read ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’ in four weeks, either by themselves or with help from their parents.

Over the last four years I have met with parents, teachers, community workers, principals and academics; similar messages and solutions were consistent in all our conversations.

We must also be careful not to judge those, especially parents, who are particularly struggling but instead we should offer help and assistance where we can.

There are a number of key areas that we fundamentally need to address. It is crucial that parents are fully aware that the years 0-3 are incredibly important in a young child’s development and that stimulation, lots of positive affirmation and parental attachment are the building blocks for success in the future.

For boys in particular, a stable and supportive male role model is vitally important. Dr Martin Ashley (2001) illustrated the impact of this concept very clearly when he said “If boys see men reading books and doing lots of neat writing, then boys will avidly read books and produce volumes of neat writing”.

We also need to instil self-confidence and a sense of motivation in our children. When these are not present in the home, the emotional development of boys in particular will be negatively effected.

Being from a socially deprived environment is no absolute predicator that the child has to fail.

Generally a child that is attached to, that is loved, supported, inspired and read to will thrive, regardless of their socio-economic background.

President Ronald Reagan put my response to the problem well when he said “There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right”.

My report makes nine recommendations to the government in Northern Ireland – their adoption could have a real impact on the issue.

• Peter Martin is a DUP councillor in North Down and has produced a report for the part on tackling educational underachievement. You can contact him on Twitter at @petermartindup