Children to be given one-to-one tuition in literacy Every child should start secondary school with a head start - not a false start. Currently, around one in six pupils - 100,000 - fails to master the basics of reading at the end of primary school. A further quarter of 11-year-olds struggle to write properly, figures show. Under proposals announced on Tuesday, some £10m will be invested in a new programme aimed at raising standards, principally among pupils in the poorest areas. The scheme will be run by the Education Endowment Fund - a Government-funded programme managed by the Sutton Trust charity - to narrow the gap between rich and poor children. It will accept bids from schools, local councils, charities and other organisations running literacy programmes. The move is likely to cover small catch-up classes and more one-to-one tuition. It is believed the cash could also be used to provide vouchers that parents can spend on their own English tutors. Catch-up classes will run at the end of the final year of primary school and in the first few months of secondary education. But the Department for Education also suggested that some programmes would run during the six-week summer holiday. The money will be drawn from the "pupil premium" - a cash pot set aside to boost standards among poor pupils. Sarah Teather, Children's Minister, said: "Being able to read fluently by the end of primary school is essential. Without these skills children fall further behind in their education.