Our Story

Jonathan Bryan attended his local Special School with the label “Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities” (PMLD), where he was taught very basic letters and numbers with little or no progression from one year to the next. When he was 7 years old, and at the start of year 3, Jonathan’s mother took him out of special school for a few hours a day to teach him to read and write. They started whole word reading, and basic phonics and progressed on to spelling out words and writing sentences. By the age of 9 Jonathan was using a spelling board to write everything that he wanted to say, and he left special school to join his peers at his local primary school.

Following his recovery from a serious illness when he was 10, Jonathan felt he had been given extra time to make a difference in education for children who are non-verbal like him. In June 2016, as he was recovering, he set up the Teach Us Too campaign which was covered in national media alongside a petition to action change. As he grew older, Jonathan was formally assessed by the Court of Protection to have capacity, giving legal recognition to the voice he was already using to advocate for others. He then went on to establish this charity by the same name to continue his pursuit.

Jonathan died in the summer of 2025, but the charity continues to pursue his vision of an education system where every child, regardless of their communication needs, is taught to read and write.

What began with the determination of one child has grown into a national movement transforming expectations for children with complex communication needs. His experience became the catalyst for our charity: a powerful reminder that literacy is a right, not a privilege, and that potential is so often hidden behind assumptions.

Today, that spark continues in the lives of pupils, families, schools and trusts who have begun teaching literacy to children previously considered “unable to learn.” As they introduce meaningful reading and writing opportunities, they are discovering that these learners are capable of far more than they had ever been given the chance to demonstrate.

Teach Us Too now stands alongside this growing community, championing every child’s right to be taught to read and write, and celebrating the many voices that are finally being heard.

In July 2017 Jonathan released a short film onto YouTube to raise awareness of this issue. If you would like to watch this film click here.