Authors and illustrators Cressida Cowell, Axel Scheffler, Charlie Higson, Adam Kay, Michael Rosen, Rob Biddulph and Katie Kirby joined 40 MPs and Peers, and four pupil librarians from Moreland Primary School, at the Houses of Parliament on 28th November to celebrate the impact of the Libraries of Primaries campaign.
The aim was to emphasise the importance of giving all school children access to a dedicated reading space at their school and gain support from the government.
One in seven state primary schools does not have a library or dedicated reading space with one in eight children living in the country’s most disadvantaged communities not owning a book of their own at home.
Malaya, in Year 4 at Moreland, wrote: “Having a library in every primary school would help… because not everyone can afford books. I love reading books because [when] you’re reading a fairytale, you can find yourself on an adventure to a forest or a magical land and so on.”
Moreland Primary School, is the 1,000th school library transformed by the campaign. Supported by 29 publishing partners, Libraries for Primaries, founded by the National Literacy Trust and Penguin Books in 2021, has given more than 370,000 children access to books that support greater academic achievement and enhanced levels of wellbeing.
Jonathan Douglas, CEO at the National Literacy Trust, said: “We know that only one in three children and young people say that they enjoy reading. So, while we celebrate the impact of our Libraries for Primaries campaign, made possible by our publishing partners, author ambassadors and colleagues, it is crucial that we see the change of government as an opportunity to right this wrong.
“We are calling for better data collection on libraries in primary schools, a focus on promoting reading for pleasure through the Curriculum and Assessment Review and a commitment to deliver support to the thousands of primary schools in the UK that are without a library or dedicated reading space.”
