A library for every primary by 2029

The Libraries for Primaries campaign, which recently celebrated transforming 1,500 school libraries, will work with the government to ensure every primary school has a library by the end of 2029, following the government's pledge of £10m funding to establish a library in every primary school.

Few details regarding the government's funding commitment are available as yet, including how the funds will be allocated or the actual number of schools that don't currently have library spaces.

In 2023, the former Great Schools Libraries Campaign estimated that 14% of schools across the UK did not have a school library, or nearly 4,000 schools; since then some 1,500 schools have been equipped with libraries by the Libraries for Primaries Campaign.

Today, the NLT estimates that one in seven schools - around 2,900 - still doesn't have a library; the government puts the figure at 1,700, with the majority of schools without a library in northern England and the Midlands.

Reading for pleasure in decline

The backdrop to government's announcement of school library funding is the steep decline in the number of children reading for pleasure, with just 32% of children saying that they enjoy reading, combined with a fall-off of story time in schools, which is where many children develop their love of stories and reading.

At a recent Libraries for Primaries celebration to mark 1,500 new libraries in schools. NLT CEO Jonathan Douglas said that an enjoyment of reading does not just impact positively on exam results; research has also shown its impact on learning and wellbeing as an adult.

While many schools may want a library, the lack of a suitable library space or funding for books may have prevented them from installing one, which is where the Libraries for Primaries campaign has stepped in. "The message from the headteachers we spoke to was, give us the resources we don't have and we will make the libraries happen," Douglas said.

Barriers to school libraries

The government funding and explicit support for school libraries is a turnaround moment for the Libraries for Primaries campaign, which has so far relied on private funding from organisations like the Foyles Foundation, publishers and funding bodies to support the creation of libraries in primary schools.

Reeves recalled her own school library as a child being turned into a classroom, due to a lack of space. "A generation later, many more kids have that experience." Reeves committed to "providing a library in every single primary school in England by the end of this Parliament", hailing the project as "a statement of the value that this government places on all our children's futures". She added, "I believe in a Britain based on opportunity, where ordinary kids can flourish unhindered by their backgrounds."

Libraries for all primaries by 2029

The Libraries for Primaries Campaign has now trained some 3000 school teachers at 300 schools in creating a reading for pleasure environment. "We don't just give them books, but the training they will need to make the library effective." Having a library, Douglas added, makes children feels special. "By 2029, our aim is that every school in the country has a library, has the books, has a way to change children's futures."  

How to Train Your Dragon author Cressida Cowell, who supports the Libraries for Primaries campaign, asked, "How on earth can a child whose parents who don't have books, don't take them to public libs and don't have a library at school, develop a love of reading? It's an impossible task!" But, she added, "l love an impossible task!"

As the world gets more complex, she added, children will need to become more creative in how they approach the problems they face, making a school library even more essential in helping them to develop these skills. "People have a vague sense that reading is good but not why," Cowell said. "Let this be the moment where everything changes! Let 2026 be the year when everyone does what they can to ensure a great school library is in every school as quickly as possible."