Campaign seeks £100m for school libraries
Posted on Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Category: News
Waterstones Children's Laureate Cressida Cowell is lobbying the government to provide £100m of ringfenced funding for school libraries.
Waterstones Children's Laureate Cressida Cowell MBE has addressed an open letter to the Prime Minister - with support from industry experts and all former Laureates - calling on the Government for a ring-fenced, yearly investment of £100m for school libraries.
One in eight primary schools has no designated library space, and many schools that do have libraries are limited by inadequate budgets for books or staffing. As a result, millions of children are missing out on the opportunity to become a reader for pleasure and the life-changing benefits this brings.
Cowell writes, "Millions of children, particularly those from the poorest communities worst hit by the pandemic, are missing out on opportunities to discover the life-changing magic of reading - one that OECD research suggests is a key indicator in a child's future success. How can a child become a reader for pleasure if their parents or carers cannot afford books, and their primary school has no library, or that library is woefully insufficient?
"I am writing - with the support of former Laureates, literacy organisations, and publishing industry leaders - to ask the Government to help reverse the spiralling inequality in education by putting primary school libraries at the heart of our long term response to the pandemic with a ring fenced, yearly investment of £100m."
The internationally bestselling author-illustrator of the How to Train Your Dragon series has published an open letter asking the Government to improve primary school library provision to 'help children whose future now lies in the balance'.
Long-term underfunding of school libraries
The Children's Laureate highlights the shocking reality - and severe long-term underfunding - of England's primary school libraries, with evidence showing a lack of the key ingredients: space, resource and expertise. Whilst every prison has a statutory library, there is no legal requirement for schools to have a library. Research shows one in eight primary schools has no library space at all - a statistic that doubles in schools with a higher proportion of children on free school meals. As a result, millions of children - particularly those from the poorest communities whose parents cannot afford books at home - are missing out on the opportunity to become a reader for pleasure and the vital benefits this chance brings.
Alongside public libraries, school libraries are vital to giving all children access to books and reading. Decades of research shows the importance this has on a child's educational development, health and well-being, personal growth and future prospects - no matter their starting point in life, and how pivotal this is in not only determining a child's later economic success, but also the economy.
Cressida Cowell's letter outlines how a ring fenced, yearly investment of £100m could help ensure that all schools have access to the key ingredients required to create and sustain a library space and develop a culture of reading for pleasure. It also refers to the PE and sport premium introduced in 2013, helping ensure that all young people have the opportunity to experience the numerous benefits of physical activity, with Cowell asking: "Surely the opportunity to become a reader for pleasure is just as important? How is it fair that some children are being given this immeasurable advantage in life, but stark book poverty means many more are denied this same chance to change their future?"
'Life-changing Libraries'
'Life-changing Libraries' is Cressida's flagship project as the prestigious Waterstones Children's Laureate. Over the course of a year, six very different primary schools across England - all of which have at least 25% of pupils eligible for free school meals - will be helped to develop a reading for pleasure culture, with the support of BookTrust and Cressida.
The project will spotlight the four pillars of a successful 'gold standard' school library - space, book provision, expertise, and whole-school and parent involvement.
The aim of the initiative is to showcase the transformative impact a well-resourced primary school library has on a child's opportunities in life, alongside the vast inequality currently facing children across England.
Each pf the six schools will be provided with a bespoke, dedicated library space, created by BookTrust and stocked with a specially curated book list of approximately 1000 titles. Staff will be provided with professional training and mentoring from specialists at the School Library Association, as part of a two year-membership.
Building is set to begin on the libraries this month, and each will officially open in June 2021. The project will monitor the impact of the new libraries on pupils' engagement and reading behaviour over the course of the following year.
The six schools are: Benwick Primary School (Cambridgeshire), Dinnington Community Primary School (Rotherham), Griffin Primary School (Wandsworth), Saviour CE Primary (Manchester), Skerne Park Primary School (Darlington) and Woodchurch C of E Primary School (Wirral).
"Reading is a gateway to an excellent education"
Kate Chisholm, Headteacher at Skerne Park Primary School, said, "'Many children do not have access to books at home. Parents, when living in poverty, often have to choose between essential food and luxuries such as books, toys, or clothes. The children at Skerne Park Primary School have some access to books at school, but with declining budgets these are old and well used, and not very enticing for children to pick them up and read at home.
"Reading is a gateway to an excellent education and also an enabler for social mobility. Without the right literacy skills children often fall behind and disengage from education. Our school does its level best to encourage firm foundations however this is sometimes challenging with very little in the way of resource.
"As our children and their families are amongst some of the least engaged with realising their aspirations, having new, glossy books presented in a lovely library space would be such an enticement to enabling excellent love and positive associations with books and reading. After what has been a hugely difficult year, we are thrilled to be part of Cressida's 'Life-changing Libraries' project, and very much looking forward to building work beginning!'
