The Primary School Library Alliance
The National Literacy Trust together with publisher Penguin Random House have launched a national alliance to help address the chronic lack of investment in primary school libraries in the UK. The alliance aims to transform 1,000 primary school libraries by 2025, to create a new generation of readers who are better equipped to fulfil their potential.
We are pleased to be supporting NLT and Penguin Random House with the campaign.
Why is this important?
- School libraries face a chronic lack of investment, with the most disadvantaged communities most affected: 1 in 8 primary schools in England do not have a library, and this jumps to 1 in 4 schools with a higher proportion of children on free school meals. There is no statutory requirement for schools to have a library.
- Schools lack the budget to buy new books, and many teachers lack the knowledge, skills or time to manage their school library effectively: in a recent survey 40% of primary schools say they don’t have any budget for their library.
- The gap in literacy levels between disadvantaged pupils and their better-off peers has widened during the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.
- School libraries have a positive impact on pupils’ learning & wellbeing: for the 1 in 11 children growing up without any books at home, school is often the first opportunity for children to discover the magic of reading.
Read the National Literacy Trust's report on the current provision for primary school libraries.