UK’s children’s laureates stress the importance of school libraries

The case for school libraries continues to gain momentum, as children’s laureate Chris Riddell, backed by all 8 former children’s laureates called on the Department of Education to ensure there was equitable access to school library funding.

[Click here to read Chris Riddell’s full (and beautifully illustrated) open letter]

In his open letter, Riddell highlighted the importance of reading for pleasure in advancing literacy standards. It comes after several key research reports were released this year that highlight the importance of school libraries.

Book charity BookTrust’s research found that 86% of parents read with their five-year-old every night or every other night, but that many stop when their children can read: just 38% read regularly to 11-year-olds. These shared reading opportunities benefit the emotional wellbeing of children as well as helping them to perform better at school.

Unfortunately the 2016 Association of Teachers and Lecturers survey found that school libraries are unable to step in and increase shared reading opportunities - 21% of respondents reported that they don’t have sufficient school library budgets to encourage students to read for pleasure.

How does your school library encourage reading for pleasure? Share your ideas by emailing us at communications@softlinkint.com.

Softlink has also recently released the 2016 UK School Library Survey which is available to download at 2016_UK_School_Library_Survey.pdf.