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Literacy information and statistics for the UK.
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One in seven state primary schools does not have a designated library space and over three-quarters of a million children in the UK do not have access to books that we know enable better educational outcomes and greater well-being, according to the largest ever survey of the state of primary school libraries [1], commissioned by the Primary School Library Alliance [2] and published today (Tuesday, 15th November 2022).
In addition, the Moving Together Towards a Library in Every Primary School [3] report found that significantly fewer primary schools located in the North of England currently have library spaces or access to books. 18% and 16% of state primary schools in the North East and North West respectively do not have libraries, versus 6% in the South East of England – so around triple the number. This is important because the North East and North West also have the lowest levels of children achieving expected levels in reading at Key Stage One and Two and beyond. For the UK nations, more state primary schools in Northern Ireland (41%) said they don’t have a dedicated school library area, followed by Scotland (25%) and Wales (23%).
Founded in November 2021 by the National Literacy Trust and Penguin Random House UK, the Alliance works with its flagship partners to address the chronic lack of investment in primary school libraries and bring together relevant parties to help solve this urgent issue. The Alliance aims to transform 1,000 primary school libraries by 2025. Flagship partners include publishing house Puffin Books, digital bank Chase, Oxford University Press, the Marcus Rashford Book Club, and additionally there are 26 supporting organisations. In its first twelve months, the Alliance has involved 334 schools in its programmes to transform school reading spaces in underserved communities in the UK, including donating 165,840 books. Primary School Library Alliance – Working Together report Nov 2022
The Primary School Library Alliance believes that by bringing together expertise and resources from partners across a number of sectors it can more effectively support children’s educational outcomes, and ensure the wider emotional and economic benefits of reading for pleasure [4] can be felt by all children. The Primary School Library Alliance is calling on the government to signal its commitment to this target by supporting the development of primary school libraries in the following ways:
