BookTrust and Waterstones Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce have today launched the first Reading Rights report, calling on national and local leaders in early years, health, education and culture to come together and make reading a part of daily life for every child in the first seven years of life.
The report, which shares five focus areas that will turn the tide on “indefensible” reading inequality, also announces plans for a place-based City of Stories pilot that will create a reading blueprint.
And it explores three key areas for improvement: reading for the best start in life, reading in nurseries and schools, and reading for children with experience of social care.
The Reading Rights report will be formally launched today (21 May) when Frank and BookTrust visit Edith Kerrison Nursery School and Children’s Centre in Newham, London.
It builds on January’s Reading Rights summit in Liverpool, which saw expert voices across the political, education, literacy, early years, arts, library and health sectors, as well as national and local government leaders, coming together to discuss innovative practice and support that will change children’s lives.
Making the invisible privilege of shared reading a universal right
Frank Cottrell-Boyce said: “Britain is not an equal society. 4.3 million children are growing up in poverty. When I was named Waterstones Children’s Laureate, I knew I wanted to use my position to campaign for these children, the ones that are being left behind.
“I started the Reading Rights campaign to highlight this indefensible inequality, but also to say that we can do something about it. We have an astonishingly powerful tool in our hands – shared reading.
“If you’ve been read to, as a child, by someone who cares about you, you have been given an enormous invisible privilege. If you haven’t been given that privilege, then you’ve been left with an enormous mountain to climb.”
He added: “During my travels as Waterstones Children’s Laureate I’ve encountered brilliant people and ideas who are already making a difference. We just need to make sure that every child gets a chance to experience that difference. To turn that invisible privilege into a universal right.
“This report contains a stark warning. If we vacate that space – where child and story meet, where human love slows the world down and makes it a bit more navigable – we will hand it to something that is not human, that will not slow down, that does not love us. We will be ceding the territory of clam and connection to confusion, anxiety and fury.
“The mission is urgent. Childhood is fleeting. But the mission is also achievable. And it is full of joy.
“I’m asking for government support on a local and national level to make sure this simple, vital experience is available to all. To help us remember who we really are – the storytelling species.”
Building on the Reading Rights report
The Reading Rights report identifies five key areas for action which could make tangible change, which will be the focus of Frank and BookTrust’s activity over the next year. They are:
- Workforce training: Supporting all professionals and practitioners working with children and families in the early years to understand the benefits of early reading and to be confident sharing stories and showing parents and carers how to read with their children.
- Policy, guidance and frameworks: Making sure that early childhood reading shows up in policy, guidance and frameworks – wherever it can make a difference.
- Access to books: Making sure that children and families, early years professionals and practitioners, and community spaces, childcare settings and schools – all have access to high-quality books and reading-support resources, including books that are representative of the contemporary UK.
- Sharing high-quality research and evidence: Sharing the evidence base about reading in the early years with everyone involved in supporting children and families during this phase, in ways that are clear and meaningful and will drive change.
- Multi-agency leadership: Demonstrating the impact that early shared reading could make when effective practice is implemented in a coordinated manner by a wide range of local leaders across a community, city or wider area.
A second Reading Rights summit will be held in early 2026, followed by a second report in summer 2026, which will detail progress over these five key areas.
Diana Gerald MBE, CEO of BookTrust, said it was a “huge privilege” to be working on Reading Rights with Frank and the “extraordinary cross-sector coalition” that has already been involved.
“BookTrust has been working to get children and families reading for many decades, but we know that too many children are missing out on the immediate and lifelong benefits of early shared reading,” she added.
“That’s why, for BookTrust, this report is the next step on our journey to make early shared reading and storytelling an everyday part of all children’s lives.”
“We want this report and campaign to unite us, inspire us and give focus to our shared commitment to improving children’s lives. We invite everyone who cares about the health, wellbeing and happiness of children to join the Reading Rights campaign and help make a difference.”
Downloads
Download our Reading Rights Interim Report, exploring how we can work together to bring the transformational benefits of reading to every child.
Download the full press release about the Reading Rights interim report.
