BookTrust Cymru warns vital early years reading support for Wales' poorest children could disappear
16 January 2026
The warning comes after the Welsh Government decides to stop direct funding to BookTrust Cymru.
BookTrust Cymru has warned that thousands of babies and toddlers across Wales will lose access to vital early years shared reading support, with the end of its flagship Bookstart programmes, following the Welsh Government’s decision to stop direct funding to the charity.
From 1 April 2026, funding currently supporting BookTrust’s bilingual early years programmes for babies and young children, including Bookstart and Pori Drwy Stori, will be redirected.
This decision means investment in established and impactful universal and targeted support for children through their first 1,000 days will instead be used by Adnodd to commission resources in their aim to support the teaching and learning of the Curriculum for Wales.
Sioned Jones, Director of BookTrust Cymru, said: “Wales will become the only UK nation not to offer the Bookstart Baby programme to every newborn child. Research shows that getting families reading together from the earliest moments brings unique immediate and long-term benefits.”
Ending valued and impactful early years shared reading programmes without a clear and consulted transition plan risks disadvantaging babies and children for years to come.
Sioned Jones, Director, BookTrust Cymru
The difference these programmes make
BookTrust Cymru has worked in Wales for over 25 years delivering deeply embedded bilingual shared reading programmes for babies and children as they grow from birth to 5 years old.
Every year over60,000 families, nearly a third of whom live in poverty, receive tailored support throughout the children’s early years from one of BookTrust Cymru’s bilingual Bookstart programmes.
For many families the programmes provide a child’s first ever books – and our Impact Report shows 84% of low-income families read more after receiving support from BookTrust Cymru.
72% of parents and carers say that Bookstart Baby made them feel more confident about reading with their children, and 60% say it prompted them to read and share stories in Welsh more with their child than they would have done otherwise.
The Bookstart programmes, which are evidence-informed and co-designed with partners and families, provide not just inspiring and relevant books and reading resources but also guidance and support for carers.
They are delivered in partnership with frontline health, libraries, local authority and childcare teams and support a range of Welsh Government priorities, including the First 1000 Days programme, Healthy Child Wales, the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act, Cymraeg 2050, Curriculum for Wales and Anti-racist Wales.
BookTrust Cymru is now calling on the Welsh Government to publish the child rights and impact assessments that informed its decision to end Bookstart in Wales and provide clarity on how continuity of equally impactful early years shared reading support will be guaranteed beyond April 2026.
“Heartbreaking”
Nicola Davies, the Children’s Laureate for Wales for 2025–2027, said: “I’m shocked to hear that the Welsh Government is cutting funding to an established programme that has for years enabled the poorest children in Wales to begin their reading journey.
“BookTrust Cymru provides expert, targeted support in both English and Welsh to give parents and carers the materials and skills they need to read to babies and young children. This early experience of books underpins later educational success and is the cornerstone of social mobility.”
The idea that the charity’s tried and tested programmes, and their delivery via an established network of frontline teams, can be replicated overnight is foolish. The fact that the effects of this decision will be felt by Wales’ most vulnerable children is heartbreaking.
Nicola Davies, Children’s Laureate for Wales
Meanwhile, Delyth Huws, the local authority embedded Bookstart co-ordinator based in Ceredigion, said: “I’ve seen first-hand how the programmes give families the confidence to read with their children, turning stories into moments of curiosity and joy rather than an obligation.
“It opens the door for parents who may feel unsure about reading, showing that it’s about being playful and building bonds, not following the narrative word for word. The impact is clear.”
Sioned Jones added: “Our behaviour change led approach is supporting families to read more with their children throughout the early years and beyond. Those we support tell us our programmes make a difference.”
Ending Bookstart in Wales, with no clear plans on how its vital provisions will be delivered, will impact the poorest families first, and the hardest.
