Building strong foundations for children across Wales through books and shared reading
Now is the time to strengthen support for early years reading, so every child in Wales can experience the benefits of books and shared reading from the very start of life. We’re calling for long-term investment in BookTrust Cymru’s reading programmes, which offer vital support so families in Wales can access books and develop a lifelong love of reading.
Families using BookTrust Cymru’s bilingual books and reading support during a Bookstart session at a library.
The early years lay the foundations for a child’s language, literacy, wellbeing and future opportunities. Shared reading plays a vital role in building those foundations, yet many families tell us they would value more support to read and share stories together.
Across Wales, BookTrust Cymru’s bilingual programmes help families make reading part of everyday life, building habits that support children’s development and last a lifetime. For many children, the first book they own comes through a BookTrust Cymru programme. For some parents, a local storytime session is where they first discover simple, enjoyable ways to share books with their child in the earliest months.
Working alongside libraries, health services, schools, Flying Start settings and community partners, BookTrust Cymru’s evidence-led programmes, delivered in Welsh and English, provide high-quality bilingual books, resources and guidance that help children develop language and early literacy skills, strengthen family relationships and foster a lifelong love of reading.
Shared reading is a simple but powerful way to support children’s development, nurture the Welsh language and give families the confidence to enjoy books together in Welsh, English or both. Sustained investment in early years reading can help ensure more children and families benefit from these opportunities.
‘This might be the only book a family has at home’
According to BookTrust’s recent research, 92% of parents and carers in Wales enjoy reading with their children, but only around half of children are read with daily.
And 46% said would like more information and support to help their child spend more time with books and stories.
“Nearly half of parents are actively telling us they want more help,” says Julie Hayward, Director of Partnerships for BookTrust. “Families are asking for practical support, information and opportunities to help them build reading habits at home.”
Denbighshire library service has a dedicated Bookstart team. They use BookTrust Cymru’s Bookstart programmes with families in their community to boost their confidence in sharing books together, in both English and Welsh.
Through their weekly bilingual library storytimes, the team model how families can use books with their babies and toddlers in an accessible and fun way. They use BookTrust Cymru’s Bookstart Baby, Bookstart Toddler and Bookstart 1–2 programmes during these sessions, before gifting the book packs for families to take home, keep, and use to share stories and unlock the powerful benefits of shared reading.
Because I’m a new mum, I don’t know how to read a book, sing songs, or how to progress with reading. But I’ve learnt it here.
A mother attending the story time with her baby.
Bookstart programmes are not only about book ownership. Each programme provides practical guidance and confidence so families know how to share stories from the earliest months of a child’s life.
Rachel Smith, Bookstart Team Member in Denbighshire, says: “Within a session, we can demonstrate those Bookstart packs. We can show families the book, show them different ways of sharing it with their baby. I think it’s really important to have that modelling, and that actually, they can see it’s really easy to do.”
Another parent attending the session with her toddler, says: “The Bookstart packs have got some nice books in them that we can use to play games, like peep-po. There lots of information too about what we can get out of them. [My son] now understands what a book is, how to turn the pages. That all started from here.”
That pack families receive might be the only book they have at home. It’s really important that every child is given it. Life outcomes are so much better if you’re reading to your little ones.
Donna Hugh-Jones, Bookstart Team Lead in Denbighshire
A member of Denbighshire Bookstart team using BookTrust Cymru’s shared reading programmes with families at a library.
‘Now is the time to strengthen reading support for families in Wales – not scale it back’
At a time when concerns about literacy standards are growing across Wales, investing in early years shared reading has never been more important.
“It’s been a difficult time for BookTrust Cymru,” says Sioned Jacques, Partnerships Manager for BookTrust Cymru. “We had some established programmes so that children, especially those from low-income families, were likely to have at least one reading intervention during their first five years. We’ve lost funding, and we’re now down to three programmes.”
BookTrust Cymru’s evidence-based programmes help overcome barriers to engaging with books and shared reading, supporting families to establish reading routines from the earliest months of life. Strengthening this support is a practical and proven way to help improve literacy outcomes for the next generation.
And as described by Anna Brychan, Minister for Education and the Welsh Language, while announcing Wales’s new Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Plan: “We owe it to current and future generations to get literacy and numeracy right.”
Sioned Jacques adds: “We know we have an issue in Wales where children’s literacy levels are low. This is why long-term investment in early years reading programmes matters. It helps families establish reading routines from the earliest months of a child’s life, giving children the strongest possible foundations for language development, learning and wellbeing. Now is the time to strengthen that support, not scale it back.”
Reading together at a Bookstart session.
Delivering the benefits of books and shared reading for families across Wales
Our bilingual reading programmes reach families in every postcode in Wales, helping children develop language and early literacy skills, strengthen family bonds and build a lifelong love of reading.
- Bookstart Baby is delivered through babies’ six-month health check-ins in partnership with health visitors as part of the Health Child Wales Programme. For some families, their Bookstart Baby book is the first book their child will own.
60% of families said the Bookstart Baby programme prompted them to read or share stories in Welsh more than they otherwise might have.
- We work our partners across every local authority in Wales to deliver our Bookstart programmes that support families to read together in English and Welsh. These evidence-based programmes equip families with high-quality bilingual books and resources that support a child’s speech and language, their bonding and attachment, their wellbeing and their emerging literacy skills.
- We provide dual language books for families who speak English or Welsh as an additional language. Over the past year, more than 1,100 dual language books in a variety of languages were gifted to families across Wales. Here’s the impact this programme is making with resettled families in Cardiff.
Early access to books and shared reading support is essential for offering the best start for every child in Wales. Continued, long-term investment in these proven programmes will help ensure that more families across Wales can benefit from this support in the years ahead.
Please share and show your support for long-term funding early years reading support for every child in Wales.