Additional needs packs

As well as Bookstart Baby, Toddler and Pre-schooler packs, BookTrust also offers the following packs for children with additional needs:

• Bookstart Shine for children who are deaf
• Bookstart Touch for children with a visual impairment
• Bookstart Star for children with conditions affecting their fine motor skills

All the packs are free to parents and carers of children aged 0-5 years.

We allocate packs to each local authority based on birth rate and in consultation with the local authority regarding their needs. Please contact the Bookstart Coordinator in your local authority to receive packs for the families you work with, but please note that they may have a limited number of packs available.

Get tips and guidance on gifting additional needs packs

Bookstart Shine for children who are deaf

• There are two packs: Bookstart Shine Baby (0-2 years old) and Bookstart Shine Toddler (3-5 years old). The ages are a guideline – the professionals gifting the pack decide which pack is most suitable.
• Each pack has a book and guidance around sharing books.
• Download our leaflet Bookstart Shine: A guide to enjoying books and reading with deaf children

Bookstart Touch for children with vision impairment

• There are two packs: Bookstart Touch Baby (0-2 years old) and Bookstart Touch Toddler (3-5 years old). The ages are a guide only – partners gifting the packs decide which is most suitable for the child
• Each pack has a touch-and-feel book and guidance around sharing books with children with vision impairment.
• Download our leaflets Bookstart Touch: A guide to enjoying books and reading with blind and partially sighted children and Bookstart Touch: Access to Reading

Bookstart Star for children with conditions affecting their fine motor skills

• This pack is available for children aged 3-5 who have disabilities that impact on or delay the development of their fine motor skills. The age range is just a guide – partners gifting the packs decide whether they are suitable for the children they work with
• Each pack includes a book, a finger puppet, and a guide to using the finger puppet and reading with children.
• Download the Bookstart Star accessible booklist

Benefits of gifting Bookstart Additional Needs packs

Evaluation of BookTrust’s additional needs support and resources, Robinson, D. et al, 2016

This piece of research, conducted by the University of Derby, explored how reading for pleasure is experienced by children and young people with additional needs, what the benefits are for these children, and what practices are most likely to have a positive impact on engagement with reading for pleasure. It also explored the role of BookTrust’s additional needs provision within this. Little research has been done in this area before, and the findings make a valuable contribution to our understanding.

The research found that:

• The benefits of reading for pleasure are significant and often profound, offering opportunities for comfort, closeness and well-being. Books are important in the lives of children with additional needs, providing focus for shared attention, pleasure and enjoyment, as well as scaffolds for development (e.g. as a stimulus for movement and communication).
• Personalised approaches are central to encouraging and supporting reading for pleasure for children with additional needs. The benefits are maximised when adults mediate the connection between child and book in ways that are highly individualised, so that communication, support and interaction are matched to the unique capabilities and preferences of the children and young people. In understanding needs, it’s important not to over or under generalise, i.e. it should not be assumed that children who have the same impairment will need the same types of support, or that children and young people with impairments may not share experiences and needs that are common to all children.
• There are a wide range of inclusive strategies that are beneficial, including: using multi-modalities (e.g. visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and tactile); integrating playful activity using puppets and role play; enabling independence, responsibility and taking a lead; and making connections with everyday life and experiences through extra-textual talk
• In short, a combination of accessible and flexible resources, responsive adults and personalised strategies are important for ensuring children with additional needs are able to fully experience the benefits of reading for pleasure.
• The BookTrust resources were highly valued by families and practitioners and contributed to delivering the positive outcomes identified above. Inclusive and diverse practices were found to be ‘already embedded in the resources, guidance and approach adopted by BookTrust’, and the combination of universal and targeted provision was considered positively.

 Please note that books contained within the packs may differ from those pictured.