BookTrust for schools

At BookTrust, we support children’s reading journeys from the first year of life right up until the first years of secondary school.

Reading brings children profound and wide-ranging benefits that can have a lifelong positive impact on children’s lives, affecting their health, wellbeing, sleep and their academic and social development. Reading at home to a child in the early years builds strong foundations for school readiness. It improves language and literacy skills and has wider benefits for learning too: concentration; focusing with an adult on a shared point of interest; decoding and sensemaking – all of which support educational achievement across the curriculum. Children who are frequently read to at age five are half a school year ahead in reading performance at the age of 15, compared to peers who are read to infrequently or not at all. And children who maintain this reading habit as they grow up do better at school and in their GCSEs.

As children transition to primary school, BookTrust provides books and resources, distributed via schools, tohelp families continue to read together and keep the bedtime story alive. At secondary level, we work with schools to helptheir year 7-9s to become independent readers, inspiring them to choose and enjoy their own books. We also provide a wealth of book reviews, recommendations and reading advice to families and teaching professionals and run a series of virtual and in-person author visits to schoolsacross the country through our BookTrust Represents programme.

Our support for schools

Time to Read: every year we send out free book packs including a book, resources and reading advice to children starting primary school in England and Northern Ireland.

My Story Pack: A pilot project designed to support families in more need at the start of their child’s school journey, accompanied by a teacher toolkit to help families get the most out of the packs.

We know that for children to engage in reading, access to a wide choice of inspirational books and authors is key. Our Great Books Guide and Bookfinder can help your school to find great books that children will love, whatever their tastes and interests.

BookTrust supports the Waterstones’ Children’s Laureate Life-changing Libraries project which campaigns to secure ringfenced funding in primary school libraries.

Letterbox Club helps children who are looked after, previously looked after, on the edge of care and other vulnerable groups, with reading and numeracy. Children are enrolled by schools and local authorities.

Bookbuzz is a reading programme that aims to help secondary schools inspire a love of reading in 11 to 13-year olds.

Our School Library Pack and Special School Library Pack provide free books to mainstream secondary schools in England with a year 7 intake plus those with a substantial number of children on free school meals.

Our BookTrust Represents programme works with some of the UK’s leading authors and illustrators of colour in children’s literature, bringing them into the classroom virtually and in person.

Key dates for primary schools

October

For all schools Great Books Guide delivered.

November

For vulnerable children aged 3 - 13 The Letterbox Club registration opens.
For Reception ages 4 - 5 Time to Read delivery starts - free book for every child in England.

January

For Reception ages 4 - 5 Time to Read delivery completed.

May

The Letterbox Club parcel deliveries over next 6 months.

July

The Letterbox Club registration closes.

September

For children starting school My Story Pack delivered (for pilot for 190 schools only).

Key dates for secondary schools

October

For years 7 & 8 - Bookbuzz books delivery starts.

For Secondary schools - School Library Pack & Special School Library Pack delivery starts - free books for eligble secondary schools and special schools.
For all schools Great Books Guide delivered.

November

For vulnerable children aged 3 - 13 The Letterbox Club registration opens.
For Reception ages 4 - 5 Time to Read delivery starts - free book for every child in England.