Letterbox Club useful information and FAQs

Everything you’ll find in the Letterbox Club parcels has been carefully curated by our experts with an understanding of the needs of children experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage, so you can be confident that all the books and numeracy resources are age appropriate and sensitively chosen to engage children. 

• 1–3 reading books from a range of different genres, selected by our independent panel of experts to capture children’s interest and imagination. 
• An age-appropriate maths game and resources to develop number confidence and engage with numeracy in an accessible way that builds self-regulation, perseverance and problem-solving strategies. 
• A letter from the book author describing the chosen book or sharing ideas and experiences to help children feel special and valued. 
• Exciting extra resources such as bookmarks, pens, notepads and calculators enticing children to engage in the parcels and support independent learning in class or at home. 
• A postcard from the Letterbox Club team providing a space for children to share their thoughts and practise their writing (remember to send them back as we love to hear what they think!). 

If you purchase packs for fewer than 10 children, you will receive all six packs in one delivery. It is entirely up to you how they are then distributed to the children, but we suggest that they receive one each month over a six-month period, although you may want to gift them to be enjoyed at home during the school holidays.

Yes. Some schools use this resource with individual children, or small groups before sending the parcels home for the children to keep. Others hold a tea and cake type information session with parents and children who are going to receive the parcels. Staff demonstrate how to play the games and introduce the books, modelling reading aloud and the benefits of shared reading; and give some suggestions for follow up activities that would be fun/​beneficial to do at home. You can use the resources as flexibly as you like, to meet the needs of the children and families that you have identified.

Schools vary how they gift the parcels, with the aim being that the children who receive the parcels feel special. This requires sensitivity and must be balanced with the impact on other children, so it will be helpful to get the messaging right for the children in your school. 

Yes. Some schools have found that this resource is helpful to support home-school engagement. It provides a positive experience for the child and family and can act as a non-threatening and helpful way of promoting conversations that build trust.

Yes, absolutely. This is the perfect resource for any child in receipt of PPG – and you can use your PPG funding to purchase. The parcels are colour banded so that there is flexibility in which parcel set a child receives, so that you can match to age/​stage and ability. Our research work includes hearing directly from children, teachers and parents/​carers who tell us that children enjoy receiving these parcels and that they have a positive impact on their self-esteem and engagement with books – children identify themselves as readers. 

Yes, depending on the type and level of SEN or AEN these children have. It is not designed as a resource for children with an EHC Plan. Some schools gift Letterbox Club to children who are experiencing Social Emotional Mental Health needs– and it helps by providing positive opportunities for attachment/​shared reading experiences. It can also be used to support engagement with reading and numeracy at home – which can be useful for children who, post pandemic, are not at age-expected levels in terms of speech language and communication or reading ability.