BookTrust NI
A BIT OF BACKGROUND
BookTrust is the UK’s largest children’s reading charity. Each year we reach millions of children and families, inspiring them with our books, resources and support to get them started on their reading journeys.
In Northern Ireland our team have been working across communities for many years and have a well-established network to help support children and families, especially those requiring additional support from low-income or vulnerable backgrounds.
Government data shows that 27% of children (150,000) fail to meet the expected standard in literacy at age 11 and this figure is higher (33%) for children from low-income backgrounds. We know that early years shared reading can make a difference: those disadvantaged children who achieve well at age 11 are twice as likely to have been read to at home in their early years compared to their peers.
BookTrust Storytime is our library-based offer for under 5s and is designed to address the barriers to shared reading for disadvantaged families in the early years.
Our evidence shows that low-income families are under-using libraries: 47% of low-income families with under fives are not registered with a public library and 63% have not attended a story or rhyme session with their child. But we know the use of libraries makes a significant contribution to literacy outcomes: research has shown that children who read above the expected level for their age are twice as likely to be public library users (Clark and Hawkins, 2011).
Parental capability and confidence in reading aloud and sharing stories is a barrier for many families: 21% of parents and carers lack confidence in choosing books that their child will enjoy (BookTrust Family Surveys 2021 and 22). And for shared reading families also need access to books, particularly those that respond to their child’s interests.
Supporting this Programme
While some libraries have already established outreach into their wider early-years community, our research has found that a large proportion of libraries involved with Storytime are struggling to reach the families that stand to benefit the most from shared family reading. Libraries NI has faced huge budgetary challenges recently, which directly impacts the services they can provide for families. BookTrust wants to help libraries to engage with local nurseries and community organisations, and to use the skills and expertise of librarians to advocate with families for reading aloud to their children.
Without ongoing funding to support this work, children and families in NI will miss out on the impacts being felt through this programme. Supporting this programme will create engaging and enjoyable reading experiences for families, helping to build parental confidence, improve familiarity with the best books for sharing with young children, and increase families’ motivation to share stories at home. Storytime supports partners in their work to engage new families, particularly by encouraging those from low-income backgrounds to visit libraries and then return to them again and again.
BookTrust Storytime
Storytime is part of our early years reading journey, and links with our Bookstart Early Years pilot that is delivered in Northern Ireland by Sure Starts and other partners who support low-income families with children aged 0-4, to help them make shared reading a regular part of their lives. The strong links between Sure Starts and libraries supports both programmes to further enhance their delivery and success.
95 libraries in Northern Ireland participated in the Storytime pilot during 2023/2024. 30 of these ran the Enhanced offer, in the bigger library settings with higher footfalls, and 65 ran the Core offer, which were small library settings. When BookTrust staff visited Suffolk Library, library staff told us that Storytime sessions have felt more special than their usual rhyme times and the families have all enjoyed giving their voting points and feeling their opinion is being heard.
Libraries receiving our 'core' offer will receive one standard copy of each of our five books, specially chosen by a panel of families and libraries as the best books for sharing with children under five.
We have worked with Libraries NI to identify a group of libraries in areas of high deprivation that will receive our 'enhanced' offer - they will not only receive these books, but also larger copies, perfect for sharing with bigger groups. They will also receive resources to make their libraries a more welcoming and interactive space and activities to keep families coming back to the library.
Outcomes of BookTrust Storytime
1 - Bringing low-income families with young children into libraries, often for the first time.
2 - Motivating families to come back again and again, so libraries become part of their local network of places and support systems, improving reading engagement and frequency (which has proven links to literacy outcomes).
3 - Increased confidence in shared reading and storytelling among early years practitioners working with low-income families.
4 - Lasting connections and working relationships between librarians and other community workers and early years practitioners.
(More on the Impact of BookTrust’s work can be found in our Impact Report.)