This campaign has now closed
The Gift of Reading involves children, schools and families in inspirational reading events which link enjoyment and reading for disadvantaged children. As part of each project children choose free books to keep, which are often the first books these children will own.
Categories
Beneficiaries
Situation
In deprived areas of the UK 40% of adults do not have the literacy skills expected of an 11-year old whilst 1 child in 7 in the UK does not have a book of their own. Poor literacy reduces life chances, drives unemployment and is strongly linked to poverty. 1 in 3 deprived children leave primary school unable to read well enough to succeed at secondary school (DfE, 2015), whilst the gap between the best and worst 10-year old readers in England is equivalent to 7 years of schooling (ROGO, 2014).
Solution
The Gift of Reading is designed to engender a love of reading in reluctant readers through engaging them in fun activities that enable them to develop a positive association with books and reading. The OECD ‘Reading for Change’ study found that reading for pleasure was the most important indicator of the future success of a child, having greater impact on a child’s educational achievement than their parents’ socio-economic status.