More than three quarters of a million children do not have access to a library at their primary school

More than three quarters of a million children across the UK do not have access to a library at their primary school, according to new research jointly commissioned by the Primary School Library Alliance, in partnership with the Great School Libraries Campaign.

Founded in November 2021 by the National Literacy Trust and Penguin Random House UK, the alliance works to address the "chronic lack of investment” in primary school libraries. 

The latest report found one in seven state primary schools does not have a designated library space. There was also a “significant disparity” between library school provision in different regions across the UK. The Moving Together Towards a Library in Every Primary School report found that 16% of state primary schools in the north-east and 18% of state primary schools in the north-west do not have libraries, versus 6% in the south-east of England. 

The north-east and north-west also have the lowest levels of children achieving expected levels in reading at Key Stage One and Two and beyond. For the UK nations, more state primary schools in Northern Ireland (41%) said they don’t have a dedicated school library area, followed by Scotland (25%) and Wales (23%). 

The Primary School Library Alliance is calling on the government to signal its commitment to this target by supporting the development of primary school libraries. It wants the Secretary of State for Education to publicly acknowledge the positive role that primary school libraries can play in boosting literacy and endorse the aims and approach of the Primary School Library Alliance. It is also calling for the Department for Education to commit to ensuring that every primary school has a library by 2025 and to publish an action plan setting out how it will work in partnership with others to achieve this goal. 

Thirdly, it wants the Department for Education to work with the Primary School Library Alliance to agree on “a sustainable, long-term funding model”. An example would be the introduction of a government-matched funding programme, in which the government pays a proportion of the total costs, could help to leverage further private sector investment and secure high-quality resources. 

Jonathan Douglas CBE, c.e.o. at the National Literacy Trust, said: “It’s devastating to discover that over three-quarters of a million children don’t have access to a library in their primary school, when we know this and reading for pleasure play such valuable roles in academic performance, well-being and their chances of being successful in life. The challenge of transforming and sustaining primary school libraries is a large-scale challenge and this report clearly sets out the gap in provision. While the multi-partner approach of the Primary School Library Alliance may help us solve almost half this unmet need, we would welcome a positive dialogue with the government about moving closer to every school having a primary school library or designated library space with diverse, modern book stock and trained, skilled staff.” 

Rebecca Sinclair, chief brand officer at Penguin Random House UK, added: “At Penguin we believe that every child should have the right to read and access books, as well as the space and time to read for pleasure. Children are shaped intellectually and emotionally by the books they read, and by stories they see themselves in and can be inspired by. Libraries and reading spaces in primary schools are essential for this, which is why we continue to invest in and support our partners through the Primary School Library Alliance. After just a year of the alliance we are already seeing the value of this type of public/private partnership model for achieving positive change, and see great opportunity to scale this for further success.” 

Cressida Cowell MBE, children’s author and National Literacy Trust ambassador, also commented: “As the Children’s Laureate, I included a child’s right to access new books in schools and libraries in my Children’s Charter, and the fact that hundreds of thousands of children in the UK are being denied that right is devastating. How can a child learn to read for the joy of it if their parents cannot afford books, and their primary school does not have a library? It’s a social mobility time bomb. Libraries transform school life far beyond the library doors. They boost attainment, ambition, and attention in the classroom; and improve wellbeing, alongside increased empathy, confidence and self-worth. Libraries are a space that nothing else can replicate, and the results are clear: they are an intervention that works. We must work together to change this story and put a library and a librarian in every school.”