BookTrust is the largest children’s reading charity in the UK, with a purpose to support children from low income or vulnerable families to read regularly and by choice so they can experience the transformative benefits of reading. BookTrust has partnership agreements with every local authority in England and has further developed local collaboration, integrating with 342 Family Hubs.
Rationale
BookTrust is the largest children’s reading charity in the UK, with a purpose to support children from low income or vulnerable families to read regularly and by choice so they can experience the transformative benefits of reading. BookTrust has partnership agreements with every local authority in England and has further developed local collaboration, integrating with 342 Family Hubs. This work supports BookTrust’s Theory of Change (Theory-of-Change-English-version.pdf) to support partners working with families through the following workstreams: Parent infant relationships, parenting support and home learning environments. The work aligns with the local school readiness agenda through shared reading in the early years improving communication, language, and literacy and the development of executive function from birth, aligned to the Best Start in Life strategy.
The intervention
BookTrust’s support, resources and reading programmes are embedded into pathways such as:
- Early help group sessions and home visits
- Co-located nurseries
- Storytime outreach sessions
- Speech and language interventions
- Evidence based parenting support interventions
- Health development checks
- Stay and play sessions.
Examples of the integration of Family Hubs and BookTrust include:
- Within targeted support, practitioners modelling book-sharing and integrating literacy into nurturing activities like baby massage, and promoting in-home reading routines
- Health colleagues distributing baby packs and BookTrust resources through Family Hubs
- Family Hubs offering diverse children’s books in reception areas to encourage spontaneous reading
- Family hub partners, such as libraries offering interactive sessions like Wriggle Rhyme and Story Time to foster community engagement
- Embedding BookTrust’s SEND and multi-lingual resources to engage and support inclusivity, for example ‘Chattertime’ groups for children with speech and language delays, requiring professional referrals
- Integrating resources within family hub digital platforms where families are directed to online resources, such as NLT Words for Life and EasyPeasy
- Working in partnership to engage and support families from underserved groups facing disadvantage.
Impact
By working in an integrated way, the BookTrust and family hub partnerships have strengthened Family Hub and Best Start strategies by embedding literacy through early years shared reading into everyday family routines. Parents report increased confidence in supporting their child’s learning, and children show improvements in speech, language, and school readiness.
Future
The focus is on deepening impact with disadvantaged families, through effective multi-agency working. In partnership with Family Hubs, BookTrust will continue providing curated resources, staff training, and parental engagement strategies to support Good Levels of Development and enrich home learning environments. In local areas, future Family Hub plans include strengthening partnerships with libraries, upskilling practitioners, and embedding shared reading into virtual hubs for accessibility.
Contact
[email protected] Senior Partnership Manager (Central)
www.booktrust.org.uk Instagram: @BookTrust
Disclaimer: The LGA doesn’t promote any specific offer and is sharing this case study as one example of good practice.