Bookmark welcomes Graihagh Crawshaw-Sadler as its new Chief Executive

Bookmark Reading Charity has appointed Graihagh Crawshaw-Sadler as CEO.  

Graihagh joins Bookmark from Teach First, where she has spent the last 13 years as a Director, most recently as Director of Strategy and Learning.  She is a former teacher and charity senior leader with 17 years’ experience in the education and charity sectors.  Graihagh joined Teach First in 2009, following a Fast-track PGCE in English and Drama and teaching in two London schools, to develop university access programmes for pupils and volunteer mentors.  Since 2019, as the Director of School Leadership Programmes, Graihagh has overseen the scale up and continuous improvement of a suite of leadership programmes reaching over 4,000 leaders each year.  

This appointment comes at a significant time for the charity.  Children have endured long periods of disruption to their education due to Covid-19 and many need support with their reading now more than ever.  

Graihagh said:

“For a child, being able to read independently on leaving primary school is a key determinant of future academic success.  As a parent to three young readers – be it lift the flap, phonics or chapter books – the last seven years has taught me the importance of being read to and being listened to whilst decoding, inferring and blending.  At a pupil and system level, I am committed to accelerating the pace of change for those who have had an unfair start. I am hugely excited to lead a charity that harnesses the passion of a volunteer community and meets the need of schools to help re-write children’s stories. I look forward to working closely with the talented staff and trustee team, our supporters and partners, volunteers, primary schools and their pupils to grow and deepen the impact of our work, to ensure even more children can read well and go on to have the futures that they are entitled to.”

Sharon Pindar, Chair of Bookmark, said

“Our vision is simple: we want every child to read. At a time when more children than ever are not meeting the expected level of reading and need extra help, we are focused on building our scale and capacity. We’re delighted Graihagh will be joining us in our mission to change the story for many more children.”

Graihagh will join Bookmark in time for the start of the academic term in September.