Our 2023/​24 impact report is out

We’re excited to share our latest Impact Report – a look at the impact we’ve made on children’s literacy in the last academic year. In 2023/​24, with the support of volunteers, partners and donors, we’re proud to have reached over 94,000 children through our literacy programmes. 

Guided by our belief that every child deserves the chance to read, our three-year strategy drives our efforts to break down barriers to literacy for the most disadvantaged children. 

Our ten literacy programmes are designed to build a holistic reading for pleasure culture in primary schools, ensuring children have the opportunity to thrive in school and beyond. As ever, we remain committed to improving children’s literacy and take pride in the tangible impact we’ve made over the last year. 

Here’s how we made an impact in 2023/​24:

• We provided a range of literacy programmes 94,385 children. 
• We delivered 57,892 high-quality books through Your Story Corner Programme, Bookmark Book Booster and Rocket Packs. 
• We delivered 447,600 copies of The Story Corner magazine. 
• We delivered 43,779 reading sessions to 146 schools, supporting 1,842 children with the help of 1,726 volunteers. 

Our ImpactEd study

We also completed a year-long study with ImpactEd on children’s reading attainment, to evaluate the effectiveness of our One-to-one Reading Programme. We found that children who participated in our programme increased their standardised reading score, indicating that children on our programme improved their reading ability more than anticipated over the year.

Teacher feedback

Many teachers were thrilled with the impact our programmes had on their schools, with 99% of teachers reporting that the books and resources made a positive difference to children’s enjoyment of reading. 

Kearsley West, a partner school since 2022, found the tailored reading programme especially useful for pupils in their school. They stated that the programme helped to dramatically boost children’s confidence in reading. 

A teacher from Kearsley West said: ‘[I’ve noticed they’ve developed their] confidence in reading and the knowledge that somebody cares and wants to listen to them read’. It is meaningful, to both the school and the children, that they have ​‘an adult [who] cares about them enough to give up their time’. 

Our programmes

Last year, we established two new initiatives: the Story Starter Programme and the Literacy Partner Programme, and continued to expand our reach with Your Story Corner Programme launching in three new areas: Sheffield, Wolverhampton and Barking & Dagenham. The total value of the books and resources donated through the programme was £456,000. 

Our volunteers

We couldn’t have done it without the efforts of our wonderful volunteers. This year: 

• 1,226 new volunteers joined us, bringing our community to 2,916 volunteers. 
• 1,726 volunteers participated in our One-to-one Reading Programme during the 2023/​24 academic year. 
• 95% of volunteers agreed that volunteering with Bookmark made them feel like they were making a difference. 

Our impact

Read the full 23/​24 report online or download it below.