Schools boost their libraries with the School Network Programme
Schools in Birmingham and Lincolnshire will get the chance to boost their libraries over the next year with £1000 worth of resources from Bookmark.
Bookmark originally launched our Your Story Corner programme in 2022, delivering over £380,000 worth of resources to 197 schools in these areas. This programme was aimed at schools with higher levels of child deprivation and lower KS2 literacy results to help schools that need support the most.
While initially this was launched as a pilot initiative, we found longer-term outcomes including increased enjoyment of reading amongst children, increased motivation for reading and the development of a whole-school reading culture, which made the project successful.
We also received positive feedback from teachers including:
Many of our children are now found within our school library at play and lunch times, or they are attending more regularly to borrow the different books. It has been great to witness the discussions around the different texts and the buzz that the resources have created
The children were very excited to see the new books in the library and the books ignited their curiosity. The library and story corners have proved to be popular areas within the school where children enjoy having the opportunity to read to themselves or with each other.
Having distributed 40,000 books to 38,000 children, we wanted to ensure that schools that needed us the most, had our continued support.
The School Network Programme ensures continued support from Bookmark. It is another chance to offer schools who have benefitted previously from Your Story Corner, some extra support.
Becoming part of the School Network Programme will mean partner schools receive £1000 worth of resources from Bookmark over 12 months.
The School Network Programme is a fantastic way for us to continue supporting the schools we know are most in need of literacy support. However, we need volunteers across Lincolnshire and the city of Birmingham to help with our mission. Reading online or in person for thirty minutes a week really can change a child's future and have a positive effect on the opportunities available to them throughout their life. Our volunteers also often comment that they get an enormous sense of fulfillment from reading with children and seeing their rapid progress.
If you’re interested in finding out more about becoming a volunteer with Bookmark and delivering 30-minute reading sessions, visit www.bookmarkreading.org/volunteer
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