Your Story Corner Programme: Plymouth

Why are we there?

Plymouth has a below average literacy attainment score of 71%, with two out of three constituencies ranking in the top 200 areas in the UK with the greatest literacy need by the National Literacy Trust. These two constituencies also have the highest level of deprivation with approximately 9,990 (18.6%) children currently living in poverty. In some of the most deprived areas of the city, over half of children are estimated to be living in poverty. 

Bookmark have also been able to work with local charity, Plymouth Children in Poverty to help promote the Your Story Corner initiative to local schools. 

What did we do?

Bookmark Reading Charity has donated Your Story Corner packs, which include 200 new books for four to nine-year-olds, a subscription to Bookmark’s magazine, posters, worksheets, access to apps and staff training. These resources help schools build a strong reading culture and encourage kids to enjoy reading.

What was our impact?

The reading spaces in the area improved, offering more options and a wider variety of books.

There was a 35% increase in children saying they used the school reading space in the past week.

Thanks to support from Bookmark, 93% of teachers were motivated to improve their school’s reading activities, reading spaces, or the overall reading culture in their school.