We all know how important the early years are for children’s development – and how much these early experiences shape future outcomes. At BookTrust we also know that reading and sharing stories from an early age has a crucial role to play, bringing lifelong benefits for children’s health, wellbeing and education. The last year has seen growing evidence of the impact of the pandemic in terms of lost learning, damage to mental health and the widening attainment gap. Our work to get children reading, particularly those facing disadvantage, has never been more urgent.
Which is why BookTrust’s Storytime pilot, designed to encourage families with children aged 0-5 to share stories and visit their local library, couldn’t have been more timely. Developed in collaboration with local authorities, libraries and families on low incomes, the initiative was delivered in over 2,300 libraries in England and Northern Ireland in autumn 2021, reaching thousands of families with story sharing experiences, books, activities and resources. Delivered at a time when many libraries were starting to re-open after a period of restrictions due to Covid-19, the pilot helped library staff reconnect with their local communities and support more children to experience the benefits of reading.
Through a combination of in-person observation, surveys and research with families, we gathered a huge amount of insight and learning about how BookTrust Storytime supported libraries’ work in their communities.
Firstly, BookTrust Storytime helped families build confidence in visiting the library. Parents with little or no prior experience of visiting and using libraries told us that they felt comfortable and relaxed about attending the library after taking part in BookTrust Storytime. Many explained that they initially felt some nervousness, due to preconceptions about library environments and lack of experience of group activities with their child, often a result of the restrictions of the past two years. The support provided by libraries through the pilot helped to ease these anxieties. As a result, many families told us that they now saw libraries as places where they belong and that they would visit again. Encouragingly, 65 per cent of libraries surveyed told us that BookTrust Storytime helped them attract new families to their library.
Secondly, we saw how the pilot helped to demonstrate what a good shared-reading experience looks like and show the benefit to children and families. Key to this was the quality of the books and resources that libraries received - containing rhyme, repetition and song as well as vibrant illustrations - that gave library staff the opportunity to create fun and interactive sessions and activities. In some libraries, both staff and parents reported an increase in children’s attention span as they attended more story-sharing sessions, with children increasingly focused on the stories over time. Feedback from families attending Storytime sessions was overwhelmingly positive with many first-time visitors amazed at their children’s engagement with stories and many also taking the books home to continue reading together with their children.
Finally, we learnt more about the value and role of community partnerships in inspiring families to engage with their library and build reading habits from an early age. In the first year of the BookTrust Storytime pilot, libraries partnered with a wide range of organisations including children’s centres, schools, nurseries and parent groups and explored novel approaches to bring new families into libraries. Some organised outreach events - for example by holding sessions at a children’s centre before encouraging families to attend subsequent sessions at the library. Many invited nursery and school groups to visit, sometimes extending this invitation to parents. Families who were new to libraries were receptive to receiving messages about reading through these trusted sources and this helped to show that libraries are places that are accessible to all.
Early years pilot
BookTrust Storytime will be returning to libraries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from September this year – and we look forward to delivering it in partnership with our fantastic network of library and community partners. Because of what we learnt about the importance of nurseries and community organisations to the success of the pilot, this year BookTrust will provide more tools and support to libraries to help them build these local partnerships and engage families. We also learnt that libraries need more time and flexibility to deliver the programme, so we are extending it from a six-week to a nine-month experience that gives library staff more scope to use their creativity and expertise to attract new families and create welcoming story-sharing experiences.
Crucially this year, BookTrust Storytime will be boosted by our new early years pilot which will support over 400,000 low-income families of 1-4s. Designed together with families and practitioners, this pilot includes expertly selected packs of books as well as resources, activities and tools to excite and engage children, for use by families in the home and by early years partners. Together these initiatives will provide multiple opportunities to inspire families to share stories together, so that children can experience the benefits of reading from the earliest stage.