Moorlands MP, Karen Bradley is championing World Book Day on Thursday 2nd March 2023.
Karen is celebrating the importance of reading for pleasure on World Book Day.
Every year, World Book Day(1) creates bespoke £1 books for children and young adults across the UK and Ireland, to promote the power of imagination and the importance of reading. Through World Book Day, every child(2) in Staffordshire Moorlands is given a £1 book token, which they can take to a bookshop or supermarket to get their free World Book Day book(3).
Karen joined a Parliamentary drop-in this week to champion reading for pleasure in the Moorlands. They are calling on teachers, carers, and parents to ensure that reading for pleasure is encouraged as much as reading attainment. While reading was the only core subject which saw attainment levels improve in 20224, the number of children who say they enjoy it is in serious decline.
Reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income. However, reading for pleasure is at its lowest levels in 18 years and many children have limited access to books. 500,000 (one in 15) children in England aged 8 – 18 say they don’t own a single book, which rises to one in 10 for those eligible for Free School Meals. One in five pupils receiving Free School Meals said that the book they ‘bought’ with their World Book Day book token was the first book of their own.
Karen said,
“It is a pleasure to support World Book Day. It is so important that every child and young adult in the Moorlands has the opportunity to have a book of their own that they have chosen for themselves – and I am delighted to celebrate my own love of reading through the World Book Day campaign.”
Notes:
- World Book Day reaches 15 million children and young people with £1 book tokens distributed to over 45,000 educational establishments in the UK and Ireland.
- Every child in an educational establishment. Parents and carers are urged to contact their local school to check participation.
- Children and families can swap their £1 World Book Day Token for one of a wide range of World Book Day books by much-loved and bestselling authors including Joe Wicks, Sir Lenny Henry, Catherine Saunders, Adam Kay, Katie & Kevin Tsang, or get £1 off a book or audiobook costing £2.99 or more, at their local bookshop or supermarket between 16 February and 26 March 2023. Exclusive titles are available for Wales and Ireland.
- At Key Stage 2, 75% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, up from 73% in 2019. 28% of pupils reached the higher standard in reading, up from 27% in 2019.
About World Book Day
World Book Day changes lives through a love of books and shared reading. Our mission is to promote reading for pleasure, offering every child and young person the opportunity to have a book of their own. Reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income. We want to see more children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, with a life-long habit of reading for pleasure and the improved life chances this brings them.
Designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, World Book Day is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. Find out more at worldbookday.com
