Bookstart
Bookstart is the national programme that encourages all parents and carers to enjoy books with children from as early an age as possible.
Every year we send out 2,010,000 Bookstart packs in England alone (plus 70,000 to Wales and 75,000 to Northern Ireland).
Bookstart is a public and private partnership and is sponsored by over 25 children’s publishers as well as Red House Books. Central funding is provided through the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and, the Department of Education in Northern Ireland and the Department for Children, Schools and Families in England.
Bookstart began in 1992 in Birmingham with a pilot project involving 300 babies. Research into the effects of early book-sharing on child development found that Bookstart children began school with significant advantages and with higher attainment in all aspects of the pre-school, nine baseline assessments.
Sainsbury’s plc sponsored Bookstart as their Millennium project in 1999-2000 enabling Bookstart to achieve national recognition for the first time. In July 2004 the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, announced funding to extend the Bookstart scheme to enable universal provision of free books to every child at three key stages: Bookstart baby pack for children up to 12 months, Bookstart+ aimed at toddlers and My Bookstart Treasure Chest for 3- to 4-year-olds.
Bookstart today
The Bookstart programme today is founded on community partnerships and comes in two parts. The first offers the wonderful Bookstart packs of free books and guidance materials; the second, more lasting, gift is the enjoyment and benefits of book-sharing. It is here that the enthusiastic endorsement by local professionals (through regular activities in libraries, clinics and early years settings) is essential in realising the full potential of the Bookstart message: for every child in the UK to develop a lifelong love of books.
Partnership
Bookstart works in partnership with libraries and early years settings to run a number of projects for babies and young children including: the Bookstart Book Crawl, providing a Booktouch pack scheme for blind and partially sighted children; a Bookshine pack for deaf children and Bookstart Rhymetime activities. Rhymetime has developed into an engaging, exciting activity loved by parents and children alike. The premise is simple: rhymes and songs are a fun way of helping children acquire language skills, involving the support and encouragement of parents and carers, and are great building blocks for future learning.
Visit the website for more information about Bookstart and to view downloadable materials for parents and carers seeking to further develop their family’s Bookstart experience.
This project is run by Booktrust (United Kingdom)