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The Exciting Story Of Books Together
As National Storytelling Week 2025 begins we are excited to share the story of the first year of our ‘Books Together’ programme. So, if you are sitting comfortably, we have lots to tell you…..
Our Books Together sessions started running a year ago. They support parent carers to find the joy and fun in reading books together with their children. And lots of families have been having plenty of fun!
Did you know?
One parent who came along to Books Together said “Amazing session! So enjoyed it!”
Another parent commented “A great way to connect parents and children and gather ideas about reading and playing”.
Many of us can remember the first book that excited us and fired up our imagination. Today there are many wonderful children’s books available in libraries, nurseries and children’s centres. (One of our favourites is ‘Dear Zoo’).
Reading with children, including young babies, builds bonds and supports the brain and language skills from as early as two weeks old. There is overwhelming evidence that children who are read to do better across a wide range of outcomes.
But research for the Book Trust shows that one in five children aged 0-4 only have a book read to them less than once a month.
The Children’s Laureate, Frank Cottrell-Boyce spoke recently at the ‘Reading Rights Summit’ held in Liverpool. He highlighted research from the Book Trust which found that six out of 10 parents and carers of children aged 0-7 wish they had known earlier how important it is to read with their children. Frank said “If you arrive at school having never been read to, you’ve been given this enormous disadvantage. We need to make sure that every single child has access to books, reading and the transformative ways in which they improve long-term life chances”.
Reading from an early age brings a whole range of significant benefits, such as improved educational outcomes, greater language skills, and a boost in creativity and mental health. But some children are more likely to miss out on these important benefits.
That is why our Books Together programme works to reach families with young children aged 2-5 who are most likely to start school with lower levels of literacy than their peers.
We aim to reach children and parent carers who may face barriers to accessing information, support and services, to help them share books with their children.
The benefits of shared reading with very young children
Research shows that children who read are more likely to overcome disadvantage caused by inequalities and are more likely to be happier, healthier and experience better mental wellbeing. If children experience early shared reading, they are more likely to continue to read as they grow up. Reading for pleasure in the early years has a four times more powerful impact on a child’s progress across the curriculum at age 16 than parental education or socioeconomic status. Reading has the potential to transform children’s future life chances. A child growing up in poverty who is read to at age five has a significantly higher chance of economic success in their 30s than their peers who were not read to.
Books Together parent-led shared reading sessions
The programme has now been running for a year and is delivered jointly by Coram Beanstalk and Coram Family and Childcare, supported by the Mercers’ Company as trustee of the Charity of Sir Richard Whittington. Books Together is designed to support parents to read with their young children and encourage them to build storytelling into their home routine, increasing children’s literacy skills.
The Books Together sessions were designed with parents and carers, for example parents told us it would be helpful to hold sessions in informal places like children’s centres, as well as in libraries, and to have time and space for children to take breaks and play as well as enjoying the storytelling. The sessions are delivered by local parent volunteers working alongside experts from Coram Beanstalk. The parent volunteers gain development opportunities and provide an important local connection in the delivery of the reading sessions, which can help parents at the sessions to feel more comfortable.
Lydia, a parent volunteer in Lambeth explains:
“We learnt a lot of skills about how to encourage our young ones to love reading books right from an early age”.
Coram Family and Childcare work in partnership with 18 London local authorities to coordinate local Parent Champions schemes. These existing relationships have been crucial to delivering the Books Together project at a local level. The local authority partners help to identify families who will benefit most from the sessions.
Families attend three free Books Together sessions in places close to where they live. Sessions are weekly. The first sessions focus on ‘Bringing stories to life’, the second encourages ‘Choosing and sharing books’ and the third involves ‘Having fun with rhymes’.
Rebecca Pedelty-Cox, Coram Beanstalk's Learning & Development Manager says
"It has been wonderful to see so many parents sharing books and rhymes with their children and engaging in the different activities on offer during the sessions."
Participation in the Books Together programme helps families enjoy reading
In 2024 it was our pleasure to work with parents and our local partners to run sessions in the London boroughs of Camden, Lambeth, Lewisham, Redbridge, and Wandsworth. We will continue sessions in these areas this year, as well as starting a brand-new course in Hillingdon.
We are delighted to have received positive feedback from families who have taken part. A feedback survey with parents and carers who participated in the Books Together sessions showed that:
If you are a parent interested in participating in our Books Together sessions, please email info@coramfamilyandchildare.org.uk and we can let you know if your local authority is participating in the programme.
If you are a London local authority interested in running Books Together sessions for families in your area, please contact Susie.Getting@coramfamilyandchildcare.org.uk
To find out more about Books Together visit: https://www.familyandchildcaretrust.org/books-together
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