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Help Close the Literacy Gap

This National Year of Reading, inspire others to change the story for thousands of children falling behind.

What the literacy gap really means

The literacy gap is the growing divide between children who read well and those who don’t. Today, one in four children leave primary school with poor literacy skills and children from disadvantaged communities are far more likely to fall behind. 

Children who struggle to read find every subject harder. They often lose confidence, fall out of love with learning, and feel left out in school. The consequences can last a lifetime; poor literacy is linked to lower qualifications, limited job prospects, poorer health, and even higher rates of poverty and incarceration.

Without the right support early on children fall behind — and often stay behind. This is the gap. And it’s growing.


You can change a child’s story

As a valued part of our volunteer community, you’re helping children discover the joy of reading and unlock their full potential. 

This National Year of Reading, we’re inviting you to help close the literacy gap that holds many children back in school and beyond.

Your support can help us inspire even more people to get involved.

How does it work?

Your support is what makes our vision possible – and now together, we can amplify the power of volunteers like you.

We’ve put together everything you need to take part in a way that works for you. Whether you want to post on social media, share our blogs, or add your own email signature.

Share social posts about the impact of poor literacy

Write a caption sharing more about why you volunteer, or use one of our ready made captions.

Close The Gap social media posts

Square graphic for Bookmark Reading Charity’s “Mind the Gap” campaign. Text reads: “1 in 4 children leave primary school unable to read well.”

Download

pdf 374.244 KB

Don’t forget to tag us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or X and use #CloseTheGap so we can share your impact!

Hand out flyers/​posters in your local community

Download and share these materials online or in person. For example, you could: attach them to an email for friends, family, or colleagues, print and post them on a community notice board or hand them out at places like a church group or local library.

Download our email signature

How to add the campaign email signature to your emails: 

  • Choose one of the signature images to download below. 
  • Open your email settings (Gmail, Outlook, or your email app). 
  • Find Email Signature and choose Edit. 
  • Insert the image into your signature 
  • Drag and drop it in, or use insert image. 
  • Save your changes. 

That’s it – your emails are now spreading the campaign message every time you send one! 💛 

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to find out the latest about volunteering at Bookmark and the work we’re doing to change children’s stories. 

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