Your Story Corner Programme: Barking & Dagenham
Why are we there?
Bookmark aimed to help primary schools across Barking & Dagenham to develop a whole school reading culture, encouraging reading for pleasure, and helping to tackle the number of children leaving primary school unable to read well.
What did we do?
Bookmark Reading Charity has donated £100,000 worth of new books to 50 state-funded primary schools in the region.
What did we deliver?
-
50
schools received a Your Story Corner pack
-
10,000
books in total were donated
-
£100,000
worth of books donated
What was our impact?
The reading spaces in the area improved, offering more options and a wider variety of books.
There was a 9% increase in children saying they used the school reading space in the past week.
Thanks to support from Bookmark, 94% of teachers were motivated to improve their school’s reading activities, reading spaces, or the overall reading culture in their school.
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97%
of teachers noticed a positive difference in students’ enjoyment of reading
-
91%
of teachers saw an increase in motivation
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16%
more children reported reading at home after the project
The incredible books that were provided have provided a wealth of opportunities for children to explore new, high-quality, diverse, and stimulating texts. The resources have demonstrated an increase in children's enjoyment for reading and as a result, more children are now choosing to access the reading corners. They are so enthusiastic about the new texts and have enjoyed reading them for pleasure. Children have enjoyed these texts and they have been read during 'Read Aloud' time. The variety of texts provided supported all children and they were adapted for all Key Stages, with a range of fiction and non-fiction texts.

This year, our main goal was to foster a love for reading. We distributed books throughout the classroom, and the children were thrilled to receive them. They couldn't wait to dive into their new books! The selection was diverse, catering to all types of readers, particularly those who may be hesitant to pick up a book.

£100,000 worth of books donated to 50 primary schools across Barking & Dagenham
Bookmark donated £100,000 worth of books to 50 primary schools across Barking & Dagenham
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