Reading Rights Summit: ‘Shared reading is a public health intervention that should be available to all children’

Published on: 31 January 2025

In January 2025, BookTrust and Waterstones Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce hosted the Reading Rights summit in Liverpool, as part of a campaign to address the 'invisible privilege and inequality' within children's books and reading.

Here's what took place on the day, and what happens next.

An urgent call for action through collaboration

Held in Liverpool's iconic St George's Hall, the Reading Rights summit brought together expert voices in the political, education, literacy, early years, arts and health sectors. The aim was to recommend an urgent course of action to policymakers to help ensure that the life-changing benefits of children's reading are taken seriously.

Diana Gerald MBE, CEO of BookTrust, set the tone for the day ahead with a stirring call-to-action.

"There must now be urgent investment in quality provision that places child development at the heart of the early years system so that the benefits of early reading and the magic of sharing stories can be experienced by every family, in every community, " she said.

"There has never been a more urgent time for us to inspire a new generation of children on their reading journeys."

Diana Gerald speaking on stage, with Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Steve Rotheram sitting behind her

Waterstones Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce gave a moving speech on why we need to prioritise children's access to stories and reading.

"We need your Government, Sir Keir Starmer, to stand up and give a visible sign that this country values its children," he said. "Put simply, shared reading is an effective, economic health intervention that should be available to all.

"Today, we will discuss, share, challenge and develop our expertise so that we can build a report with recommendations that help us all make sure the transformative gift of reading is shared with every single child. So that it is fair."

  • Watch Reading Rights For Brighter Futures, a film created by BookTrust with Frank Cottrell-Boyce, which premiered at the Reading Rights Summit

Powerful speeches: protecting children's reading rights

During the Reading Rights summit, a line-up of speakers and panelists delivered thoughtful, provocative reflections on the root causes that are preventing equal access to books and reading – and where potential solutions lie.

These were centred around three key areas for improvement that BookTrust and Cottrell-Boyce have identified – following a Laureate learning tour to early learning centres, nurseries, schools and family hubs across the UK. They are:

  • The best start in life: "We want to normalise sharing stories as part of the best start in life for every child, with midwives, health visitors and other early years professionals introducing reading to all families."
  • Nurseries and schools: "We want nurseries and schools to be equipped and supported so that sharing books and stories is at the heart of early education for every child."
  • Families and communities: "We want all families and communities, including those experiencing vulnerability, to be supported to make reading and storytelling part of daily life."

Michael Rosen speaking on stage, watched by Cressida Cowell

Among the speakers and panellists at the event were Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram, former Children's Laureates Cressida Cowell and Michael Rosen, and Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza.

De Souza delivered a passionate speech about the role of reading for children who are living in, as Cottrell-Boyce describes, "a happiness recession".

"The span of childhood itself has been squeezed," she said. "It's our job to put the joy back into being children."

Dame Rachel de Souza and Alex McCormick speaking on stage

Delegates were moved by a speech from Alex McCormick, who fundraised more than £250,000 after Spellow Library was set on fire during riots in Liverpool in August 2024.

"I believe when we close the door to the worlds in [books'] pages, we're stealing from our children," she said. "And I believe that your ability to unlock your imagination and find escapism and solace in a good book should not be a postcode lottery."

Throughout the day, former Children's Laureate Chris Riddell chronicled the ideas, thoughts and insights from the delegation as they were voiced, with live illustrations projected onto a big screen at the centre of the main stage.

A photo of Chris Riddell drawing on stage, and a photo over his shoulder of one of his intricate drawings

  • Follow @BookTrust on social media to watch video content from the speeches at the Reading Rights Summit over the coming months

The best start in life: the power of trusted professionals

Focused panel discussions created space for in-depth insights into each of the three areas of improvement.

For example, Dr Sam Wass, director for the Science of Early Years at the University of East London, shed light on the neuroscientific benefits of reading to a baby. "When we read [out loud], we breathe in strong, slow rhythms, and babies pick up on the stability of these," he said.

The Best Start in Life panel on stage

"There's something special about being in the same state as someone else at the same time. It's foundational to our development. Early book sharing – the sharing of these rhythms between a parent and child – is really crucial to that."

In terms of supporting all families to access this formative experience, fellow panelist Anna Hartley, Executive Director of Public Health for Barnsley Council, said: "Where I think we've got the real opportunity, is with health visitors and midwives. These are trusted people that go into families' homes, they have five contact visits between the age of 0-5. It's about working with those amazing workforces to train and support them – and we're working with BookTrust in Barnsley to do this."

Nurseries and schools: the need for greater support and solidarity

The Nurseries and Schools panel on stage

Panellist Dr Julian Grenier from the Education Endowment Foundation spoke on the "knowing and doing gap" that exists in the Early Years sector in relation to shared reading. "We all know shared reading is really important, yet in early years settings, there's lots of time pressure, all of the time. There are children coming in unsettled, needing lots of additional support.

"Life is really tough in a way that people who aren't in Early Years settings can't necessarily understand. We need a real momentum, focus and privileging of having that space to share stories and books."

On parental engagement with reading for pleasure, he added: "We can't mandate enjoyment in people's homes by sharing books. We have to understand what family life is like.

"We have to create a sense of social solidarity around reading. We can't just keep telling people it's good for them."

Matthew Courtney, English Hub Co-Lead for the Wandle Learning Trust, said: "I grew up in Dagenham. Many of the libraries across the area have now closed. There are no bookshops. There's a real challenge for ensuring access to high-quality books.

"Schools, nurseries and other settings become really important, because they are the places where children encounter books. But schools need funding for this, teachers need training so they have a wide knowledge of a diverse range children's literature, and it needs to be a priority."

Families and communities: co-creation and championing connection

The Families and Communities panel on stage

Sharing her expertise on collaborative community storytelling projects that drive families' engagement with sharing books and stories, Dr Sally Pearse, Strategic Lead for Early Years and Director at Sheffield Hallam University, said it's about finding the "bandwidth" that's available to families, and presenting opportunities that are non-mandatory and family-led.

"Quite often, families feel that when they're being given these messages, it's because they're failing," she said. "Shifting that power to families and co-creating solutions is a way to overcome some of those barriers."

Dr Lucy Peake, CEO of Kinship, emphasised the need to co-design approaches with families. "If you're a kinship carer, you're trying to work your way through systems that weren't designed for you," she said. "What's really exciting about the work we've done with BookTrust is we've thought about the lived experiences of our families and co-created an approach to sharing books and stories with them."

Panellists agreed that focusing on messaging around the benefits of reading for connectivity, love and cuddling up together as a family should be the focus, "because sometimes we over-complicate this."

Time to talk: roundtable discussions

Delegates at the Reading Right summit engaging in a round table discussion

During the afternoon of the Reading Rights Summit, delegates took part in roundtable discussions. They shared their diverse personal and professional experiences and ideas on where they believe there are opportunities for changes that will to help ensure all children have fairer access to the life-changing benefits of reading.

The combined expertise in the room shone through when each table shared highlights from their conversations, which were hosted by BookTrust's Research and Impact team.

What happens next – and how to support Reading Rights

Frank Cottrell-Boyce speaking on stage

In Spring 2025, BookTrust and the Waterstones Children's Laureate will incorporate insights captured from the Reading Rights Summit into a report with policy recommendations, with the aim to kickstart policy action that brings about meaningful changes to national provision of Early Years services, so that every child has the chance to access books and reading.

As Frank Cottrell-Boyce stated in his final speech at the summit: "Today has to be the beginning. It means nothing if we don't change something."

Darren Henley, CEO of Arts Council England, said: "We invest in organisations that make people's lives better – we create happier lives. I think there is nothing better or more noble to invest public money in. And to quote Frank: 'Happiness should not be a privilege. Happiness should be a right for every child.'"

Be part of the conversation

  • Follow @BookTrust on social media for updates on the Reading Rights campaign with the Waterstones Children's Laureate, or stay updated here
  • If you have questions or ideas about how we can continue to make progress on the Reading Rights campaign, or if you'd like to work with us to make this happen, we'd love you to be part of the conversation. You can email [email protected] here

Waterstones Children's Laureate: Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Frank Cottrell-Boyce is the Waterstones Children's Laureate for 2024-26.

The role of Children's Laureate is awarded once every two years to an eminent writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field. Find out what Frank's been up to.

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