LoveReading exists because reading matters, and books change lives.
It’s well-documented that reading for pleasure, and improving reading standards, has a huge impact on children’s wellbeing, academic achievements, and future success.
But the sad truth is, cuts to school funding means many children don’t have access to well-stocked libraries. Many don’t get to experience the magic of reading that may well have made you a reader for life.
As a result, LoveReading has created a way to redress that shortfall; an easy way for you to share the magic of reading through supporting a school in your local community – simply buy books through our bookstore, a platform with social purpose.
Listen to this podcast with LoveReading MD Deborah Maclaren in conversation with Tom Holgate of the Independent Publishers Guild. They talk about the challenges of funding in schools, our bookstore with social purpose, the power of reading for pleasure and the importance of reading recommendations.
See LoveReading MD Deborah Maclaren in conversation with The UKLA Trustee Joy Court in our LoveReading LitFest event discussing the bookstore with a social purpose, and the impact these initiatives could have for our schools.
Buy books, change lives - how it works:
- When you buy a physical book from LoveReading, 25% of the cover price will be given to a school of your choice.
- For eBooks, 15% will be donated.
- When you checkout, you can select your chosen school.
- Your selected school can spend their funds on LoveReading or LoveReading4Kids.
- If you don’t want to select a specific school, your contribution will go into a pot and split between our school members, prioritising schools in particular need.Schools can apply to receive this funding pot via our LoveReading4Kids Funding for Schools Scheme
- Schools can apply to receive this funding pot via our LoveReading4Kids Funding for Schools Scheme
Buy books, change lives – what’s in it for you:
- Making LoveReading and LoveReading4Kids your go-to bookshops means you can support a local school and give back to kids in your community.
- LoveReading has a huge selection of books for all ages, across all genres, at competitive prices, with expert reviews and articles to help you find your next favourite novel, and much more besides.
Sounds like a win-win situation - you get great books, and a school in your community gets funds to create well-stocked libraries and classrooms that’ll serve generations of children.
Like we said at the start, reading matters and books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading and LoveReading4Kids will ensure that continues to happen for children in your community.
Reading Matters
- Over the last two decades, there has been a deepening recognition of the fundamental importance of improving reading standards on a child’s future academic achievement, wellbeing and success in life.
- Reading and writing is the key to unlocking the rest of the curriculum.
- Fluency of reading is also a key indicator for future success in further education, higher education and employment.
- Even more significantly, being a highly engaged reader has the potential to allow a child to overcome their background.
- Inspiring a love of books is one of the best ways to prepare children for a lifetime of learning, encouraging enjoyment of books and creating curious and engaged readers for life.
Mental Health Benefits
- Research from the National Literacy Trust has shown us that children and young people who like to read are three times more likely to have better mental health than those who don’t.
- Reading for just 10 minutes a day can have astonishing benefits.
- Losing yourself in a good book has been shown to reduce your levels of stress.
- Research by Dr David Lewis showed that reading as little as six minutes a day can reduce stress levels by 60% by reducing your heart rate, easing muscle tension and altering your state of mind
- That same study showed that reading was better at reducing stress than music, drinking a cup of tea, going for a walk and playing video games.
The Schools Context*
- School funding is in crisis.
- Balancing a budget is the school governing issue of our time.
- In 2019 the government gave a cash boost of £7.1 billion covering the period up to 2022-23.
- This was not even sufficient to restore per-pupil funding to 2010 levels in real terms.
- One in 4 schools are unable to balance their budget.
- 63% of primary teachers say budget pressures will be their biggest challenge over the next year to 18 months. 41% for secondaries.
- Less than half (44%) of schools say that their school finances are sufficient to deliver their strategic priorities for pupils.
- More than 60% of classrooms have no access to a budget for new books.
We help get more books in schools. Thank you for shopping with us, and helping make this happen.
Sources: NAHT: School Funding Report, CLPE: Reading for Pleasure 2021-22, Pearson: School Report 2022, DEMOS: A Society of Readers, IOE London 2013: Social inequalities in cognitive scores at age 16: The role of reading, University of Oxford 2011: Reading at 16 linked to better job prospects.