As children across England prepare to head back to school this September – and with Scottish pupils already settled into their new term, there's never been a more exciting time to champion reading. We're thrilled to be supporting the National Year of Reading 2026, a bold initiative announced by Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson and led by the National Literacy Trust.

With just 1 in 3 children aged 8-18 saying they enjoy reading - the lowest in 20 years - this campaign to engage new audiences and change our nation's reading culture couldn't come at a more crucial time. Our Online Reading Volunteers Programme is perfectly positioned to support this national effort, providing vital reading support especially for the 1 in 5 children who don't have any books at home.

The lasting impact

By connecting schools and families with corporate volunteers who spend 30 minutes reading online with the same child each week, we're fostering crucial reading skills and inspiring a love for books. Last year's figures show what's possible when we work together:

• 2,909 children supported

• 21,155 hours of one-to-one reading provided

• 2,744 volunteers engaged across our network

• 97 primary schools reached across the UK

Looking ahead: our goals for 2025-26

As we head into this new school year, we're setting ambitious targets that will help us reach even more children who need our support. Through our Online Reading Volunteers Programme, we're aiming to support 3,800 children with the help of 3,600 dedicated volunteers across our growing network. We’re also looking forward to scaling up our Book Club pilot, expanding to 32 Book Clubs reaching 160 children across London, Birmingham and Doncaster. Meanwhile, our Early Literacy Intervention (ELI) Programme will provide daily, one-to-one phonics sessions for children who are not on track with whole class phonics teaching, reaching 350 children from at least 9 schools.

Hello, Warrington!

A major milestone in reaching these goals will be our exciting launch in Warrington in January 2026. Thanks to support from Sellafield Ltd, Amentum, Mott MacDonald and Cavendish Nuclear, we'll be bringing our proven approach to a community where it's desperately needed.

Several Warrington wards rank among the most deprived areas nationally for education, skills and training. As Stuart McCourt from Sellafield Ltd shared: "We know from the Chapter One rollout in West Cumbria how much of a difference the programme makes to the children taking part as our volunteers can see them grow in confidence week by week." Read more here.

Join our mission

Are you a school looking for reading support or a business considering corporate volunteering? We’d love to hear from you!

If your business wants to know more about supporting us, get in touch with Sarah Taylor at sarah.taylor@chapterone.org.

If you’re a school which is keen to know more about our work, please do read our Frequently Asked Questions for teachers and get in touch with Kathryn Taylor, our Schools Development Manager, at kathryn.taylor@chapterone.org.

As we support the National Year of Reading 2026 and work towards our ambitious goals, we're reminded that every child deserves the literacy skills needed to thrive. Together, we have the power to make a real difference to children's lives.