Announced today by Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson and the National Literacy Trust, the campaign will engage new audiences in reading, encourage reading for pleasure and change the nation’s reading culture for good. We're thrilled to support this bold initiative being delivered by The National Literacy Trust as we know that reading for pleasure supports success in school, work and in life, boosts wellbeing, brings people together and increases empathy.

With just 1 in 3 children aged 8–18 saying they enjoy reading (the lowest in 20 years), the statistics are stark. But here's the thing - it truly ‘takes a village’ to raise a reader.

At Chapter One, we've long championed the power of 'reading influencers' - the different people in a child's life who help foster their love of books. Research shows that the more reading influencers a child has, the more likely they are to become keen independent readers, with all the benefits that brings them. Yet nearly a third of children under 7 don't regularly read with different people in their lives.

This is where our Online Reading Volunteers Programme comes in. Many of the children we support don't have a family member to practise regular reading with - they're often among the 1 in 5 children who don't have any books at home. Our volunteers become those crucial additional reading influencers, helping to build confidence and spark joy in reading. We're also proud to work closely with the National Literacy Trust and The Literacy Link network, working alongside other organisations in this incredible coalition to join forces and increase our impact.

Multi-sector partners are joining forces to get the nation reading and we can all get involved to be part of the story.

Do you want your business to be part of the solution? If you’d like to find out more about how you can give your employees a meaningful way to impact children’s lives by volunteering 30 minutes a week, reach out to Sarah Taylor, our Business Development Manager at sarah.taylor@chapterone.org.