Libraries for all primaries

Every child in Blackpool deserves the best start in life. That means a proper library in every primary school.

Since being elected I’ve visited most of our primary schools in Blackpool South. I’ve seen fantastic libraries and I know teachers are working hard to give our kids the best they can. The library bus at St John Vianney, pictured below, is a brilliant innovative example of creating a library when space in school is limited. But access to a school library is still a postcode lottery. In the North West one in six primaries don’t have a library. In disadvantaged areas across the country it rises to one in four.

This week the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, confirmed that every state primary school in England will have a library by the end of this Parliament. Labour will provide libraries to the 1,700 schools currently without one. The funding comes from £132.5 million unlocked from Dormant Assets.

Research from the National Literacy Trust shows that one in ten disadvantaged children in the UK don’t have a single book at home. One in five parents are now buying fewer books for their children. That’s why a library in school matters so much. When children read for pleasure, it boosts confidence, wellbeing, academic performance and their future life chances.

I’m writing to every primary school in Blackpool to ask them to tell me if they don’t currently have a proper library. If they don’t, I’ll make sure they apply for support through the National Literacy Trust’s Libraries for Primaries programme.

I want every child in Blackpool to have the same chance to develop a passion for reading as children anywhere else in the country. The link between poverty and low literacy is clear but it isn’t inevitable. This investment is a big step forward in breaking that cycle and giving our kids the opportunities they deserve.