Closed petition Make school libraries and librarians a statutory requirement
Access to a school library and a qualified librarian should be the right of every child. Government should create a statutory requirement for every school to have a library and qualified librarian to support the development of learning and reading for pleasure.
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Evidence shows that reading for pleasure improves life outcomes, lifelong mental health and academic attainment and has a greater impact on children’s attainment than socio-economic background. Despite this, 1 in 7 primary schools in England don’t have a library. Many more have a library but no qualified staff. Libraries are a statutory requirement in prisons but not in schools and in an era where schools are chronically underfunded anything non-statutory will be the first thing to disappear.
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