This message was posted by the Book Trust on their website. The funding for the book gifting programme and two other initiatives is going....but there will be a phonics 'check' (test) for all childrern at the age of 6...
Booktrust funding news
Recently we received the following news...
Department for Education funding cuts to bookgifting programmes in England
Booktrust had notification on Friday 17 December from the Department for Education that funding for our bookgifting programmes Bookstart, Booktime and Booked Up in England will be cut by 100% from 1 April 2011. Please note that this news applies to England only.
Bookstart currently gives free packs of books to children up until the age of three-years-old through health visitors, children’s centres and library services. Booktime gives a free book pack to reception-aged children, shortly after they start primary school. Booked Up gives a free book to children when they start secondary school from a choice of 13 titles. These bookgifting programmes support and encourage book sharing and independent reading in the home, as well as the use of public libraries.
We are immensely surprised and disappointed by this decision especially as it has been made at a time when the government has identified a need to improve literacy levels in children of primary school age. We passionately believe in these programmes and the proven extraordinary transformative power of reading for pleasure.
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