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Islington

20221017_LBI-8623

What was our campaign in Islington?

Over three years (2020-2023), Get Islington Reading developed a community of happy, confident young readers through coordinated activities with schools, libraries and community groups.

The borough-wide campaign aimed to embed reading for enjoyment in schools and communities and support transition from primary to secondary education.

We undertook a review of current provision in order to facilitate participation in a wide range of reading activities, provide new books for school libraries and connect schools and public libraries to build a strong community of readers in Islington.

Funded by the Charity of Sir Richard Whittington through The Mercers' Company, the campaign was delivered by the National Literacy Trust, The Reading Agency and local partners Islington Council Library Service, Islington Education Library Service and Islington School Improvement Service.

Key outcomes for the campaign

Get Islington Reading supported more children aged 9 to 14 in Islington to become happy, engaged, confident and empowered readers. It also supported 14 schools to increase their focus on reading for enjoyment and encouraged more families to engage in activities centred around books and reading.

Explore our full evaluation report.

  • More children and young people enjoy reading

    1 in 3 (31%) reluctant readers started to enjoy reading as a result of the campaign.

  • More children and young people engage in positive reading behaviours

    Children read more often, read more widely and used their school and public libraries more frequently.

  • More children and young people think positively about reading

    The percentage of children reading because they believe it is beneficial for their futures more than tripled (from 7% in 2020 to 24% in 2022).

  • More children and young people feel confident about reading

    69% of children who took part in the Summer Reading Challenge reported feeling more confident about their reading.

  • More families engaged with positive reading activities

    68% of parents said they visited their public library more often as a family.

  • Schools increased their focus on reading for enjoyment

    100% of participating schools increased their focus on reading for enjoyment.

Our approach

Find out more about how we partnered with schools, libraries and cultural organisations to bring together the community of Islington to make lasting change and embed reading for enjoyment within its schools and communities.

Discover the legacy of our partnership in Islington:

Key partners