Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Books in Primary Schools

24 January 2024 · 3 other contributors · 4,132 words

Opened by Gill Furniss Lab Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough

Responding minister: Damian Hinds

EducationChildren & Families

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Gill Furniss raised concerns about books in primary schools in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • The availability of books in primary schools is crucial for children's development, especially for those from poorer communities.
  • One in six adults have very low levels of literacy, increasing to one in three in the poorest communities.
  • The Government agrees that reading is essential for education and personal growth, focusing on improving children's access to books.

Key requests to Government

The Government should legislate to make it mandatory for all primary schools to have designated school libraries. Such a legal requirement would support children's academic success and mitigate inequalities in literacy levels across different socioeconomic backgrounds.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Gill Furniss Lab Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough

The availability of books in primary schools is crucial for children's development, particularly for those from poorer communities. One in six adults have very low levels of literacy, rising to one in three in the poorest communities. Research shows that only 56% of eight to 18-year-olds enjoy reading in their free time, which is a significant drop since surveys began in 2005. Furthermore, 1 in 7 state primary schools do not have libraries, with this figure rising to 1 in 4 in the most disadvantaged communities.

Other contributors (3)
  • Barry Sheerman Lab Huddersfield

    Supports Gill Furniss's debate on primary school libraries, emphasizing their crucial role in deprived areas where children may not have been read to at home. Stressed the importance of early stimulation for language development, highlighting how many parents do not engage with their children enough and do not take them to libraries regularly. Emphasised that this debate is crucial in addressing such issues. Arguing for holistic support, including trips outside of school and access to poetry readings, and asking if the Minister supports every school having a library.

  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    Commends the debate and highlights the issue of teachers having to rely on charity shops to establish lending libraries, stressing the importance of independent reading time for children's literacy.

  • Peter Gibson Ind Bishop Auckland

    Shares an example from his constituency where a new library programme has positively impacted children's reading habits and agrees with the use of second-hand bookshops to make books accessible. Highlighting the successful campaign in Darlington to save a threatened library and noting that community libraries are not lost everywhere.

Government Response

Damian Hinds

It is a pleasure, once again, to see you in the Chair, Ms Elliott. I congratulate the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough on securing the debate and thank others for their contributions. The Government wholeheartedly agree that reading is essential for education, personal growth, and adult life. They focus on improving children's access to books, emphasizing the importance of early experiences such as being read to by parents or caregivers, which fosters attachment and literacy skills. The Minister highlighted the home learning environment's role in supporting early literacy, praising organisations like BookTrust and the National Literacy Trust for their efforts. He acknowledged that schools should provide a library service but noted it is up to individual schools to decide how best to do so, with guidance provided by the reading framework. Public libraries are also vital in promoting reading for pleasure beyond school hours. The Government recognises the importance of libraries despite financial constraints and appointed Baroness Sanderson to review the public libraries sector last year, leading to recommendations that will inform future work on library strategies. The Minister emphasized the need to build a strong foundation in reading early on, with measures introduced to support effective teaching from the start. He mentioned landmark reforms in the early years foundation stage to improve outcomes for all children and particularly disadvantaged ones, focusing on language development and reading. Since 2010, the Government has focused on systematic synthetic phonics teaching and implemented the phonics screening check in 2012. The English hubs programme has supported over 1,600 schools intensively, with a particular focus on helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Minister acknowledged that not every school may have traditional libraries but stressed that reading is at the heart of teaching practices across England's primary schools. He concluded by noting improvements in literacy performance based on assessments such as PIRLS and committed to driving progress further.

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