Reading Charities
Bookmark Reading Charity
Each year, eight children in an average class will leave primary school unable to read well. These children will often struggle in school, and beyond.
The Bookmark app matches schools with fully safeguarded, vetted and trained reading volunteers. During each programme, a volunteer has one-to-one reading sessions, twice a week for six weeks, with a child who needs extra help with their reading. Sessions take place in school and are delivered online through our secure, interactive platform.
Bookmark now provide School Packages, offering more resources and support to schools. Their Rocket Packs gifted an astonishing 5386 brand new books to Bookmark's partner schools. These are termly gifts for schools, with books curated by authors and experts such as Mark Bradley and Dean Boddington!
A school partnership with Bookmark costs just £1 per reading session. To submit an application, click here now or watch this Introduction Video
The Book Project
The Children’s Book Project works with settings across the UK to redistribute thousands of new and gently used books to children and their families.
We collect books from families that have grown out of theirs, remove any that are tatty and then organise them by age and stage prior to gifting to children with very few books of their own via their schools and other organisations.
Who do we work with?
- Schools for children and young people of all ages
- Prisons
- Food banks
Click here to visit the website
Coram Beanstalk
Coram Beanstalk is a national children's reading charity with over 50 years' experience in creating readers through our one-to-one, in-person reading support. We know, and evidence shows that when children not only can read but choose to read, it has a more profound impact on a child’s academic success than their socio-economic background. In addition, readers also benefit from improved well-being and better life chances.
Coram Beanstalk has the knowledge and experience to mobilise and equip communities to deliver help to children in schools who need extra support to become readers.
Libraries for Primaries
Good news for Reading for Pleasure as the government commits to ensuring every primary school has a library by the end of this Parliament. You may not even have to wait until 2028 - applications for the NLT’s fully-funded Libraries for Primaries programme are still open for 2025-26. If you are a state-funded primary school without a library or dedicated reading space, you could be eligible to receive a package of books, library furniture, training and support to help you create a vibrant reading culture.
The Norfolk Reading Project
We are a local charity whose aim is to support teachers in improving literacy standards across Norfolk.
We do this by providing trained volunteers to support children's reading on a one-to-one basis within Primary Schools.
The Norfolk Reading Project recognises that it is increasingly difficult for teachers to hear children read on a one-to-one basis within the classroom. Trained Reading Support Volunteers can help fill this gap. If you think your School might benefit from this FREE support please do not hesitate to get in touch via our Contact Us Section.
If you already have volunteers in the classroom whom you feel might benefit from some phonics training we would be happy to include them in one our sessions.
The Reading Agency
The Reading Agency is a UK charity that inspires social and personal change through the proven power of reading. We work with individuals of all ages, communities and trusted partners to share the transformative benefits of reading for happy, healthy and thriving lives.
Get Suffolk Reading (National Literacy Trust)
Get Suffolk Reading inspires families across the county to read together, and helps parents to support their children’s literacy skills.
We also work with schools to aid the teaching of literacy and partner with local organisations who support our mission to raise literacy levels across the county. If you would like to get involved please email getsuffolkreading@literacytrust.org.uk and sign up to our newsletter for regular updates.
Get Suffolk Reading is funded by Suffolk County Council and was established with the support of Suffolk Public Sector Leaders.
School Readers
Schoolreaders is a national child literacy charity which recruits, trains and places volunteers into primary schools across England. They match dedicated reading volunteers with schools to listen to children read one-to-one each week. It is completely free of charge to schools, who only need to cover the cost of the volunteer's DBS check.
By joining Schoolreaders, schools can benefit from additional, tailored support for pupils who need help with their reading. Volunteers work directly with children, offering individual attention that complements classroom teaching. With almost 3,000 volunteers supporting over 1,400 schools weekly, they are proven to help schools make a lasting impact on their pupils’ literacy and learning.
LoveReading4kids
LoveReading4Kids is a children's book recommendation website which donates 25% of the book's cost to the school of your choice, enabling them to buy books for their library, encouraging reading for all ages and delivering better outcomes for children. In addition, you’ll receive 10% off the RRP on a huge selection of titles.
Schools can create an account with LoveReading4Schools to access a portal which enables schools to create tailored reading lists or adopt the recommended reading lists for every year group and key curriculum areas. If you want to sign up for your school, you can do so by clicking here.
Watch this video to find out more about Reading4Schools and what benefits it can bring to your school!
Find out about how one school successfully maximised the benefit of creating wishlists and sharing it with their school parents and local community here.
Click here to read LoveReading4Kids' Funding for Schools Scheme.
Raintree
We believe that reading is for everyone, that’s why we have made it even easier to get books into your school with Match Funding. Join our exclusive community and access 1000s of half price books for the rest of the academic year!
From levelled readers to decodables, Hi-Lo texts to diverse titles, our extensive collection offers books tailored to every reader's needs. And the best part? Everything is included!
Educational foundation of Alderman John Norman
To assist with the provision of funding for the education of children and young people in need, both descendants of the late Alderman John Norman, and organisations and charities as defined by the Charity Commission's Scheme for the Foundation.
For funding enquiries please click here.
Inclusive Books for Children
Inclusive Books for Children have created a free website to make it easy for time-pressed parents, caregivers, librarians and teachers to find and buy these excellent books, confident they have made excellent choices.
