21 Library Services Selected to Lead National Expansion of Summer Reading Challenge
The Reading Agency has today announced that 21 library authorities across the UK have been selected as the first recipients of funding from a transformative £1.5 million grant from the Julia Rausing Trust. This funding will support the expansion of the Summer Reading Challenge – the UK’s largest programme promoting reading for pleasure among children. In 2025, working together, the partners have the ambition to reach an additional 50,000 children.
The following library services will be the first to implement the expanded Summer Reading Challenge delivery model, aimed at reaching children most affected by disadvantage:
- Bradford Libraries
- Camden Libraries
- City of Westminster Libraries
- East Lothian Libraries
- Essex Libraries
- Hampshire Library Service
- Jersey Libraries
- Kensington & Chelsea Libraries
- Leeds Libraries
- Manchester Library Service
- Newcastle upon Tyne Libraries
- Newham Libraries
- Norfolk Libraries
- North Lincolnshire Library Service
- Portsmouth Libraries
- Sandwell Libraries
- Southampton Libraries
- South Tyneside Libraries
- Stockport Libraries
- Swindon Libraries
- Trafford Libraries
This vital support will enable libraries to work with schools, health and community partners to engage children in areas of high deprivation. Outreach will include in-school programmes, family events, automatic library enrolment, and a range of incentives to boost participation and enjoyment.
The 21 funded library authorities span England, Scotland, and the Channel Islands, each bringing unique approaches to engaging children and families in their communities. From inclusive story sessions to partnerships with schools and local charities, these library services are helping to break down barriers to reading in some of the UK’s most disadvantaged areas.
In Bradford, funding will support children in areas of deprivation with Summer Reading Challenge kitbags, themed resources built around Joseph Coelho’s Our Tower, and inclusive storytelling sessions for children with visual impairments in 2026. In South Tyneside, the library will work with a local school and Family Hub in a disadvantaged area, delivering Challenge sign-ups and summer activities at a community volunteer-run library, ensuring continuity of engagement and school readiness. While in Portsmouth, the library service will work with two schools to ensure universal participation in the Summer Reading Challenge, visiting both Carnegie Library and through school visits from their mobile library.
These examples are just a glimpse of the innovative, community-rooted work being delivered across the country. Across the UK, libraries are using this funding to adapt the Summer Reading Challenge to local needs, ensuring no child is left behind in discovering the joy of reading.
Karen Napier MBE, CEO of The Reading Agency, said: “We are thrilled to partner with these library services to extend the life-changing power of reading. Thanks to the Julia Rausing Trust’s incredible support, we can reach more families and children than ever before with this proven and inspiring programme.”
Simon Fourmy, Director of the Julia Rausing Trust, added: “We are pleased to see the 21 library authorities selected as the first recipients of our funding to lead the expansion of the Summer Reading Challenge. These partnerships will ensure many more children, no matter their background, discover and benefit from the joy of reading.”
The Reading Agency aims to work with up to 100 library authorities by 2027 through this pioneering model, ensuring that even more children across the UK are empowered with the tools and motivation to read.
