Wales is about to become the only nation in the UK to abolish its free Bookstart Baby pack scheme. This program has been providing families with the literacy resources they need for more than 25 years. BookTrust Cymru are the custodians of the Bookstart programme. Its mission is to develop a love of reading and create a shared reading experience between children and their parents. Regrettably, funding from Adnodd, which makes this work possible, will end in March 2026.
The Bookstart programme provides two free packs of books to all children in Wales. Usually one pack is provided at the six-month health check, and the other pack at the 27-month health check. Every Bookstart Baby pack includes an early-years appropriate free bilingual book as well as useful advice for parents. Health visitors are the first to hand out these packs, meaning that they have reached thousands of families, tens of thousands each year, since their launch.
Sioned Jones, director of BookTrust Cymru said she was devastated by the news. “The fact that the effects of this decision will be felt by Wales’ most vulnerable children is heartbreaking,” she said. Jones emphasized the broader impact of the programme, stating, “It not only has an impact on their reading and therefore their educational attainment, it has a huge impact on relationships within the family.”
Adnodd’s decision to pull funding for the project has sparked fears for the future of new early literacy initiatives in Wales. All eyes are on the Welsh government, which is already making moves to do so. They are calling on Adnodd to ensure ongoing support for families that depend on the Bookstart programme.
Adnodd has indicated that any future literacy programs will be established through an open and competitive process, allowing various suppliers, including BookTrust, to apply. “Our priority remains to continue to work with our partners so we can collectively support and deliver strong literacy outcomes for children and families across Wales,” a spokesperson for Adnodd stated.
Despite this assurance, Jones remains skeptical, noting, “We’ve not seen any impact assessment in terms of what this will mean for children living in poverty in Wales.” She stressed to us that the Bookstart programme is about so much more than giving out free books. It truly fosters parent engagement, bringing families together through the power and joy of reading.
The wider impact of the Bookstart programme’s efforts to encourage and help all families read could be valued at £370,000 a year. With its demonstrated effectiveness, many advocates fear the lack of any backup plan when funding runs out. About the Author Nicola Davies is a passionate advocate for early childhood literacy. She emphasized that parents, under that same pressure, regularly resort to screens for entertainment rather than reading with their kids. “At the moment, a lot of parents who are under pressure of time and money are handing little kids a screen to look at,” she noted.
The impact of scrapping the Bookstart Baby pack could be felt further than just future access to books. The proven programme has received accolades as a model to emulate. Most importantly, it improves literacy results for Wales’ youngest students. Jones went on to describe why the initiative is so important during those early formative years of a child’s life. “It’s about getting parents reading, attachment with their children, helping them develop their brains, helping them develop their motor skills,” she stated.
