Read Manchester

A huge thank you to our wonderful Literacy Champion, Maheshi, from The University of Manchester, who represented us at the Universally Manchester Festival community day on Saturday!

Her stall featured information about philosopher 'Susan Stebbing’ and her critical thinking aspects. Maheshi used this opportunity to introduce more families to the National Year of Reading, sharing information about 'Going All In' on your passions, and gifting books to lots of children.

It was amazing to see so many families stopping by to find out more. One family told us, "We have a family of bookworms and it's hard to keep up with them all, so this is much appreciated!" 📔🪱

Thank you Maheshi for helping to spread the joy of storytelling in Manchester! 💜

If you work with children or young people, you could inspire them to develop a love of reading that will not only support their learning and life chances, but build their confidence and wellbeing too.

Our latest research shows an upturn in children and young people's reading enjoyment for the first time in five years. But there's still more work to do to ensure every child as the support they need to discover a love of reading.
..That's where you come in! We're looking for volunteers to take part in Books Out Loud - an initiative to encourage a love of stories through reading aloud with children and young people.

You don’t need to be an expert in books or storytelling to take part. Your understanding of the young people you work with is more important.

Find out more ➡ literacytrust.org.uk/books-out-loud

Today our new research shows that children and young people's enjoyment of reading has risen for the first time in five years.

📚More than a third (36.1%) of children and young people aged 8 to 18 said they enjoyed reading in their free time
📚1 in 5 (20.3%) said they read daily in their free time

And our work in communities like Manchester is making a difference. Children in the schools where we work most intensively were 15% more likely to enjoy reading in their free time and 34% more likely to enjoy reading at school, compared to their peers across England.

Despite these gains, children’s levels of daily reading and reading enjoyment across the UK are still low. With your support we can keep this momentum going and help more children in Manchester develop the literacy skills they need to thrive.

Find out more about the research: https://literacytrust.org.uk/news/our-latest-research-shows-modest-rise-in-childrens-reading-engagement-but-levels-remain-low/

We had a fantastic time with our friends in Salford on Sunday at our Big Lunch: Sharing Stories event! 🤩

We joined the We Invented the Weekend festival to celebrate the power of sharing stories and food to connect communities in the National Year of Reading. We were delighted to be joined by award-winning actor Julie Hesmondhalgh for a special story time session!

The event was a chance to say thank you to our brilliant Literacy Champion volunteers who encourage children, young people and adults to discover a love of reading and connect with their communities. Could you join our team of dedicated volunteers? Find out more: https://literacytrust.org.uk/support-us/volunteer-with-the-national-literacy-trust/

This , we’re celebrating our incredible team of literacy champions in Manchester, who make change happen.

We're so proud of our Literacy Champion, Rachel and all the work she does for us!

We’d like to say a huge thank you to Rachel and all our literacy champions, and Happy Volunteers Week!🥳

Shout out to one of our amazing local Literacy Champions, Caroline, who helped to organise this fantastic event for children in her local park – celebrating outdoor classroom day on 21 May. 🌳 🌼

Three local schools attended, meaning 90 children got to take home a new free book to enjoy. A huge thank you to Caroline and to everyone championing reading and making it fun for children. 🤩

Do you have a little one aged 0-5?

Join us for Friday story times at Gorton Library📚

Come along to fun, free storytime sessions every Friday (term time only), starting this Friday 22 May, 11am-12pm.

Enjoy relaxed stories, silly voices, plenty of giggles and a friendly atmosphere.

It’s a great way to meet other families and spend time with your little one.

New to story time sessions? Don’t worry! You’ll get a warm welcome, and you and your child can join in however feels right for you.

We hope to see you there!

Calling any adults looking to join a new book club!

Check out Manchester Library Trail's virtual reading group, run by one of our brilliant Literacy Champions.