CREDITON Library will be pulling out the stops across the summer to help children catch up with the reading skills that were affected by missing school during the pandemic. 

Libraries Unlimited will host the annual Summer Reading Challenge, which challenges children to reach a goal for reading books across the holidays. Children aged between four and 11 can sign up and take part at their local library from Saturday, July 10.

Alex Kittow, Chief Executive of Libraries Unlimited, said: “The Summer Reading Challenge comes at a pivotal time, as the impact of school closures during lockdown has caused children to fall behind.

"Every year children experience a drop in reading levels during the summer break, which the Summer Reading Challenge goes a long way to help recover. However, this year the Covid - 19 crisis and restrictions have exacerbated this issue.

He added: “Last summer during the early stages of the impact of lockdown and restrictions, we moved the challenge online so children could still take part.  Numbers were lower due to the pandemic and we are keen to reach as many children as we can. This year it is more important than ever to encourage children to read, and the Summer Reading Challenge is the perfect opportunity to capture their imaginations and get them back on track.”

According to the Juniper Education National Dataset Report, children aged five to six years have been the most affected by the covid-19 pandemic, with a 25 per cent drop of Year 1 pupils performing at, or above, their expected level.

On top of this, evidence shows that younger children have been slower to recover educational progress following the lifting of restrictions.

Kate MacKenzie, Service Development Manager at Libraries Unlimited said: “We are currently boosting our children’s collections to ensure that children have a wide choice of exciting reads to keep them going through the summer.

“The Summer Reading Challenge has been shown to be an effective Covid recovery tool, re-engaging children with reading whilst boosting their wellbeing.

“Due to the pandemic, keeping up with learning has been a huge challenge for children of all ages.

“The Summer Reading Challenge is a fun way to start bridging that gap, whilst instilling a love of reading that may stay with them long after the challenge finishes.”

The Summer Reading Challenge, presented by The Reading Agency, is delivered in partnership with Libraries Unlimited and funded by Arts Council England.

The challenge reaches more than 700,000 children across the UK each year. This year it will run from July 10 to September 10. 

The theme for the challenge is Wild World Heroes, created in partnership with WWF and illustrated by award-winning children’s author and illustrator Heath McKenzie.

Children are encouraged to think about ways to help the heroes preserve nature and wildlife, exploring real-world threats to the natural world and possible solutions.

Every child chooses their own reading goal (six books is a recommendation), collecting stickers along the way to completing their personal reading challenge.

When they have finished and met their goal, they will receive a certificate and a medal from their local library and be entered into a prize draw.

Libraries will be hosting a range of exciting activities and events throughout the Challenge, in line with government restrictions.

Many of these are likely to take place online due to rules on public gatherings, but further details and updates will be available on the Libraries Unlimited website and social media.

Children can also create a profile on the Summer Reading Challenge website to access games, earn badges, and review the books they read.

All accounts for those under 16 must be linked to a parents/carers account, ensuring the safety of children online.

Libraries Unlimited is the charity responsible for running Devon and Torbay Libraries. The Summer Reading Challenge is just one of the events in the wide Libraries Unlimited cultural offering.

For further information and full contact details visit: www.librariesunlimited.org.uk . Or find Libraries Unlimited on Facebook.