Inspiring children - 1,400 children take part in our author visits project

The problem

In 2023, the National Literacy Trust published research which shows that over half (56%) of children and young people aged 8 – 18 don’t enjoy reading in their free time. This is an all-time low statistic since they began surveying children in 2005 and is down 15.2 percentage points from its height in 2016.

Levels of reading enjoyment were found to be weakest for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, with over 60% of children on Free School Meals saying they don’t enjoy reading in their free time. We know from recent exam data (2024 KS2 attainment data, gov.uk) that 45% of children on Free School Meals are leaving primary school without reaching the expected level of reading, and with poverty rates rising this number is in danger of increasing. A widening attainment gap means that even more children could fall behind their more affluent peers in their education and literacy skills, which can go on to have a lifetime impact.

Why author visits?

Author visits provide vital opportunities to engage children and young people with literacy. In 2023, the National Literacy Trust asked children and young people whether they had had an author visit in their school, and then investigated how this related to their engagement with, and enjoyment of, reading and writing. Findings showed that:

One in five (21.3%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said that they had had an author visit their school, down 5.6 percentage points from 2019.

Fewer children and young people from schools with a high percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals (FSMs) said that they had had an author visit (16.7%) compared with children at schools with a medium (21.9%) or low percentage of pupils eligible for FSMs (24.7%).

More children and young people who had experienced an author visit told them that they enjoyed reading in their free time compared with their peers who hadn’t experienced one (58.6% vs. 39.3%).

Schools tell us how valuable author visits are, but with numbers of children living in Wandsworth decreasing rapidly (due to the pandemic, rising house prices and Brexit) many schools do not have a full roll. This reduces their budget and results in a challenging financial situation, which means they cannot afford ‘extras’ like author visits.

Aims

We wanted to excite and inspire children by meeting an author in person. By meeting someone who may share experiences with them, they can aspire to be like them and relate to them.

Schools have told us that author visits encourage children who didn’t previously enjoy reading to read the author’s books and then other books that they may have recommended.

The outgoing Children’s Laureate, Joseph Coehlo, said:

“School visits can help create these little moments of horizon-widening, but only if we have a diverse pool of authors and illustrators and poets, a pool that reflects the children we go to visit, a pool that truly reflects the society we live in.

Through these small but powerful interactions we can help create a future where our children do not have to suffer the million little stress responses of feeling they are operating in a world that doesn’t include them; where, instead, they spend that precious time and energy not in worry but instead in wonder, not scared but thrilled, not questioned but questioning, not doubting themselves but believing in themselves and in their own limitless horizons.”

Author events at book festivals are not usually financially accessible to many of our families or our families lead complicated lives which means they cannot prioritise taking their children to these kinds of events. By bringing authors into schools to meet children and parents we can ensure that disadvantaged families are able to access the same experiences and opportunities that more advantaged families can.

We hoped these events would help inspire a love of reading in families and therefore improve their literacy skills and, as a result, their life chances.

Thanks to a grant from The Julia Rausing Trust, we were able to make these events happen.

The author visits

Southmead Primary School, author: Professor Anjali Goswami, book: Dig, Dig, Dinosaur

Twenty-one parents attended the coffee morning and assembly and they bought 18 copies of the book to get signed by the author. One hundred and sixty children attended the assembly. Parents loved getting their books signed and taking photos of their children with Anjali. 

Questions asked by parents to Anjali: 

• “How did you end up doing this job?” 
• “Did you always want to be a palaeontologist?”
• “How can I help my child love reading again? They used to love reading but now they don’t.”
• “Why did you write this book?”

"Anjali's visit was brilliant. It was a real joy to open our school to parents and see them engage so enthusiastically with both the visiting author and their children's learning. During the coffee morning, as well as admiring some impressive fossils, we were able to have meaningful discussions with parents about fostering their child's love of reading. The assembly has kindled a real passion for science and palaeontology amongst our students. A year one child told me that after meeting Anjali they wished to be a palaeontologist and another told me they loved learning from experts. Importantly, all of the children I have spoken to told me that having their parents present for this visit made it even more special." Thomas Armstrong, Assistant Head, Southmead School

West Hill Primary School, author and illustrator: Thiago De Moraes, books: The Myth Atlas, Let Sleeping Gods Lie, The History Atlas, stories for The Phoenix Comic and many more

Four parents attended the assembly but all bought books and got them signed by the author/illustrator. All of Key Stage 2 - 78 children - attended the assembly.

St Michael’s C of E Primary School, author: Professor Anjali Goswami, book: Dig, Dig, Dinosaur

Twelve parents attended the assembly and asked lots of questions including: 

• “What route did you take to become a paleontologist?”
• “Did you always want to do this job?”
• “Why did you decide to write a children’s book?”
• “What advice would you give to a child who wants to be a paleontologist one day?”

Thirty-four books were pre-ordered or bought on the day and180 children attended the assembly.

Franciscan Primary School, author: Smriti Halls, books: Don’t Call Me Sweet, Rain Before Rainbows, One in a Million, That’s Not My Story! and many more 

Twenty parents attended the coffee morning and purchased 14 books. One hundred children attended the assembly. 

A parent governor said how inspiring he found the visit and how much he enjoyed it. He said it was so important for children with brown skin to also see themselves in books as this didn’t happen when he was younger. 

Smallwood Primary School, author: Smriti Halls, books: Don’t Call Me Sweet, Rain Before Rainbows, One in a Million, That’s Not My Story! and many more

Fourteen parents attended the assembly and coffee and chat session afterwards, with 140 children attending the assembly. 

“It was such a pleasure to meet Smriti. Her books are so important for our children to see themselves and people like them in books.” Parent

Sacred Heart RC Primary School, author: Smriti Halls, books: Don’t Call Me Sweet, Rain Before Rainbows, One in a Million, That’s Not My Story! and many more

Ten parents attended the assembly and coffee and chat afterwards, with 150 children attending the assembly.

One parent told us that it was inspiring to meet Smriti. She went on to say that she is always telling her child stories and it  made her think she should write the stories and get her sister to illustrate them. 

Another parent fed back how nice to meet Smriti. She said that she never got the chance to meet people like her when she was at school and how good it was to let children know they could be whoever they wanted to be and there were jobs out there like that. 

One parent even bought eight  books written by Smriti to get signed with her child!

Smriti wrote afterwards: 

"It was such a pleasure to join you last week for our events in Tooting and Battersea. Thank you for inviting me. It was rewarding and inspiring to meet the children, parents and teachers – and I had a lot of fun with you and the rest of the team - and meeting some of the volunteers, too. It is such an impressive reading charity and I look forward to spreading the word about the good that you’re doing."

Ronald Ross Primary School, author: Claire Linney, book: The Time Tub Travellers

Five parents attended the coffee morning and assembly. They really enjoyed meeting Claire and asked her how she became an author, why she became an author and what her top tips were for getting children reading more. Ninety children attended the assembly.

Claire wrote afterwards:

“The workshop went really well - the kids wrote some amazingly imaginative stories! I love the work you're doing with schools, it's so needed and so important!”

Hillbrook Primary School, author: SF Said, books: Tyger, Varjak Paw, The Outlaw Varjak Paw and Phoenix

Fifteen parents attended the assembly with another 18 parents coming to meet him and get books signed afterwards. We sold out of books on the day! Two hundred children attended the assembly. Parents asked:

• “How did you find it as a Muslim author getting published?”
• “How long did it take you to write your books?”
• “What is your writing process? Where and when do you write?”

Heathmere Primary School, author: Onjali Rauf, books: The Boy at the Back of the Class, The Night Bus Hero, The Lion Above the Door and many more.

Ten parents came to the coffee morning and 180 children attended the assembly. Twelve books were sold on the day.

Outcomes

1,398 children and 139 parents met an author in their school. This would not have been possible without this project. The feedback we were given was that staff, parents and children thoroughly enjoyed this experience and felt inspired as a result of this visit. 

Parents were part of this memorable experience with their child which means that they can talk about it later and share the book together. 

Each school was given two signed copies of the author’s book to keep in their school library so every child can borrow a book by the author they met. 

Children know more about what it is like to be an author/illustrator and for some children, this may lead them to do this job themselves one day. 

Feedback from staff, children and parents showed that they found the experience valuable, interested and inspiring.