Bookstart funding to stop in England from April 2011

[Campaspe]

I've posted this in chat, but guess it really belongs here.

www.voicesforthelibrary.org.uk/wordpress/?p =777

Hope this link works. It advises that from April 2011, all funding for Bookstart will stop, but this applies in England only. See the Booktrust website for more details.

I am so angry at this short-sighted decision and the fact that is applies to England only. How can I campaign to get this changed? Anything that promotes reading and education for children in this way helps to create a more just and equal society. HOw can we not afford to support literacy in this way????

That is dreadful. Bookstart carries out really important work espcially in disadvantaged regions like ours.

I know this won't be popular, but I found it really patronising to be given those bookstart books. I don't have to be reminded to read to my own children. I would have happily received a book token, but I thought the books that ds received were rather dull. For me, the joy come when I was able to introduce the right book at the right time.

Perhaps the scheme is better targeted these days but it seemed a bit of a waste of money to me.

Dear Zoo, We're going on a bear hunt, You Choose, Happy Dog Sad Dog, such beautiful, stories for every child, but only magical when brought to life by a caring, nuturing adult who knows how important it is to share books with the children in their life. To spend time together showing every child that they are loved and that time together is precious and wonderful. So many parents don't know how to bring the magic alive or don't believe they have the time to do so. Bookgifting is there to help families make magic together and encourage just one bedtime story at a time to give every child the best possible start in life. Long may free books for children continue despite the sad news today.

I often find Bookstart books in brand new condition in charity shops round here. They are obviously not that well wanted here! I even know someone who has sold her DC's Bookstart pack on Ebay.

I loved ours, love bedtime stories with DS, love going to the library and didn't need Bookstart. I think that there are people who will read to their children anyway, and people who will not, regardless of whether they have books or not. I am not sure if there is much in between - people who do not normally read for "leisure" but who start for their DC. I am prepared to be flamed on this, and given lots of examples where this has happened.

I like all the books that worm mentioned but I don't need to keep being given them. We have each of the bookstart ones at least twice.
We have huge amounts of books in this house anyway.
There are plenty of things are based on income, some of them we could have really done with but couldn't afford but not giving us the same books again might have saved them some money for something useful like better reading schemes in schools.

I agree with Bike those who will do, and the others won't.

I think this is a good idea, but it'd disgusting that they are only stopping it in England.

We were given free books, which was lovely but totally not needed and therefore a complete waste of money. I find it patronising too. Parents that are inclined to share books with their children will do so whether or not they get given freebies, and parents who can't be bothered are not likely to be persuaded just by being given freebies.

I know what you mean Norfolk - We had 6 copies of Dear Zoo at one point!

Not unexpected but, I think this is really very sad and the thin end of the wedge for SureStart. While I'm not in a position to need to rely on government handouts, I had no clue about (or tbh particular interest in) pre-school children's books from the last 25 years when DD was born.

Bookstart gave me and other local mums a kickstart in getting into these and reading with our little ones and using the library regularly from very early on. Living in a very socially mixed area in London, I'm pleased that all children were given the opportunity to get into age-appropriate books at an early stage. Otherwise, it's frankly in the hands of the supermarkets as to what books many children get to see - "That's not my... cash-in" or rubbish TV-tie-in stuff being about the level.

I'm vexed and saddened by the fatalist attitude of the line on the thread: some parents will read to their children and others are lost-causes (paraphrased). A death knell to any hope for social mobility. Poor children.

Yes, you see them in charity shops, they have a short, but important shelf-life, and not everyone with LOs has an under-two in the house forever. Why not pass them on and support a good cause...?

There is a campaign on Twitter. If you support the cause, please tweet using the hashtag #bookgifting.

I don't understand the problem. Why not go to the library - its free. I get 14 books a week for DC what does book start offer that a library does not.

With Cat and Jolly, far more important to save your local library and promote it than save Bookstart.

It is a great idea and it is a way of getting books into the households of children whose parents might not own a single other book.

But it needed to be targeted and researched better. I imagine the majority of the books will have gone to children whose parents read and buy books for them anyway so in that respect, it was a waste of money.

My DD certainly didn't need the books, we have read them but she didn't need them.

DISCLAIMER: I also hate the Tories!

We're talking about books, donated at a nominal cost by publishers that can be owned, chewed, kept for an unlimited amount of time; not something libraries offer. In reality we're facing reduced library services, with less flexible hours which will put off even more parents, especially those with chaotic lives. Bottom line is this government does not support the principle of an educated, equal society and I find it totally depressing.
It's taken this dreadful coalition to remind me that I'm a socialist.

We're talking about books, donated at a nominal cost by publishers that can be owned, chewed, kept for an unlimited amount of time; not something libraries offer. In reality we're facing reduced library services, with less flexible hours which will put off even more parents, especially those with chaotic lives. Bottom line is this government does not support the principle of an educated, equal society and I find it totally depressing.
It's taken this dreadful coalition to remind me that I'm a socialist.

"Otherwise, it's frankly in the hands of the supermarkets as to what books many children get to see - "That's not my... cash-in" or rubbish TV-tie-in stuff being about the level."

Oh, so only some books are good enough now? Poor scummy children who only have these supermarket books. They might as well have wotsits for tea and bathe in frutshoots it's just so terribly lowbrow. Surely if we start a petition to get ASDA to stock the complete works of Shakespeare in board book form we can save these poor unfortunates.

www.voicesforthelibrary.org.uk/wordpress/

The OP's link made easier.

:(

I guess the problem with bookstart (and various other schemes) is that it struggles to reach the families who really need it most.

It is perfect for those in the middle, like my family - we place a lot of value on education and books but we don't have the money to spend on them. It's been a godsend for us. But lots of families don't think books are important and no amount of free books will change that.

frostyandslippery - but in your case, surely you would go to the library regularly anyway, even ifno one had given you free books?

My sister is the sort of person that this scheme is meant to help but she doesn't let her children have the books. In case they "spoil" them apparently.

I've given up buying books for her children now and the only literature in her house is the Argos catalogue. Seriously.

Her DC have stories on cd at bedtime which is better than nothing I suppose. I don't know what she does with the books she is given.

She can't be typical though so it's a shame that it's being stopped.

FrostyAndSlippery
I guess the problem with bookstart (and various other schemes) is that it struggles to reach the families who really need it most.

When we lived in a nice middle class area we could not move for book-start packs being given us - had way more than supposed to - given out by HV, Libraries when joined and playgroups.

Move to a working class area with a lot of deprived pockets within it. No one want to give them out - not library not HVs never play groups. Bumped into the co-ordinated of it in area at a library function. She was very unhappy - apparently it was not just us ( possibly being judge to rich) but wide spread all the libraries and HV had to do was hand the packs out but they did not and the area was way below targets.

They claim parents did not want them but in her experience they either knew nothing about it or like me tried very hard to get hold of them to be blocked.

Not necessarily, lucky. I do have a very good (new) library in town, but I don't use it much due to depression etc. In my case I get by without it because my mum is a librarian in my home town - in fact it's she who gives me the bookstart packs, not the library here which doesn't do it.

Plus it's nice to have books to keep isn't it? Ones that become firm favourites over the years.

This is awful. Having grown up sharing fucking text books at secondary school (during the Thatcher years - God may that evil witch rot in hell for all eternity), it does not surprise me.

Why target the kids again with the cuts? It wasn't children that caused the fucking deficit was it? Or did I miss something???? Was it not greedy, wanking bankers??????

And don't talk about libraries being any kind of substiute - the writing is on the wall for those too.

"It wasn't children that caused the fucking deficit was it? Or did I miss something???? Was it not greedy, wanking bankers?"

No it wasn't the children and no it wasn't the bankers.

Every year from 2004 onwards the Government was spending more than it was earning and it's now reached the state where £1 in every £4 that it spends is borrowed. The bankers cost us a lot to bail them out, but it was a one off cost, that hopefully we will see a profit on, our problem now is just the normal day to day Government spending that exceeds their income.

And the tories weren't much better when they were last in charge, from 1979 to 2007 there were only about 5 years when they actually lived within their means.

So basically years of Government's spending with no consideration as to whether we could actually afford it are at fault here.