More than 750,000 kids don’t have a library in their primary school.
In the largest-ever survey of its kind, one in seven state primary schools (14%) said they had no designated library space.
The study of 3,752 schools found a huge North-South divide, with no library at three times the number of primaries in the north-east (18%) and north-west (16%) as in south-east England (6%).
The same two Northern areas have the lowest expected reading levels for children in early years education.
But the picture is even more bleak in Northern Ireland, where 41% of schools have no library, Scotland (25%) and Wales (23%).
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The report, carried out by Penguin Books UK and the National Libraries Trust, also says that 16% of schools with an above-average intake of pupils eligible for free school meals have no library, compared to 10% of those with a below-average amount of such pupils.
Trust chief Jonathan Douglas said: “It’s devastating... when we know libraries and reading for pleasure play such valuable roles in academic performance, wellbeing and their chances of being successful in life.”
Former Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell added: “How can a child learn to read for the joy of it if their parents cannot afford books and their primary school does not have a library? It’s a social mobility timebomb.”
The NLT is now calling on the Government to commit to giving every primary school a library by 2025.
