Doorstep Library uses the power of stories to change children’s lives. They are a community-focused reading charity intent on breaking the link between poverty and low literacy. Their projects help children to access education inside and outside of school by developing reading skills through engagement in regular reading in the home environment.

The children they work with come from a wealth of different backgrounds and cultures – their needs are complex and varied. 43% of their families do not have English as a first language and in some cases, English is not spoken in the home at all. Often, they are falling behind in school. Further, their parents or carers cannot help them because of their own adult-literacy problems (or for other reasons, for example, health or financial problems).

They recruit, train and manage volunteers to work in pairs to deliver weekly child-led reading sessions in the home, either online or in-person, creating a foundation of reading for pleasure. By being in the home environment rather than school they aim to engage the parents in the session, which makes their approach different from many other literacy charities. They aim to get parents reading with their children regularly, as a shared enjoyable experience for the family. It is proven that reading for pleasure can drastically improve the life chances of children, creating increased performance in verbal learning, memory and speech development, and academic achievement. Sadly, too many children are missing out on this life-changing pleasure, especially those living in disadvantaged areas.