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I was extremely dismayed to learn yesterday of the decision to cut the funding of Booktrust, an independent charity with the aim of encouraging the enjoyment of reading to people of any and all age. Although to say cut is woefully understating matters, the government is withdrawing all funding which is (only) £13 million a year.

Now I understand that students are upset about increased university fees, and I’m not in a very good position to commiserate as I went to university in Dublin where we had about a 500 euro a year “registration” fee and I lived at home, so only had to cover the costs of my books and things (which where pretty damned expensive). The upshot being that my husband and I left university with no debt. I don’t want to get bogged down in a loge vitriolic diatribe against the government because lord knows as a lib dem voter I am absolutely livid and I am sure my neighbours are getting a little worried for my husband as I have ranted about the house lately.

But this churlish withdrawing of funding for the BookTrust begs the question as to what the <insert strong explicative of choice here> hell the government think they are doing.

Saving money is one thing*. Utterly undermining the future economy is another**. To my mind one of the most important undertakings by Booktrust is their BookStart program which distributes books to children regardless of background at 3 stages from 6 months until they start formal schooling. These packs include a sturdy bag/satchel, a number of high quality age appropriate picture books, a number line for their wall, and a packet of Crayola crayons and some drawing paper and for the carers some leaflets on the importance of reading and how to get added value from story time. And what is even more important is that these books are theirs, not a library book they have for a limited time but books they can return to again and again.

The most important years for education is not the 3-4 they spend in university but from birth to the age of 8.This is when it is imperative that a child’s desire to learn, natural curiosity and creativity is fostered. And nothing helps this more than reading and to do this they need to have exposure to books from as young an age as possible.  They don’t need computers, they don’t need gimmicks they need books and for even 30 mins a day sharing books with their parents.

Also in the last few days it was reported that  about have of boys under five are struggling with basic skills which include reading and writing and the intention to bring in a new reading test for 6 year olds.

The minister for education says these tests.. “will enable us to pinpoint those who are struggling at an early age and will give them the help they need before it is too late.” These tests are intended for year 1 pupils who are 5/6 years old, some might argue that time is already rapidly running out. Tests and the attendant bureaucracy are not the only solution. I should be very interested to see how much it costs to implement these tests since the actual administration of them doesn’t actual go anywhere towards improving matters. A lot of the solution needs to come from the home and be in place before children start school. Parents need to take responsibility for giving their children a solid foundation on which to build their educations and all Baby Einstein dvds and Leap Frog tag books in the world can’t replace time on mum and/or dad’s lap pouring over a well thumbed picture book.

The BookStart program is so important in making sure that children who wouldn’t otherwise have books of their own do, and parents are given guidance on how to get the most form story time.

Again, I was extremely lucky in that I grew up in a house where books were (and still are) everywhere. My own home is crammed with books and my 2 and a half year old daughter has a stack of books about 3 times her own height. I love reading and learning and it is the most precious and powerful gift you can give anyone, anywhere. The ability to read and the attendant skills it develops have been and still are the keystone to so many advancements; scientific and social. I’m also very lucky to have a married a man as passionate about reading as I, and indeed we first bonded over a shared love of Terry Pratchett.

It should be clear that this is a subject that I am very passionate about so to spare you having to read more of an already long sermon by expounding on how the money wasted on voting on XFactor et al could probably fund programs like BookStart I’ll cut to the chase.

What I am going to do as my small attempt to ensure a that the vital work of Booktrust continues is this:

From January  20% of the selling price of every single piece of jewellery I sell, either on line or at craft fairs will be dontated to the Booktrust.

You can track what I’ve sold and raised on Google Docs

Or you can cut out the middle man and donate directly to Booktrust:

http://www.booktrust.org.uk/show/feature/Strategy%20and%20influence/Donate-to-Booktrust

BBC News Article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12058307

*And better done by cutting senior civil servants’ salaries. Can’t compete with private sector jobs? Well then let them try and find one in this climate and well done to them if they can.

** If we find reading difficult and a chore then how are we to be able to read and digest what we are reading and so make informed decisions. If reading levels continue to drop then the whole standard to which we can be educated drops and we become an ill-informed and ignorant nation, with a population ultimately at the mercy of those who can convince us to vote for them and we will continue to give custom to the businesses of their tax dodging cronies.