IBC pledges 10,000 free books to schools via expanded Book Box scheme

Each Book Box contains hand-picked, expert-reviewed, inclusive children’s titles, a collection worth around £800, and comprising mainly fiction picture books, board books, chapter books and anthologies for children aged 3- to 11-year-olds.

The expansion comes at a pivotal time, as the Department for Education in collaboration with National Literacy Trust encourages the country to ‘Go All In’ on reading during the National Year of Reading 2026, launched in response to a worrying regression in reading enjoyment.

Of the 8- to 18-year-olds surveyed by the National Literacy Trust in 2025, just 1 in 3 (32.7%) said they enjoy reading regularly in their spare time, a 36% drop since 2005. Reading rates among 5- to 8-year-olds also decreased by 3.4 percentage points to 44.5% last year, 9.1 percentage points since 2019. Although new figures released from the NLT this month suggest things have slightly improved, ie reading enjoyment for over 8s was up to 36.1% and daily reading by 5-to 8-year-olds was up to 45.5%, the situation is still far from ideal, and supportive initiatives are needed more than ever. Expansion of the 2026 IBC Book Box scheme is a direct and practical response, meaning enticing, high-quality, children’s books reach the settings where they are most needed.

Lack of diverse representation in books may pose an additional barrier to piquing children’s interest in reading. Last year’s IBC Excluded Voices survey reported that despite 30.7% of primary school-aged children in the UK being from minoritised ethnic backgrounds, only 5.5% of children’s books published in 2024 featured main characters from those same communities.

Sophie Hostick-Boakye, IBC Book Box Coordinator, reflected: ‘For some young readers, particularly those from minoritised backgrounds, continually not seeing diverse cultures or identities reflected in book characters can mean reading motivation suffers. IBC Book Box directly addresses this disconnect. Every title in every box is reviewed by experts with relevant lived experience, ensuring schools receive books with representation that’s authentic, not tokenistic, and rings true for all children.’

Since launching as a pilot scheme in 2024, demand for IBC Book Box has been overwhelming. The scheme grew from 12 to 46 boxes in 2024, to 60 in 2025 and now, for 2026, IBC is scaling up once more to 100 boxes, responding to proven need.

Marie Hardy, library leader and class teacher at Springfield Junior School in Suffolk, shared the impact of the scheme on their pupils: ’The IBC Book Box has been huge with helping to promote reading for pleasure. The array of books within the boxes were unpacked and explored with delight by our Reading Champions. The book box has encouraged us to think about the diversity of the books we purchase but also to take children’s voice into consideration. So many of them have enjoyed these books and want more of the same.’

How to apply for a free IBC Book Box

Applications for IBC Book Box are now open, and close on 16 July 2026 (BST). The scheme is available to all state primary schools in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Visit our IBC Book Box page to apply.