Evaluation of the impact of the Leeds Story Buses on children's reading skills and their home learning environment

Value

£7,000

Partners and collaborators

Leeds Libraries

Description

Differences in early years development are strongly related to the socioeconomic gap in Leeds. There is a low take-up of early years services among some groups, and the percentage of children attaining a good level of development at the end of their first year at school is lower than the national average (66% vs. 72%, Leeds Observatory [source: DfE 2019]). A powerful way of tackling these challenges is to support children’s language and communication. Several local services including Leeds Libraries, share this vision. The Story Buses, which bring libraries to families who don’t typically use them, are a creative strategy in enabling the growth of a city of readers.

Starting its regular routes in autumn 2021, the story bus service is now one year into operation. Assessing the impact of the story buses at this point will ensure that they provide the most effective service for achieving their aim of helping more children and families enjoy reading, and to develop an understanding of the fundamental and lasting benefits of reading.

Impact

This evaluation of the story buses will help library teams optimise the service. The evaluation, run by an independent expert team, analyses new quantitative and qualitative data on the use and perceptions of the story buses. It presents data from interviews and observations of almost 500 stakeholders, including caregivers, young children, librarians and other library staff, and early years practitioners.

Publications and outputs

Twine, E. & Davies, C. (2022). Evaluating the impact of the Leeds Story Buses on children’s reading experiences: Data and recommendations. https://doi.org/10.48785/100/102

Project website

https://www.local.gov.uk/case-studies/story-bus-leeds-library-service