Column by Rachael Hunt, South Gloucestershire Council's cabinet member for communities and local place.

It’s World Book Day this week, when children celebrate the joy of reading, with many dressing up as their favourite character. The aim of the day is to promote reading for pleasure, for many it can be the start of a journey through books into other worlds or the learn more about this one.

Reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income.

South Gloucestershire Council wants to see more children develop a life-long habit of reading for pleasure and the improved life chances this brings them. As part of our commitment to give children and young people the best start in life, we are launching an ambitious project to give every child in the district a library card over the next four years.

Starting this year, we will be giving a library card to all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 – that’s 10,000 children across the district. In the coming years, every child will get a card when they come into Reception and Year 6 – another 7,000 children each year.

Covid has had a major impact on children’s education, with around 60 days of schooling lost in 2020-21. Many children may have got out of the habit of reading or missed out on the chance to visit their local library to discover what’s on offer there. This project aims to help reading become a regular part of a child’s life, which they can take forward into adulthood.

A library card opens up a world of children’s books, which can be shared and enjoyed from a very early age. The library service runs story times in all libraries and already works with schools to encourage children to enjoy reading for pleasure.

To encourage children to activate their card, the library service will be running a range of activities including visits by a diverse range of authors. The scheme will build on the very popular Summer Reading Challenge, with activities through the summer holidays for children to enjoy and to encourage them to visit their local library regularly.

In South Gloucestershire, we believe that reading is for life, not just World Book Day.