A City Where Too Many Children Are Being Left Behind

In Manchester today, far too many children are starting life already at a disadvantage, and the gap is widening. Only 51.3% of pupils in Manchester are meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, compared with 59% nationally. That means almost half of our children are leaving primary school without the literacy skills they need to thrive.

And literacy doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It sits right at the heart of poverty.

Across Greater Manchester, one in every three children grows up in poverty, around 37%, or 11 children in a class of 30 .
In Manchester city alone, the figure rises to 44%, nearly half of all children.

These numbers aren’t just statistics. They represent thousands of children navigating daily life without the essentials many of us take for granted, including books.

Books that build confidence. Books that spark imagination. Books that help children learn to read, write, dream and grow.

And right now, too many children in our city don’t have a single one at home.

Introducing Books Forever

This March, we’re launching Books Forever, a project designed to put brand new books directly into the hands of children who need them most.

Books Forever gives children the chance to choose books they can take home and keep. Books that belong to them. Books that help them fall in love with reading, not because they have to, but because they want to.

Because when a child has their own books, everything changes.

Confidence grows. Vocabulary expands. Imagination ignites.

And literacy, the foundation of every future opportunity, begins to take root.

Why Books Matter More Than Ever

When nearly half of Manchester’s children are not meeting expected literacy standards, and almost half are growing up in poverty, the connection is painfully clear.

A child without books is a child already falling behind.

A child without books is a child who starts school at a disadvantage.

A child without books is a child who may never catch up.

But a single book, the right book, can change everything.

Donate Your Favourite Childhood Book

This March, we’re asking supporters to donate a new copy of their favourite childhood book, or the price of one.

Think about the story that shaped you.
The book you read until the spine softened.
The one that made you feel brave, curious, understood… or unstoppable.

Now imagine a child in Manchester holding that book for the very first time.

Your book could be the one that helps a child fall in love with reading.
Your book could be the one that builds confidence.
Your book could be the one that sparks a future they didn’t know was possible.

How You Can Help Today

Donate a new copy of your favourite childhood book.

Or donate the cost of one, and we’ll place it directly into a child’s hands.

Every book you give becomes a stepping stone, out of poverty, into possibility.

Stat source: Manchester City Council