Bookstart Around the World 1
Bookstart Around the World Pack, Bookstart Treasu
re and Bookstart Corner.1 However, the UK’s Bookstart programme is currently undergoing significant changes. At the time of writing, it is yet to be established exactly how Bookstart will take shape in the future, but some details of its main approach and strategies are in place. In the future, Bookstart will place more importance on certain target groups that are in greater need (vulnerable families and those less inclined to read). The general book giveaways for all children will continue, but, going forwards, greater emphasis will be placed on target groups with specific needs. This change is intended to help find a Bookstart model that works for all children but that puts those with the greatest needs foremost.2 3.3.1 Model The original Bookstart model involves giving young children gifts of books in connection with their medical examination (as was the case with the pilot project in Birmingham). The book gifts are distributed by the child healthcare services, libraries or municipal registrars. Local programmes can vary somewhat because the Bookstart coordinators organise the local implementations according to local circumstances (Interview 1; BookTrust, 2019a). However, it is most common for books to be given during home visits by child healthcare services; other locations include family centres, clinics or libraries (Eliot, 2014). The model is based on a collaboration between the various organisations, in which the one that is best suited to give the books is the one that will do so, but often through a cooperation between libraries, child healthcare services and family centres. Bookstart Corner is a targeted initiative aimed at families that for various reasons are in greater need. Bookstart Corner can give these families extra support by giving them additional personalised meetings within the programme. There are also books adapted to various needs, such as according to language (BookTrust, 2019c). The initiative makes use of both group meetings and home visits, and extra meetings can be arranged with families that are included in the base programme, according to local and family circumstances (BookTrust, 2019d). In the targeted initiatives, it is common for different organisations to be involved according to the local context and the needs that these families have (BookTrust, 2019a, Crill, 2019). 3.3.2 Evaluation and research On the national level, support tools are provided for local review and evaluation. The reviews reported by local Bookstart programmes include things such as the number of books given away, as well as more informal feedback. For additional support, there is also a template showing how the professions can review visits (Interview 1; BookTrust, 2019e). After having gained an overview of how the programmes are evaluated, the review, evaluation and research are themselves subject to development in the changes that are now being made on the national level within Bookstart. The aim is to strengthen the evaluation system and gain greater insight into the needs of families and practitioners. Part of this is that, every other year, a large number of households should be involved in a survey in order to gain a deeper appreciation of the situations and needs of families. Various aspects of Bookstart UK have been evaluated more than once. On several occasions, Wade and Moore studied the effects of the pilot study in Birmingham that indicate that the programme appears to have had positive effects on participating children (Wade & Moore via Rydsjö, 2012),3 even in the 1. Since this initiative is aimed at slightly older children, it will not be described in greater detail in this overview. 2. This development was initiated in 2020, and the work is now well under way. Since it is as yet unclear exactly what the programme will be like in the future when this overview is implemented, Bookstart will be described according to what it was like until these changes began, subject to changes that will occur in the future. 3. See Rydsjö (2012) for a more detailed description of early evaluations from Bookstart UK. 13/52