For parents and carers

We wanted to create a page just for parents and carers where you can find all the information you need about your child taking part in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge and using the Story Lab website

The Summer Reading Challenge website

The Summer Reading Challenge website allows your child to log the books they have read and unlock extra content as they work through the Challenge. They can also find new books to read, recommended by other children, take part in a story writing competition and play online games.

Your child’s safety

Your child’s online safety is paramount to us.

When children register, we ask them to give us an email address; this is never passed on to third parties. Its sole purpose is for us to enable children who have forgotten their password to access the site again.

We encourage children to send us messages to tell us how they’re getting on with the Summer Reading Challenge. All messages sent to us go directly to our moderator, and nothing is displayed on the site that breaks the rules of our strict code of conduct.

Children cannot message each other independently – they can only send messages via our website (and through our moderator).

Children may send messages to our library bloggers. Our library bloggers can only post responses on the site and have no access to children’s email addresses.

When children register on our site, they select an avatar and choose a fun name. This means we never use children’s real names or allow messages with real names to be posted on our site. Similarly any personal information such as addresses and phone numbers are never displayed. Messages containing this type of information will be blocked by our moderator.

If you have any other questions regarding safety and your child on the Summer Reading Challenge website, please email us direct: info@readingagency.org.uk

What is the Summer Reading Challenge?

Every year, thousands of families all over the country take part in the UK’s biggest reading event for children in libraries, the Summer Reading Challenge, run by the charity The Reading Agency.

Every year there’s a different theme. The aim of the challenge is to get children to read six books from their library during the summer holidays.

Enrolling your child

The Summer Reading Challenge is aimed at children aged four to 11 although it is open to any child. It is run in very nearly all libraries in the UK and it is completely free.

Go to your local library during the summer holidays – the sooner you go the longer your child will have to read six books. Staff will enrol your child and give them a membership pack.

You can go to any UK library that is running the Summer Reading Challenge and you don’t have to keep going to the same library. So if you are on holiday in the UK your child can still keep up with the Challenge.

Find out what is happening throughout the summer and in other parts of the country

Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SummerReadingChallengeUK or
follow us on Twitter http://twitter/TheReadingAgency

What books can my child read?

The Summer Reading Challenge is designed for children of all ages and reading abilities. They can read any books they like – fact books, stories, joke books, picture books – it’s up to them. Audio books count too! As long as you’re borrowing them from the library, they all count.

Rewards

Every child who reads six books gets a certificate, and most libraries are offering other rewards, too. For example, there are Bronze, Silver and Gold stickers for children reading 2, 4 and 6 books with secret website codes they can use online to unlock special animations. Just ask the library staff when you join up.

Do you offer materials for children with visual impairment?

Yes. This year, as in previous years, we’ve been working with the RNIB to create supersize materials with extra large print for children who are visually impaired, or children who have visually impaired parents/carers. There are accompanying information sheets about the Challenge in Braille and a certificate in Braille.

Ask at your library about these resources.

The RNIB also loans books in Braille, giant print (24 point type) and audio, for children and young people aged five upwards. Books are delivered by post free of charge and children can borrow six books at a time. A themed book list for the Summer Reading Challenge will also be available from RNIB to help blind and partially-sighted children complete the Challenge. It is quick and easy to join the library – email childrenslibrarian@rnib.org.uk or call direct on 0161 355 2061.

Other children’s story websites

We have partnerships with other charities where children can listen to and create stories.

Listen to stories – go to Story Cloud, where there are brand new stories/poems from top writers including Michael Rosen, Malorie Blackman and Andy Stanton.

Create stories – go to the Story Bandit at Stories from the Web, where there are also book reviews by children.