Books for Secondary Schools - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice

To note - This PME does not signify the commencement of any procurement process and does not constitute any commitment by the Department for Education (DfE). If DfE decides to commence any procurement process subject to the Procurement Act 2023 as contemplated by this notice, a separate notice(s) will be published at the relevant time. The Department reserves the right not to enter any formal processes or agreements. Accordingly, the Department will not be liable for any bid cost, expenditure, work, or effort incurred by a provider in acting based on this notice.

The Purpose

A Preliminary Market Engagement event is being undertaken to understand market capacity and capability to help DfE deliver support to secondary schools in the £5 million Books for Secondary Schools programme, in order to maximise its impact.

This engagement seeks to explore opportunities for philanthropic funders, business sponsors, charitable organisations, school reading book suppliers and other relevant partners to work alongside DfE to amplify the impact of this investment. We want to explore how additional resources, expertise and networks could be leveraged to increase access to, and engagement with, books and other reading materials for secondary school pupils across England.

The engagement will explore how best to maximise the programme’s investment and support the National Year of Reading to improve reach and sustainability. We want to understand how partners can help ensure the investment directly benefits all children, including by addressing barriers to access and boosting reading.

Background

Reading for pleasure is hugely important and brings a range of benefits, including strong links with attainment, wellbeing, empathy, confidence, and aptitude for learning. However, in 2025, only one in three 8 to 18 year olds reported enjoying reading in their free time, which is an all-time low.

That is why DfE has launched the National Year of Reading: a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults. It is a DfE initiative, in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust, who are leading the delivery of the campaign, working alongside a range of partners. As part of the National Year of Reading, DfE is providing £5 million to secondary schools in England to purchase books and other reading materials to help inspire a love of reading amongst their pupils.

This funding will be split between every state funded secondary school in England, because secondary school aged pupils regularly report lowest levels of reading enjoyment: in 2025, more children aged 5-8 (62.7%) and 8-11 (46.9%) enjoyed reading than those aged 11-14 (29.5%) and 14-16 (28.6%).

Schools are central to bringing the National Year of Reading to life, serving as community hubs that can foster a culture of reading inside and beyond the classroom.

Schools play a vital role in shaping young people’s relationship with reading and in ensuring that every pupil, regardless of background, can read for pleasure. For many children, school is the only place where they regularly encounter and have access to books: 8.6% of children aged 8–18 report having no book of their own at home, a figure that rises to 12.4% among disadvantaged children.

DfE seeks to build on this momentum, creating a legacy that lasts well beyond 2026 by partnering with organisations who can increase the scale, creativity and reach of the Books for Schools initiative.

Support and funding options

We want to take a creative and ambitious approach to maximise the opportunity offered by the Books for Secondary Schools programme. While this funding provides a strong foundation, we believe its impact could be significantly amplified through innovative partnerships that bring fresh ideas and additional resources. Our aim is to investigate this opportunity with organisations who share our commitment to improving young people’s access to books and who want to help shape a programme capable of leaving a lasting legacy.

DfE brings substantial infrastructure, national reach, and trusted relationships across the education system. Through our direct links with secondary schools across England, established delivery channels, and existing communication mechanisms, we can ensure that support gets to where it is most needed quickly and effectively.

We are therefore inviting partners who can help us think differently about what this programme could deliver. By unlocking the collective imagination of the philanthropic, business and charitable sectors we are investigating how to create a culture of reading that continues long beyond the National Year of Reading.