Research

Since book gifting to babies began in the UK in 1992, a wealth of information on the outcomes of this early intervention approach has been published.

Here you can read about some of our most significant research studies, together with the impact that Early Years book gifting programmes have for children and families across the UK and beyond.

New research

'Joining the Dots - A Better Start for Scotland's Children' Prof. Susan Deacon (PDF)

Susan Deacon's independent report, ‘Joining the Dots –A Better Start for Scotland’s Children’ makes a number of key recommendations including:

  • More collaborative ventures, drawing in resources from private, public and not for profit  sectors
  • Build a common consensus on the importance of the early years, including raising public awareness
  • Embed a commitment to prevention and early years in national policy and practice
  • Place renewed emphasis on the importance of effective parenting
  • Recognise the importance of intervening more quickly when a child is at severe riskof abuse and neglect during the early years of life.
  • Give families, communities and frontline professionals a stronger voice and greater opportunity to shape and influence the design and delivery of services
  • Scottish Government to lead a programme of simplification, decluttering the policy landscape
  • Create a “bias for action” in early years, shifting energy and resources from analysis to  action
  • The establishment of a National Early Years Alliance to build leadership and foster collaborative action.

Early Years Book Gifting Outcomes

Research Highlights
Scottish Book Trust’s Early Years Programme has emerged from the work of our sister organisation Booktrust’s work on book gifting, through their Bookstart programme.

Click here to read a brief summary (Word doc) of the data from the research on Booktrust’s Bookstart programme.

Scottish Based Studies

From 1999 - 2010 Early Years book gifting in Scotland was also under the Bookstart umbrella, until the launch of our own bespoke book gifting programme, Bookbug, in June 2010. Between 1999 and 2010 a number of research studies were commissioned in Scotland to look at the effects and impact of the book gifting programme in Scotland.

'Special time together': An evaluation of Bookstart in South Lanarkshire (PDF)

This research into the book gifting programme in South was carried out in May 2008 by Helen Berry and Christina McMellon.

An Appraisal of Bookstart in Sighthill (Word)

An Appraisal of Bookstart in Sighthill was conducted by the University of Aberdeen in October 2007 and the findings illustrate the impact of having a dedicated Early Years worker promoting the book sharing message in an area of deprivation.

Academic Research

There is a wealth of academic research available that supports the principle of gifting books to families in the Early Years. The following summaries are just a taste of the studies that have been carried out into the benefits of an early intervention approach.

The long term costs of literacy difficulties – KPMG Foundation (PDF)

This report was commissioned by the KPMG Foundation, a charitable trust that funds education and social projects for disadvantaged children and young people.

The context was the Foundation’s involvement in the Every Child A Reader initiative, a project that provided expert literacy teaching to six-year-old children who were struggling to learn to read and write.

 

Invest in the Very Young – James Heckman (PDF)

A document that looks into the question of how to sue the available funds wisely, by James J. Heckman, PhD Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences 2000, published by Ounce of Prevention Fund and the University of Chicago in 2000.

 

Family scholarly culture and educational success: Books and schooling in 27 nations - Evans et al

Conducted in 27 nations across the globe, this study explores the impact that the presence of books in the home and growing up with a reading culture has on children’s wider academic attainment.

Click here to read a brief summary of the key facts from the document (Word doc).

 

Economic benefits of early years support - 15/11/2010

New research into the financial impact of effective early years support for children in Scotland shows it could save the public purse up to £131 million a year in the medium term.