To ask the Minister of Education to detail any work he is undertaking to support the National Literacy Trust and their mission to have libraries in all primary schools in Northern Ireland.

My Department is supporting the National Literacy Trust in its work to strengthen reading culture and improve access to books and school library provision across Northern Ireland, particularly as part of the National Year of Reading.

I recently supported the launch of the National Year of Reading and wrote to all schools to highlight and promote the Trust’s resources. I was also pleased to visit a school benefiting from the Libraries for Primaries programme. To date, this programme has provided funding to support more than 70 primary schools in Northern Ireland, and I welcome initiatives that help schools create readingrich environments for children and young people.

Evidence shows that reading, writing and oracy are central to children’s learning and long-term outcomes. Strong Foundations, my Department’s Literacy Framework, together with the wider TransformED agenda, places these core skills, including reading for pleasure, at the heart of efforts to raise standards for all learners. My Department has delivered a series of webinars on key aspects of literacy and will, in the coming weeks, host a webinar focused on ‘reading for pleasure’, supported by the Trust.