Evaluating the impact of the Leeds Story Buses on children’s reading experiences: Data and recommendations

Differences in early years development are strongly related to the socioeconomic gap in Leeds. A powerful way of tackling these challenges is to support children’s language and communication. Leeds Libraries’ Story Buses are a creative strategy in enabling the growth of a city of readers, bringing libraries to a wider range of families.

Assessing the impact of the service one year into operation will ensure the most effective service for supporting more children and families with reading. This evaluation report covers the rationale, operation, and aims of the story bus service. It presents data from interviews and observations of almost 500 stakeholders, including caregivers, young children, librarians, and early years practitioners. It analyses patterns of engagement, strengths and weaknesses of the current service, and early impacts on reading practices. The data is then used to make recommendations for the future of the service.

Support for the buses was overwhelmingly positive across all stakeholders. Children were highly engaged in language and literacy activities on the bus, and demonstrated a range of early literacy skills. Suggested improvements include widening and further promoting the provision, facilitating more regular visits to the target areas, collaborating with community leaders and practitioners to maximise engagement, and investing in more library staff to meet demand.