The Letterbox Club is a programme managed by Booktrust in partnership with the University of Leicester.
It focuses on improving the educational outlook for looked-after children aged 7-13 by providing them with a parcel of books, maths activities and educational materials once every month for six months. Each child participating in the programme will receive the parcels directly addressed to them at home. The Letterbox Club is also suitable for other vulnerable children who would benefit from receiving the parcels.
Research shows that children in care underachieve in education, but evaluation from pilots of the Letterbox Club showed a demonstrable impact. Many children began to make more significant changes in their standardised score in reading.
Booktrust received support from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to extend the programme to 1,600 children in 2007-2008. In 2009, the Letterbox Club opened to every local authority in the United Kingdom, with over 4,000 children enrolled across the 125 authorities. 2010 has seen further expansion with 4,300 children and 140 local authorities involved.
Each Letterbox Club parcel arrives in a brightly coloured package, addressed to the child. Each child receives a letter and a range of books that have been carefully selected by the panel at Booktrust for the children in the programme. They also receive number games and a range of stationery items.
Over the six-month period the parcels will also include other items such as a library joining card or information about how to join a library, name plates, bookmarks and letters from a selection of children’s authors. We are developing a varied list of possible materials to be added.
After being a member of the Letterbox Club for six months the child will have built up their own small library of books, a collection of number games and a variety of stationery items.
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