Chapter One: 2026 - The National Year of Reading - A Call to Action for the Housing Sector

2026 is the National Year of Reading – a government-backed campaign to reverse the UK's literacy crisis. The statistics are stark: just 1 in 3 children aged 8-18 enjoy reading, and 1 in 5 have no books at home.

As the lead delivery partner for workplace volunteering, literacy charity Chapter One is stepping up by committing to recruit 1,000 additional online reading volunteers in 2026. We’re asking the housing sector: how will you meet the moment?

One-to-one reading support that works

Chapter One connects corporate volunteers - sponsored by their employers - with primary school children aged 5 to 8 for weekly one-to-one online reading sessions. Each session lasts 30 minutes: a volunteer and child meet on Chapter One's secure platform and work through books and literacy activities together at the child's own pace, with a focus on fluency, comprehension and reading enjoyment. The same pair meet every week for the full academic year, which means children benefit from a consistent relationship as well as the reading practice itself.

In 2024-25, Chapter One’s corporate volunteers gave 24,410 hours of reading support to 3,155 children facing disadvantage- the equivalent of 2.8 years! 88% of children improved by at least one reading level over the course of the year, and 96% of teachers believed the programme was beneficial to their pupils. And it’s not just the children who benefitted: 62% of volunteers reported increased wellbeing, and 56% a greater sense of purpose.

Supporting communities in areas of deprivation across the UK

Chapter One supports primary schools in areas of high deprivation. All partner schools have an above-average proportion of children eligible for Free School Meals, and many support large numbers of children with English as an Additional Language. These are children for whom a consistent, encouraging adult in their week can make a genuine difference.

Chapter One’s Online Reading Volunteers Programme is now running in schools in Bradford, Birmingham, Doncaster, Edinburgh, East Sussex, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Peterborough, Warrington and West Cumbria. We are also launching in Bristol in September 2026. As the sessions are online, your volunteers can be located anywhere in the UK, reading with children in one of these locations.

Chapter One already works with more than 180 corporate partners across the UK, including many in your sector such as AtkinsRéalis, Bevan Brittan, Bouygues UK, Clarion Housing, L&G, Mott MacDonald, Turner & Townsend and Wates. Volunteers don't need teaching experience or specialist knowledge. Chapter One provides training, support, and real-time data throughout the year. Sessions run during the school day, and because everything is online, volunteers can participate from wherever they're based.

Jeffrey Joseph, Head of Social Value at Bouygues UK said: "Bouygues UK began their collaboration with Chapter One in September 2025. We have 21 corporate volunteers who meet with children online for half an hour every week. Our volunteers have commented that the sessions are the highlight of their week, and that they love seeing the progress the children make.

As Chapter One Coordinator at Bouygues UK, I am proud to lead this collaboration and would encourage other organisations to consider partnering with Chapter One. The support from the account managers, the online literacy resources and materials, and the meaningful social value it brings are both satisfying and special.”

Improving social mobility

The main focus of the Chapter One Online Reading Volunteers Programme is to help 5- to 8-year-olds enjoy reading and be more confident readers. Research suggests that reading for pleasure’ is more important in a child’s development and life chances than their socio-economic background and parents’ education. For children who don't have regular reading support at home, a Chapter One volunteer can make all the difference.

Chapter One also directly supports UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 — Quality Education — which many organisations have already committed to through the UN Global Compact.

The social value case

Chapter One's programme is measurable, reportable, and independently evaluated. We provide real-time reporting on volunteering hours, monthly impact updates, and comprehensive end-of-year data, giving our corporate partners the data they need to demonstrate community impact clearly and credibly.

Using the National Themes, Outcomes and Measures (TOMs) Framework, our corporate partners collectively delivered over £1.62 million of quantifiable social value through Chapter One in 2024–25 — a 27% increase on the previous year. In partnership with Impact Advantage, we've also developed a social value model that calculates the real, long-term impact of reading support on children's lives. In 2024-25, Chapter One corporate partners delivered £2,782 of social impact per child. Our Social Return on Investment is 4.97.

Ready to meet the moment?

We are looking for more corporate partners and volunteers to support children across the UK.

To launch in Bristol in September, we need 100 volunteers across 10 corporate teams. We’re excited that Bristol City Council’s strategic partner, made up of Arcadis, Mott MacDonald and Arup, will be supporting us. If your organisation has offices or projects based in or around Bristol and would like to make a direct contribution to children's literacy in your region, then please contact our Business Development Team - [email protected] or [email protected].

If you’re interested in supporting us in any of our 13 other regions, we’d also love to hear from you!