IBC pledges 10,000 free books to schools via Book Box scheme
Inclusive Books for Children (IBC), is expanding its flagship IBC Book Box scheme, increasing the boxes of 100 books gifted to primary schools from 60 to 100. This equates to 10,000 free books for children.
Each box contains hand-picked, expert-reviewed, inclusive children’s titles, a collection worth around £800 and comprising mainly fiction picture books, board books, chapter books and anthologies for 3- to 11-year-olds.
As the Department for Education in collaboration with National Literacy Trust (NLT) encourages the country to ‘Go All In’ on reading during the National Year of Reading 2026, expansion of the 2026 IBC Book Box scheme is a direct and practical response, putting enticing books in the schools where they are most needed.
IBC highlight that lack of diverse representation in books may pose an additional barrier to piquing children’s interest in reading. Last year’s IBC Excluded Voices survey reported that despite 30.7% of primary school-aged children in the UK being from minoritised ethnic backgrounds, only 5.5% of children’s books published in 2024 featured main characters from those same communities.
Sophie Hostick-Boakye, the charity’s book box coordinator says, ‘Past reading surveys have shown that for some children, continually not seeing diverse cultures and identities reflected in book characters can mean reading motivation suffers. IBC Book Box addresses this disconnect. Every title in every box is reviewed by experts with relevant lived experience, ensuring schools receive high quality books with representation that’s authentic, not tokenistic, and rings true for all children.’
Since launching as a pilot scheme in 2024, demand for IBC Book Box has been overwhelming. The scheme grew from 12 to 46 boxes in 2024, to 60 in 2025 and now, for 2026, IBC is scaling up once more to 100 boxes, responding to proven need.
Marie Hardy, library leader and class teacher at Springfield Junior School in Suffolk, shared the impact of the scheme on their pupils: ‘The IBC Book Box has been huge this year with helping to promote reading for pleasure. The array of books within the boxes were unpacked and explored with delight by our Reading Champions. The book box has encouraged us to think about the diversity of the books we purchase but also to take children’s voice into consideration. So many of them have enjoyed these books and want more of the same.’
How to apply
Applications for IBC Book Box open at 9am 17 June 2026 and close on 16 July 2026 (BST). The scheme is available to all state primary schools in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
