The Reading for Children programme responds to the fact that being read to as a child is one of the strongest predictors of later academic success. All over the world, too many children leave primary school unable to read and write fluently. What happens in school is important, but if we wait to tackle the problem until children are in school it is too late. Children who have been read to before they go to school, and whose family members continue to read to them, are shown to outperform those who have not had such opportunities. Reading at home also reinforces positive relationships within the family. Reading for pleasure helps to develop children’s language, literacy, critical thinking, ability to communicate, social and emotional skills. Quite simply being read to from an early age helps children become confident learners.