An inequality of access to school libraries and insecure employment for school librarians have been revealed in research published as part of the Great School Libraries campaign.

Involving evidence from 1,750 schools, the research finds that while 87 per cent of schools in England have access to a designated library space, this figure falls to 67per cent in Wales and 57 per cent in Northern Ireland.

Furthermore, schools with high proportions of children on free school meals (FSM) are much more likely not to have library provision.

The figures show that while 91 per cent of schools with nine per cent or fewer on FSM have library provision, this figure drops to 81 per cent for schools with 25 to 49 per cent FSM, and 56 per cent for schools with 50 per cent or more on FSM.

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