Commenting on a pledge by Plaid Cymru to guarantee libraries in all primary schools, Laura Doel, national secretary for NAHT Cymru, said:

“Access to books is incredibly important for children – there is plenty of evidence of the positive impact it has on literacy. But all primary schools already provide access to books, so Plaid Cymru’s focus on specific library spaces seems like something of a red herring.

“There are so many incredibly urgent demands on education funding and school budgets – including rapidly spiralling costs, buildings in disrepair, and sharply increasing additional learning needs – libraries are sadly quite far down the priority list for most schools. Improving literacy is absolutely a key focus, but our members tell us that sustainable investment in reading schemes is what is most needed.

“Ultimately, the best way to boost literacy is to ensure all pupils have dedicated high-quality teachers and school staff in front of them and the learning support they need. Any policy that directs funding away from these crucial fundamentals would be short-sighted. With limited resources available to schools, it would not be right to prioritise a blanket requirement for them all to have a library in place.”