FAQs

Every secondary school in England is sent an email from Booktrust inviting them to register for Booked Up in June. The Booked Up coordinator registers the school online by the end of July.

In September each registered school receives:

• Information about the programme and how to help the students choose their book 
• Posters to promote reading for pleasure
• A free set of the 12 core books featured on the list or 17 books for special schools (if they register by Friday 1 July).
• A bookmark for every child which can also be used as an order form

The Booked Up coordinator then collates the Year 7s’ choices and places the order on the website. The students’ free books will be delivered to the school in clearly marked boxes by the end of the autumn term.

Booked Up is funded by the Department for Education (DfE) and generously supported by children’s book publishers. It is delivered by Booktrust, the independent charity that encourages people of all ages and cultures to engage with books www.booktrust.org.uk

Booked Up applies only to England because the Department for Education (DfE) is responsible for education services in England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are separate as each has their own Assembly/Parliament, and the Channel Islands and Isle of Man have their own Education Authorities.

Booktrust is an independent charity with an extensive track record in developing and managing book gifting programmes.

• Booktrust is able to ensure that the books are independently selected by appropriate experts in the field of children's books

• Booked Up participants can be confident that the programme is non-commercial and coordinated by a charity whose key remit is that of encouraging people of all ages and cultures to discover and enjoy reading

• Booktrust is able to support the Booked Up programme with promotional materials and add-on activities, and is uniquely placed to offer further reading ideas and to help children continue on their reading journeys after they receive their free books

• Booktrust offers extensive advice and information online, catering for all ages, interests and needs

• Booktrust is also positioned at the heart of the book world and as such can support the programme through links to other relevant projects, organisations and resources.

If you have any questions or comments about the Booked Up programme, please contact the Booked Up team at Booktrust.

Address: Booked Up, Book House, 45 East Hill, London, SW18 2QZ

Email: bookedup@booktrust.org.uk

Telephone: 020 8516 2986

Anyone can use our school search page and enter the school name, town and postcode to perform a search. This will then show if the school is registered and the name of the person who registered the school (the Booked Up coordinator).

If your child does not attend school but is of Year 7 age (born between 1 September 1999 and 31 August 2000) they are still eligible to receive a free book.

Please phone 020 8516 2986 or email bookedup@booktrust.org.uk to register; you will then be able to order a book on behalf of your child in September.

We’re committed to delivering Booked Up to all Year 7 children, including those who may not attend mainstream schools or be in regular or continuous education. If you work with Year 7 students who may not receive their free book through a school, you can register as a Booked Up coordinator and place orders for the Year 7s you work with.

Examples of alternative education providers who can register are:

• Gypsy/Roma/Traveller Education Services
• Hospital Schools
• Looked After Children Education Services
• Children's Hospices
• Pupil Referral Units

To register, please email bookedup@booktrust.org.uk. If you are unsure whether you can register please phone 020 8875 4820 and we will be able to advise you.

Booktrust ran a Pilot of the Booked Up programme in Northern Ireland in 2010 in which 68 schools were able to take part.

At present we do not have funding to roll out the programme in Northern Ireland so NI schools are not able to register for the programme at this time.

As Booked Up is funded by the Department for Education (DfE), Booked Up is only open to schools in England. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are outside the remit of DfE and therefore unfortunately not eligible for this free books offer.

All schools wishing to take part in Booked Up in 2011 must register online.

You can do this by clicking on any register link which will take you to a school search page.

Here you can search for your school by name, town and postcode. When you have found your school simply click the button that says 'REGISTER NOW' and you will be taken to a screen where you will be asked to enter information about the school including expected number of Year 7 students in 2011/12, and contact details.

If you have any technical problems when registering please contact our helpdesk on 0845 606 4262.

Register by Friday 1 July 2011 to receive a free set of Booked Up books for their school.

All schools must register online by Friday 29 July 2011 in order to take part in Booked Up this year.

Booked Up boxes will arrive in registered schools in September, containing:

• A free set of the 12 core books featured on the list or 17 books for special schools. NB This is only guaranteed for schools that by Friday 1 July

• A 6-page leaflet containing information about the programme and ideas and resources to help you make the most from Booked Up
• Two A2 posters to promote reading for pleasure
• A bookmark for every Year 7 which can also be used as an order form

Once you have placed your order, you will receive a second delivery containing a free book for every Year 7 student in your school by the end of the autumn term.

Plus, if you order by Friday 30 September 2011 you will also receive a free set of children’s books for your school.

The Booked Up list is chosen by an independent panel of experts, including librarians, teachers, authors and other children’s book experts.

We invite a range of publishers to submit the titles that they think would be appropriate for the Booked Up list. Of the titles we receive we select a longlist of between 70 and 100 books for our selection panel to consider.

The panel then read all the books, and gather opinions from current Year 7 students, before selecting a final list that reflects a variety of genres, styles and reading levels.

This year the panel comprised:
Michelle Pauli (chair), editor of the Guardian’s children’s book website
Lucy Reynolds, Head of English at Wakefield City Academy
Angela Russell, Learning Resource Centre Manager for St Cuthbert’s Business and Enterprise College in Rochdale
Kevin Sheehan, Chartered Librarian at Offerton School in Stockport and 2010 School Library Association Librarian of the Year.
Steve Voake, children’s author and Senior Lecturer in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University

Find out more about the 2011 selection panel

The books are chosen purely on their individual merit, regardless of publisher.

There are 13 publishers represented on the list this year. They are:

Barrington Stoke

Bloomsbury

Child's Play

Hachette Children's Books

Macmillan Children's Books

Orion

Penguin Children's Books

Random House Children's Books

Ransom Publishing

Scholastic Children's Books

Usborne

Templar

Walker Books

Children who enter Year 7 with English as an additional language are learning all the time by participating in lessons taught in English. Reading books in English will help to extend their knowledge of the language, which is vital in order to access the whole school curriculum.

The Booked Up list does include a number of titles selected especially for children with additional educational needs and audio options. These books are suited to children with lower reading ability or less understanding of the English language, so we hope there will be a suitable book for every child.

Booktrust recognises that the Booked Up programme needs to cater for a diverse spectrum of interests, abilities and reading ages.

We work with a disability consultant with recommendations from coordinators at special schools to select a list that includes the following types of books:

• Books that provides sensory stimulation
• Books that are accompanied by an audio CD
• Simple picture books with wide appeal
• High interest books with a low reading age
• Books that are ideal to read aloud
• Books that are specifically written for reluctant or dyslexic readers.

All special schools receive a complete set of all 17 Booked Up titles to help them decide which books will suit their students' needs best.

It is also recognised that some children participating in the programme will have additional specific needs. With this in mind, we offer books on the list available on CD for children who need an audio alternative (for example, children who are blind or visually impaired). We also hope to be able to offer books in Braille and giant print - please check back for details of this in September.

Resource packs will be delivered to registered schools from Monday 5 September 2011. Please note not all schools will receive their resource pack on this day.

Each resource pack will include:

• A 6-page leaflet containing information about the programme and ideas and resources to help you make the most from Booked Up
• Two posters to promote reading for pleasure
• A bookmark for every child which can also be used as an order form
• A free set of the 12 core books featured on the list or 17 books for special schools (if you registered by Friday 1 July)

A reduction in our funding means we have not been able to produce magazines or a DVD this year. Please encourage your Year 7 students to visit the website for book reviews, extracts, author information and film clips.

You can also download a photo-copiable guide to the Booked Up books for your students.

We only have the resources to provide samples of the accessible titles to Special Schools. However, information about all 17 titles is available on the website, and any child can order a book from the accessible list.

Please call our helpdesk on 0845 606 4262 or email enquiries@bookedupmail.org.uk

We ask for this information to evaluate the Booked Up programme by gender, and ensure the book selection that we are offering is providing enough variety for both boys and girls. This helps us to develop the programme and book selection for future years.

In response to your feedback we have added a boy/girl tick box to the bookmark which should make the process easier.

Booked Up is specifically funded and designed to encourage Year 7 students to read for pleasure. We cannot offer books to any other age groups.

The element of choice is central to Booked Up; 71.4% of Year 7 students said that they fact they had chosen their Booked Up book themselves made them more likely to read it. We would therefore urge you to allow your students to choose their books for themselves.

To make collecting your students’ choices easier we have provided a bookmark for every child on which they can make their selection, and a spreadsheet which coordinators can use to collate the orders.

If you ordered by the deadline of Friday 21 October, your order will be with you no later than Wednesday 30 November. You will receive your students' free books in a delivery of clearly marked boxes.

N.B. Boxes will be marked Booked Up but will not be purple this year.

If your order arrives and there are books missing or they are not the books you ordered please call our helpdesk on 0845 606 4262 or email enquiries@bookedupmail.org.uk and we will deliver the correct books as soon as possible.