Fair Start is a charity founded by The Wisley Member David Cope, which aims to give children living in areas of book poverty a love of reading for pleasure.

Working closely with primary school teaching teams, Fair Start designs, builds, decorates and helps run school libraries. Its aim is to provide children with access to high-quality books, fostering a lifelong enjoyment of reading and the positive habits that come with it. The charity focuses on delivering projects properly from initial scoping and design through to launch and ongoing operation. Currently, 1 in 7 state primary schools does not have a library, rising to 1 in 4 in the most disadvantaged communities.

David approached The Foundation for support to build a library at Buckingham Primary School near Hampton. The school has 400 pupils, 41% of whom come from low-income households and qualify for free school meals. The library opened last week, and Fair Start will continue to support the school in running the library and maximising its use. The Foundation’s contribution funded the purchase of shelving and library furniture.