Property developer Redrow donated an extra £500 to its outreach programme, which it runs with Crediton bookshop The Bookery, to provide books for Okehampton school children.

The developer announced this week (September 26) that it was continuing to fund the venture which it helped to set up with The Bookery (formerly Crediton Community Bookshop) after discovering that a third of families cannot afford books for their children or have no books in the house.

The two organisations have since continued to work towards supporting and encouraging Okehampton’s primary school children to read.

Redrow area sales manager Kevin Bradford, said: ‘Children’s education was heavily impacted during the pandemic. As we recover from the closure of schools and the knock on impact of home learning challenges, it is particularly important that we focus on children who sit at the heart of Okehampton’s thriving community.

‘At Redrow we are passionate about supporting the wellbeing of those local communities and their future. Children’s education is absolutely paramount to this. We hope the children enjoy getting lost in books, and this love to reading helps them thrive.’

As part of the programme, children’s author Emma Carroll visited Okehampton Primary School last week (September 22) which, said Cathie Holden from The Bookery’s schools team, could be ‘just the catalyst for engaging children with reading.’

She added: ‘We are passionate about the power of books to change lives and know that there is a direct link between reading for pleasure, academic achievement and emotional wellbeing. We also know that there are many children in Devon who do not own books and many who do not read for pleasure.

‘The Bookery is delighted to be working in partnership with Redrow by providing every child in Year 5 with a copy of Emma Carroll’s new book, ‘The Little Match Girl Strikes Back’. This was an exciting and inspiring event for 100 school children.’

Meanwhile Sally Huxen, co-principal of Okehampton Primary said: ‘Reading for pleasure is a priority for our school and progress in reading has significant impact on a child’s ability to learn across the curriculum. We are incredibly grateful for this generous donation which we know will have a real impact on outcomes for our children.’

In past Redrow has also provided a donation to cover food, drinks and personalised bears at a Jubilee party organised by residents on the Romansfield development, as well as sponsoring the local Guide Dogs of Okehampton.