Children at a Telford primary school have started school with a free pack of traditional story books to take home thanks to two sponsors eager to share their love of reading.

The reception children at Windmill Primary School in Brookside were each given a pack of 10 fairytale books and a book bag to take home and keep to encourage reading outside of the school classroom.

The books were funded thanks to the generosity of PR and content creation agency, J&PR Ltd (www.jandpr.com) based in Wellington and also The Supply Register based in Keele.

Kirsty Smallman, managing director of J&PR, was joined by Emma Wright and Daniel Edwards from The Supply Register, to hand over the packs of 10 books to each child. The books were specifically chosen for the traditional fairytales which included engaging illustrations and diverse character representation.

Headteacher at Windmill Primary School, Mark Gibbons, said: “We have been providing Reception children with a free book bag for a number of years, but this year we wanted to further encourage families to read together at home. With this in mind, we approached several businesses to see whether they would sponsor the project. We were so pleased J&PR and The Supply Register agreed.

“J&PR is a local company that supports businesses and schools with marketing, often creating opportunities for schools and businesses to work together. The Supply Register is a company we work with whenever we need agency staff to cover colleague absences in school. Both companies kindly sponsored this book-giving initiative which was so generous of both businesses.

“At Windmill, we are passionate about reading. We believe it is the key that unlocks life’s doors. We also believe that adults sharing stories with children is an essential part of a young person’s “best possible start” - our school motto.

“We hope the children will treasure these books and enjoy reading them again and again, at bedtime and throughout the day.”

Kirsty Smallman, from J&PR, said: “As a child I loved reading and writing so there was no surprise when I studied journalism and spent many years as a journalist before moving into PR and marketing. Nothing can beat the feeling and the memory of opening the cover of a new book, regardless of whether you are 4 or 44!

“Reading is more important than ever now as some children spend hours of their time on screens. We were told one barrier to reading was that some children didn’t have any books within the home. We hope our sponsorship changes that and ignites a love of reading for the children and their families.

“We hope by giving each child a full set of traditional storybooks, they will cherish them, read them over and over with siblings and family members and create wonderful memories.

“They were certainly very excited when we handed them out and could tell us which story was their favourite. Little Red Riding Hood seemed to be a firm favourite!”

The school has a series of open days organised and places can be booked here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/4aYLXeyqc9