An audit of schools in England should be carried out to determine how many have a library and a librarian, a new study has recommended.

Delivered by the Libraries All-Parliamentary Group (APPG), the report explains that “no complete picture” exists on this matter, meaning it is remains difficult for the government to make meaningful change.

It proposes that in such a scenario, responsibility should fall on the Department for Education to make this information part of the annual data submission sent by schools.

Another proposal put forward by the APPG in the survey, which is entitled The Beating Heart of the School, is for the examination of the influence that school libraries have in supporting pupils’ literacy skills, enjoyment of reading and access to knowledge.

“Every child growing up in the UK should have the chance to learn and develop through a good school library,” Lord Graham Tope, chair of the APPG, writes in the report’s foreword.

“Poor literacy skills stand in the way of children and young people achieving their potential. In an increasingly digital world, we need to teach young people how to evaluate and understand unprecedented amounts of information.”

He adds that the success of the UK’s economy is “underpinned” by the ability of businesses to recruit literate, knowledge individuals with the “right skills” and key to making this happen is in schools having high quality library.

To appropriately measure the impact of libraries, Ofsted’s inspection remit should be extended, Lord Graham outlined. As to who is responsible for boosting library provision, he called on everyone, from parents to teachers to school governors and politicians “to chip in”.

“With one in six adults in the UK struggling with literacy, more must be done to equip young people with essential literacy skills,” he highlighted.

“I would expect the best schools to have a fantastic library; we need to ensure that every pupil across the UK has a library that is fit for purpose in their school.”