Children Reading for Life®, founder of the BeSeenReading® initiative, joined forces with Worthing Football Club earlier in the month to transform its stadium and training ground into a celebration of reading.
Making reading aspirational
BeSeenReading is a powerful initiative designed to make reading visible, accessible, and aspirational for children, families, and communities. First launched in summer 2025 by Polly Atkinson, Founder of Children Reading for Life in Arundel, the initiative proved hugely successful, sparking growing interest from local businesses across West Sussex keen to host their own reading days and encourage wider participation.
Worthing Football Club is one of the first sports clubs to embrace the campaign at scale, hosting an open training session on Friday 10th April during the Easter holidays, followed by a dedicated BeSeenReading matchday on Saturday 11th April with team players all holding a book before the game against Dagenham and Redbridge. With over 3,000 fans attending, the event featured book focused activities, giveaways and stadium wide messaging encouraging families and supporters of all ages to pick up a book and be seen reading.
The initiative comes at a pivotal time, aligning with the UK Government’s National Year of Reading Campaign 2026. Children Reading for Life has long championed this message and is now working alongside the National Literacy Trust to encourage parents to read to their children regularly and to nurture a love of reading for pleasure.
A powerful gift
Polly Atkinson, Founder of Children Reading for Life, comments: “Reading is one of the most powerful gifts we can give a child, it opens doors, builds confidence and shapes futures. The Government’s National Year of Reading reinforces exactly what we’ve been working towards: making reading a visible, shared and valued part of family and community life. Partnering with Worthing Football Club allows us to reach new audiences and show children that reading belongs everywhere, including a football match.”
By bringing together sport, community, and literacy, the initiative aims to normalise reading in everyday spaces and highlight the importance of positive role modelling, encouraging adults and children alike to be seen reading. Children Reading for Life continues to lead grassroots efforts to reverse the decline in reading for pleasure, equipping parents, carers, and educators with the tools to foster a lifelong love of books.
Host a BeSeenReading day
Businesses, sports clubs or communities interested in hosting a BeSeenReading day themselves can email Polly Atkinson at childrenreadingforlife@yahoo.com or can learn more here.
