LoveReading FAQs for Schools
The LoveReading family — LoveReading, LoveReading4Kids and LoveReading4Schools — exists because reading matters, and books change lives.
Like you, we know reading is key to unlocking success across the curriculum. We know that improving reading standards has a huge impact on students’ wellbeing, academic achievement, and future success.
In addition, we know the current funding crisis has resulted in devastating cuts to school library budgets, which is why we’re working to redress that shortfall through a new online book shop with social purpose.
Buy books, change lives - how it works
- When book lovers buy from the LoveReading and LoveReading4Kids bookstores, 25% of the cover price can be donated to a school of the buyer’s choice, such as yours.
- If your school is allocated funds, you’ll be invited to become a member, or you can sign up to become a member here.
- Becoming a member means you can spend allocated funds on LoveReading4Kids. From classics, to the best new fiction across all genres, to inspirational non-fiction, we offer a huge range of books at competitive prices.
Buy books, change lives - what to do
- Become a member
- Encourage parents, carers, family and friends to buy books through LoveReading or LoveReading4Kids and allocate funds to your school.
Like we said at the start, reading matters, books change lives, and joining this community will ensure that continues to happen for your students.
We can’t wait to welcome you aboard.
We hope that this page is able to answer any questions you may have about LoveReading and our service. If you are unable to find the answer you are looking for, please feel free to email us on schools@lovereading.co.uk or call us on +44(0)203 004 7204.
What is LoveReading?
LoveReading is an online bookstore that gives 25% of the money you spend to provide books to the schools of your choice. We get more books in schools.
Launched by one of the UK’s leading book recommendation brands: reading, reviewing, shouting about and selling books right across the genres and the age ranges, we exist because books change lives.
Our mission is to get more books in schools and share book love by offering the content, tools, advice and information to help people find their first or their next favourite book.
Every time you buy a book from us, 25% of the cover price can be donated to a school to help them buy more books for their libraries, encouraging reading for pleasure and delivering better outcomes for our nation’s children.
Contact Us
For any enquiries you have, you will get the best experience when you contact us by email at bookstore@lovereading.co.uk
Email is best for you as a customer as there is no hanging on the phone line, costing you money and we typically get back to you within the same day, if not within a few hours.
Why does LoveReading work with schools?
The Context
- School funding is in crisis.
- Balancing a budget is the school governing issue of our time.
- In 2019 the government gave a cash boost of £7.1 billion covering the period up to 2022-23. This was not even sufficient to restore per-pupil funding to 2010 levels in real terms.
- One in 4 schools are unable to balance their budget.
- Less than half (44%) of schools say that their school finances are sufficient to deliver their strategic priorities for pupils.
The Power of Reading
- There is a deepening recognition of the fundamental importance of improving reading standards on a child’s future academic achievement, wellbeing and success in life.
- Reading is the key to unlocking the rest of the academic curriculum.
- Pupils who struggle to read struggle in all subjects
- Fluency of reading is also a key indicator for future success in further education, higher education and employment.
- Being a highly engaged reader has the potential to allow a child to overcome their background.
- Building a love of stories and reading is critical to success.
- Pupils who fail to learn to read early on start to dislike reading.
- Reading Matters. Reading Makes An Impact. Reading and Books Change Lives.
To encourage reading for pleasure, schools need to be able to provide children with a range of books, books are the foundation of any reading curriculum and the most important aspect of any reading classroom. But, 60% of classrooms have no access to a budget for new books.
How does LoveReading work with schools?
Every time a customer buys a book from us, 25% of the cover price can be donated to a school to help them buy more books.
LoveReading supports schools in several ways:
- If a school is allocated funds by one of our customers, the school is invited to become a member…and then benefit from those funds and all future funds to spend on LoveReading as part of our community.
- Schools that sign up as members of our community will earn 25% of any orders delivered and allocated to them. This money can then be spent as credits on LoveReading4Kids. All orders are fulfilled through Gardners and LoveReading handles the inventory, fulfilment, shipping, customer service and returns.
- If a LoveReading or LoveReading4Kids customer does not dedicate their commission to a particular school, 10% of the sale goes into the pot designated for schools in real need. Schools with deprivation can apply for this Funding for Schools Scheme for schools in particular need, supporting schools and pupils in deprived areas.
How do book lovers support a school?
At checkout, customers select a school to allocate their funds to. They will see straight away, the amount their purchase is donating. And the school will see the donation on their dashboard straight away. If customers tick the box, their email address will be shared with the school so that they can see who is gifting to them.
If they do not want to select a specific school, their contribution will go into the pot for our funding scheme. Details of which can be found here.
Your School’s Dashboard
Once your school is signed up you log into our LoveReading4Schools portal here. From the dashboard page for your school, you can manage all aspects of your school page within the LoveReading4Schools Portal on LoveReading4Kids.
This enables you as a school to create your own recommended reading lists, adopt our annually updated recommended reading lists for every year group, or curriculum reading lists, or tailor any of these to your needs.
You can create wishlists of books you’d like to be gifted to you, here is an example of this. And you can read our blog about this, showing the value it can bring to your school.
Our LoveReading4Schools blog is filled with brilliant bookish content relevant to you as a school. And the Special Features section area supports you in all areas of best practice of reading for pleasure for your school, from effective library management, to the importance of Storytime, to recruiting Junior Librarians to support your reading culture.
Share Your School's Page with Your Community
You can invite your parents and carers, and in fact the whole school community to become members of LoveReading4Kids by registering here https://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/register
Once they register and log into the site via Login in the top right hand corner of the screen and go to My Account, they can search for the schools they wish to follow, either by school name or postcode. They then need to Add the School. They can then access the School's recommended reading lists from My Account any time they wish, and they can donate 25% of any books they buy to your school at checkout on both LoveReading and LoveReading4Kids.
Creating Wishlists
When you enter the Schools Portal there will be an option on your school's dashboard to Manage Wishlists. Click Create New Wishlist and you will be prompted to give the wishlist a name, description and delivery address. If you would like different staff members to contribute to the wish list, you can keep it Private until you are ready to share more widely. Just change Visibility to Public so you can share it with your supporters.
Once created, you can edit the list at any time. You have the option for items to still show in the lists, even once purchased or you can choose for items to be removed from the list once purchased on your behalf. Click Share List With Others to copy the link you can use to share your wishlist with your school community - PTA, parents and carers, governors, alumni and friends of the school.
Click Add/Edit Quantity, Comment & Priority under any book on the list to choose how many copies of each book you need and include a note about the book for your supporters. To add books to your wishlist simply browse the website, click the Heart to the top right of the book jacket image or click the Add to Wishlist button on the book page. Then select the wishlist you wish to add it to.
See the orders flood in.
My School’s Account
How do I sign up as a school?
Email schools@lovereading.co.uk to become a member of our school community. Once verified, we will add you to the database (if you’re not there already) and customers will be able to start allocating money to you, to spend on books.
How can I change my schools’ details?
Your school details can easily be changed by logging into the school’s profile. To register and become a member of our school’s community please use the link at the top of our website. Once registered and logged in you can view your school’s dashboard.
What do I do if I've forgotten my school’s password?
If you have forgotten your school’s password, click here to visit our forgotten password page. Enter the email address attributed to your school’s account into the field provided and a link will be emailed to enable you to create a new password.
What do I do if I'm not sure if we are signed up as a school or not? If you are unsure if you're signed up, or if you no longer have access to the mail address you think you might be signed up with, register as a school from scratch from the usual registration form. On registering, you will be asked to search for your school in our database. If you try and select it, and it is already registered, it will inform you that there is an admin already in place, but it gives you the option to register to take it over. When the request comes to the LoveReading4Schools team, we will ratify your request. Once you have access to the account you can change the main email for the account.
How do I buy books and spend my accrued school credit?
When logged into your school account, add books to your basket, (all books are 10% off RRP). Any credit you have will automatically be taken off the basket price. Once you have made your purchase, 25% of the basket price (less delivery and any prior credit value) will be credited to your account to spend on more books. Your dashboard will automatically be updated to show a new credit amount, and this will be updated in real time when people purchase books and allocate them to your school.
When you are ready to use your credit, please ensure that you are logged into your schools' account before adding items to your basket. Then when you go to checkout, you will easily see the amount discounted.
Example
1. You have £100 credit in your account
2. You make an order within the site for £1,000 in school books
3. You pay the £900 cash difference at checkout for your order. Your account is instantly credited with 25% of that £900 (£225) to spend on more books next time
The result - you received 10% off the cover price of your books and an extra 25% to spend on more books, a total saving of 35%.
Nb. The 25% commission you receive is based on the cover price of the books and any delivery costs or existing credit amounts are not counted towards the total.
My Orders
Where do LoveReading’s books come from?
Our UK distributor Gardners fulfils all orders. We do not source books from bookstores or act as a seller marketplace.
Do you sell audiobooks and eBooks?
You can order audiobooks via our partnership with Audiobooks.co.uk whereby you can download or stream audiobooks on your smartphone or tablet with their free apps for iOS and Android. You can choose from more than 300,000 titles, including best-sellers, new releases, classics, and more. Also Free with every account, you gain access to 1.2 million podcasts and over 8,500 free audiobooks. Listen to your first 3 audiobooks on us and if you like the service, enjoy 2 new books every month.
We also sell eBooks, and 15% of these purchases can also be donated to your school.
Do you offer a gifting service?
LoveReading enables you to add an optional gift message for free to any purchase.
Or you can add a gift envelope to your order for £2. By selecting this option, your items will be placed inside the gift envelope before being delivered. If your order contains an item that is too large to fit inside a gift envelope, we will individually gift wrap it at no extra cost.
All deliveries are sent without pricing information, and invoices are only included with your email confirmation. We also track all orders, so you’ll be notified when your gift has been delivered.
Can I cancel my order?
Once your order has been placed, it is processed very quickly, so it is not possible to cancel your order. However, you are able to cancel items that are out of stock, or pre-ordered titles before they are dispatched. We are however unable to amend the quantity or delivery address of your order.
If you are at all dissatisfied with your books, or change your mind, then you can return them to us. Please see the Returns section for more information on how to do this.
Can I track my order?
The easiest way to check your order status is through our website. If you’ve created an account with us, just click on the My Account link on the menu at the top right of the screen and then scroll down to where it says My Orders. The individual order links will then show the current status of your order, and will include tracking details once your items have been despatched.
If you don't have a LoveReading account as you checked out as a Guest, or don't currently have access to it, the same information is available through the confirmation email you received from us upon making your purchase. This email will contain details of your order and a link to check its status.
Delivery
How long will my order take?
Many of our items are in stock and ready to dispatch from our partner's warehouse. These items are labelled as Available. We offer next day delivery (Royal Mail 1st Class Tracked) and delivery within 2-3 days (Royal Mail 2nd Class Tracked) shipped to the UK.
2nd Class tracked service if you order by 3pm for delivery within 2-3 days, Monday - Friday.
1st Class tracked service if you order by 3pm for next day delivery, 7 days per week. If your order is more than £40, shipping is free.
Other items will clearly display an estimated lead time:
3-5 days: these items are temporarily out of stock at our partner's warehouse, but we're expecting more to arrive shortly
2 weeks: these titles are not usually held in stock, and some of them are printed once an order is placed. These items typically take two weeks to deliver.
3 weeks: these items are out of stock at our partner's warehouse and with the publisher. On average, they take up to three weeks to re-stock.
Pre-orders: these items are not yet published and will dispatch a day or so before the future publish date.
Delivery Time Unknown: these items are currently unavailable pending a reprint. The expected delivery can vary widely from days to months, so we choose not to show an estimate.
Delivery information relevant for each item is displayed on each book page, as well as in the basket and at checkout.
If you choose items with different lead times, you will receive each item as soon as they become available across multiple deliveries at no extra cost.
Christmas Delivery Information
Here is our delivery information for Christmas 2023 and New Year 2024.
Last Dispatch Date for Standard Delivery - 3pm, Wednesday 20th December 2023
Last Dispatch Date for Express Delivery - 3pm, Thursday 21st December 2023
Christmas Office Opening Hours Friday 22nd December 2023, closes 12pm
Orders placed on this date will be dispatched as normal but will arrive after Christmas.
Office Closed Saturday 23rd - Tuesday 26th December 2023 Orders placed on these dates will be dispatched on Wednesday 27th December 2023.
Wednesday 27th December – Friday 29th December 2023 Customer Care open 9.00-12.00 for retail order queries only contact us via the Contact Us form on the website. Orders placed on these dates will be dispatched as normal.
Office Closed Saturday 30th December 2023 - Monday 1st January 2024 Orders placed on these dates will be dispatched on Tuesday 2nd January 2024
Tuesday 2nd January 2024 Open for business as usual
If this isn't what you're looking for, check out our FAQs page for more information about our website and the service we offer.
We try very hard to provide accurate stock and delivery information. However, if you find you are waiting longer than you expected, you should contact us for an update, an alternative solution or a refund.
Why was my order cancelled?
Before we cancel an order we will make every effort to contact you to advise which items from your order will be cancelled. Sometimes we are informed by a supplier that an item is no longer available and they have automatically cancelled the order. This could be due to a product going out of print or becoming discontinued.
Is there a minimum order value?
No, there is no minimum order value where P&P is charged.
Do you deliver overseas?
At present we ship to the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). That excludes the British Overseas Territories and BFPO (British Forces Post Office) addresses.
At this time, we are unable to dispatch outside of the UK. We hope to offer our service to non-UK addresses in the near future.
Can I change the delivery address on my order?
Not currently. Your order will be dispatched to the delivery address entered when you placed your order. If you would like to change the delivery address you will have to cancel your order and place a new order with us.
Which address will my order be delivered to?
Your order will be dispatched to the delivery address entered when you placed your order and confirmed in your order confirmation email. Please ensure that you detail the School Name alongside your address to aid delivery please.
What do I do if my order has not arrived in the specified timescale?
If your order has been sent, then we ask that you first view your tracking information (a link will be available in your order confirmation) to determine if your shipment has been lost, stalled indefinitely, returned or delayed. If it seems that your item is no longer on its way or has been lost or stolen, please contact us on bookstore@lovereading.co.uk and we will do everything we can to rectify the situation.
What do I do if my order is incorrect or damaged?
Please contact us immediately at bookstore@lovereading.co.uk so that we can rectify this for you. Please be aware that damaged items must be reported within 5 days of receiving your delivery, while missing items must be reported within 5 days of the date that it was marked as delivered on the corresponding tracking page.
I have not received all of my items, why?
If your order consists of both available and out of stock items, you may receive multiple shipments at no extra cost to yourself.
If you are missing items, please refer to your tracking numbers to determine whether they are still en route. If there isn’t a tracking number displayed next to your missing item, it is likely that it is out of stock and will be shipped as soon as it is available.
Payment and pricing
How much does postage cost?
We currently offer two delivery options with Royal Mail:
2nd Class tracked service which is £2.99 if you order by 3pm for delivery within 2-3 days, Monday - Friday. If your order is more than £40, shipping is free.
1st Class tracked service which is £3.99 if you order by 3pm for next day delivery, Monday to Friday. If your order is more than £40, shipping is free.
The above delivery options are available on all orders shipped to the UK. However, the delivery times only apply to titles that are marked as Available on our site.
If you have placed an order for an item that is out of stock or not yet published, your chosen delivery speed will only apply once your item becomes available.
Are prices inclusive of VAT?
Items that are subject to VAT have the 20% rate reflected in their RRP. Please note, books are not subject to VAT, however for items where partial or full 20% needs to be applied the VAT is included in the selling prices reflected on our website. Full VAT items include DVDs, Music CDs, games and other non-book products.
Do you offer bulk discounts?
As our business model dictates that we donate 25% of the price to schools and the prices on our website already offer a 10% discount on RRP to customers, we are unable to offer further discounts at this time.
How can I pay for the book order for my school?
You can pay by PayPal, credit card or Apple Pay / Google Pay. For school orders over £500, we can issue a proforma invoice, which can be paid by BACS. In order to do this, log into your school's dashboard, add the books to your basket, and then email us at schools@lovereading.co.uk with the School Name, post code and total of your basket asking us to issue you with a proforma invoice. Once this invoice has been paid, we put the order through as usual.
What is 3D secure?
We want to protect you when you shop with us and this is an additional check when you enter your credit card details to help protect you against fraudulent use of your card. There are two schemes; Visa's is called 'Verified by Visa' and MasterCard's is 'MasterCard SecureCode'. These are both collectively referred to as 3D Secure.
3D Secure authentication requires the cardholder to register their card to take advantage of this service. This is a one time process which takes place through the card issuer's website and involves the cardholder answering several security questions to which only the card issuer and cardholder will know the answer. The cardholder selects a password and agrees on a secret phrase, which will be used by the card issuer during each online transaction.
3D Secure can be thought of as an online version of 'chip and pin' technology. Instead of entering a pin number you will be asked to confirm the password registered to that specific credit card.
Can I get a VAT invoice for my order?
Physical books are exempt from VAT, so we do not charge VAT. Your order confirmation email should have all the invoice information you require. If you still require an invoice with further details, please email us on bookstore@lovereading.co.uk
Returns
LoveReading offers a 30-day returns policy.
If you have received damaged, defective, or incorrectly shipped merchandise, you may return it within 30 days of the delivery date for a full refund of the cost of the items returned, including initial shipping costs. You must inform us of any damage or defects to process your return in the appropriate manner.
If you have simply changed your mind, return your order within 30 days of the delivery date for a full refund minus the initial shipping costs. Return postage is to be covered by the sender.
All returns should be made using Royal Mail as we are unable to accept deliveries using alternative courier services. We recommend using a registered mail service that includes insurance for your returns, as we can only give you a refund or exchange if we receive the items.
Please note that as our returns address is assigned to a PO Box, the postcode may not show as an existing address on some online address finders. Should this cause problems whilst organising your return, please take your parcel to your local post office and they will be able to process this for you.
If an item is not returned in its original unused state, we may not be able to issue a full refund. Please be aware that we are not able to redeliver returned items that are not eligible for a refund.
Please also ensure that you include details of your name, address and order number so that we can ensure that your return is processed as quickly as possible. Please be aware that if we receive an item that is ineligible for a refund or exchange, we are unable to repost it to you.
Please return the item(s) in their original condition (ideally in the original packaging) to the address listed below. Remember to ask the Post Office for a "proof of postage" receipt for your records.
How can I provide feedback?
We'd love to hear from you and get your views on our site and service. To provide feedback on our website please email us on bookstore@lovereading.co.uk