The Kennel Club is launching a charitable foundation that will help to bring dogs to children as reading companions, in a bid to halt the staggering decline in child literacy.

Zoe Wanamaker is the first celebrity to support the Kennel Club’s new Bark & Read Foundation, which is being launched after figures revealed that one in five children leave school unable to read or to write.

This new project will help to support the network of dogs that can be taken in classrooms, libraries and other places of learning to help children develop confidence about reading out loud to a non-judgemental companion.

The project will be officially launched at the Kennel Club’s Discover Dogs event, taking place on 12-13 November at Earls Court. Children, who if under 12 go free to the event, will be able to read to dogs in a dedicated reading corner. The Kennel Club will also be hosting reading days at its library based in Piccadilly, which holds the largest collection of dog literature in Europe.