Every Child a Reader is a package of early literacy interventions aiming to tackle reading problems among 6- and 7-year-olds deemed to have the lowest reading ability. The policy has been rolled out since 2005 and is expected to reach 30,000 children nationwide this year. We use non-experimental methods to measure the effect of the policy on formal test results in reading and writing. Based on these estimates, we carry out a tentative cost-benefit analysis accounting for potential improvements in education, health and crime levels. We find broadly positive effects on literacy outcomes, particularly among the target population of children. We then translate these into potentially substantial - but highly uncertain - expected future benefits.