Addressing the crisis in children’s reading enjoyment must become a national priority

10 January 2025, 07:13 | Updated: 10 January 2025, 07:38

Reading lets children discover new worlds, meet new people and learn about the past.

It sparks imagination, gets children thinking differently and helps them develop empathy.

When children enjoy reading and have books of their own at home, it can benefit all areas of their lives, from boosting their confidence and wellbeing to improving their academic performance and life chances – setting them up for a brighter future.

What’s more, the potential benefits for the economy are significant. If all school-aged children in the UK read for pleasure every day, it could add £4.6 billion to the UK’s GDP each year.

That’s why it matters that children’s enjoyment of reading has plummeted to an all-time low, with only a third (34.6%) saying they enjoy reading in their free time. Meanwhile, 1 in 10 (9.8%) children say they don’t own a single book, rising to 1 in 8 (12.4%) of those in the nation’s most disadvantaged communities.

Add to this the fact that a quarter (26%) of 11-year-olds in England left primary school last year without the reading skills expected for their age, while more than a third (38%) left secondary school without achieving at least a level 4 (grade C) in English language, and the gravity of the situation is stark.

We must turn the page on the reading for pleasure crisis before more children’s futures are put at risk.

We need to give children and young people more opportunities to discover the joy and purpose of reading in ways that matter to them – tapping into their motivations and interests, giving them agency and choice over the reading they do in their free time and helping them explore different reading materials and formats.

For example, our latest research shows that listening to stories, such as audiobooks, can spark children’s interest in reading books and is also positively associated with reading enjoyment.

That’s why initiatives like [insert LBC campaign name] are so important. Every week, children and families will get the chance to discover a beloved story, brought to life by fantastic storytellers, which will capture their imaginations and unlock an enjoyment of stories which can be the first step on their journey to becoming a reader.

So many families, schools, libraries, charities, publishers, businesses, and more, are already inspiring children’s reading in such diverse and innovative ways.

But to truly make it a national priority, we are urging the government to form a reading taskforce and action plan with multi-sector partners – amplifying our collective reach and influence, strengthening our impact and re-imagining solutions to this complex crisis.

Our dedication to this cause will be unrelenting. Over the next three years, we will support and empower 1.5 million more children and young people from disadvantaged communities to read for pleasure and develop greater confidence in their reading skills.

By expanding and deepening our work in schools, communities and with partners, we will strive to play a significant role in growing a generation of readers.

Donate today and help us to empower even more children with the vital literacy skills they need to succeed in life: https://literacytrust.org.uk/lbc

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Jonathan Douglas CBE is the Chief Executive of the National Literacy Trust.

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