Nov 12, 2024
The National Literacy Trust’s annual literacy survey 2025 reveals that one in three children and young people do not enjoy reading, with only 35% of eight to 18-year-olds stating that they enjoy reading in their spare time.
This is the lowest figure recorded since 2005 when the National Literacy Trust started to gather this data. This report reveals that children and young people’s enjoyment of reading is now at a crisis point.
Many literacy researchers like me are just not surprised by this data. Given the lack of funding and closure of our local libraries. Not to mention the narrow approach to the curriculum for reading in schools, which is targeted specifically at struggling readers. This includes the systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) scheme, which teach children to read by breaking words down into their individual sounds and is pushed too early. As well as the dreaded phonics screening check, which tests your child’s phonics knowledge, standardising testing.
The joy of reading, alongside the awe and wonder from engaging in meaningful reading activities is slowly being taken away from our children in schools with overcrowded timetables and an overreliance on reading books matched to systematic synthetic phonics schemes. In addition, it now appears that reading at home seems to have become a luxury we can’t afford.
The report found that, when children engage in reading for pleasure (creating time and space to read at home or in school), children feel happy and relaxed, learn new things, learn about other cultures and begin to understand the views of others, which in turn develops their confidence. These are all wonderful reasons to read.
My research highlights that reading is a complex activity, with many aspects to consider – enjoying stories, reading images on screen, experimenting with patterns of language, which include music, rhyme, rhythm and steady beat. When reading is meaningful, young children make connections with what they read, learn something new, understand ideas in context to form their own critical viewpoint.
It is important to consider that reading is not just focused on print-based books or learning phonics from a phonics scheme in isolation. When teachers and parents start to separate these important components and focus on one aspect (such as phonics), the joy of reading is lost.
We now live in a world full of digital resources, with most children having access to these at home. Therefore, we do need to consider authentic literacy practices using digital technology and the opportunities these activities offer our children alongside printed books. Recent research reports that most under three-year-olds already engage in valuable communication, language, literacy activities at home. This could also be considered to be reading for pleasure.
Let’s not panic though. We can support our young children with lots of reading activities to bring back the joy of reading.
Settings and schools can build in time for children to read freely and to read what they choose to read. This could include a larger variety of books, for instance information books, rhyming books, comics and poetry. They could also consider including magazines and annuals in this,
Nursery settings need to focus more on early reading activities and stop teaching phonics. Communication, language and the ability to express themselves are key priorities here).
Primary schools can widen the scope of their reading materials and try to declutter the curriculum to support children’s reading. Reading is not a tick-box exercise and one size does not fit all. When reading or telling stories to children, make this a joyful experience that does not involve stopping to ask questions lots of times.
Given that secondary school children disclosed the steepest decline in reading enjoyment in the study, there is significant work to do here. My suggestions would be to make time in the busy day for children to read what they are interested in and widen the scope of reading materials offered to include the list above.
At home, parents, carers and families can support their children with reading through a range of tactics. Again, diversifying what you read with your children could help. Try reading online or branch out into magazines, comics, leaflets and information books.
If you want to make reading more active why not try taking photographs and making your own photograph books together. You could also play rhyming games. Or, you could simply spend time sharing stories with each other and telling stories as well as reading stories (in print and online).
BBC Musical Storyland is a wonderful resource and full of visual retelling of fairy and folk tales. It can be found online and features music from the BBC Philharmonic for families to share together.
Representation matters for reading. If children do not see themselves in books or other reading materials, why would they enjoy reading at all. We all have a duty to choose resources that are inclusive for all children and all communities.
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