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January 27th 2025
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Lucy | Senior Children's Book Specialist Lucy has spent her life surrounded by books. An avid reader from a young age, she had Saturday jobs in the local library then completed a degree in English Literature before working for Nielsen providing bibliographic data to Amazon and Waterstones. Now she helps to select books for schools, including overseeing and advising on class sets. |
The annual literacy survey, which gathered responses from over 76,000 children and young people aged 5 to 18, reveals a significant decline in reading enjoyment and frequency. Only 34.6% of children and young people reported enjoying reading in their free time, the lowest level since the survey began in 2005, with their being hardly any gap at all between children who received free school meals, and those who didn’t.
Only 20.5% of 8- to 18-year-olds read daily in their free time, marking another record low.
One statistic stood out, which was that those who did enjoy reading in their free time, preferred to do so at school than at home. The gender gap closed for reading in schools, and more children receiving free school meals said they preferred reading in school.
Clear link between reading enjoyment, reading frequency and reading skillsThe survey also highlights a clear link between reading enjoyment and reading skills. Children who enjoyed reading had higher average reading scores compared to those who did not, and those who read more frequently had higher than average reading scores.
The challenge is to get more children into this reading loop to both expand their reading skills and their love for reading. Schools do seem well placed according to this survey, to encourage children in their reading journeys.
The National Literacy Trust report concludes that the government needs to actively engage with this worrying downward trend in reading enjoyment and considers the formation of a reading taskforce to be vital. The new government should treat reading for pleasure as a priority.
*Statistics from the Children and Young People's Reading in 2024 report, National Literacy Trust. You can read the report here.
What can I do to help encourage reading for pleasure in my school?Teachers can and do play a crucial role in reversing these trends. Here are some strategies to consider:
Create a reading-friendly environment. Ensure your classroom and library (if you have one) has a diverse range of books that cater to different interests and reading levels.
Demonstrate that you love reading too. Bring the book you’re reading at home into school and show the children that you read for pleasure in your free time.
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Here are some recently published titles perfect for encouraging reading enjoyment in children and young people.
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Seeking further support? We can help. From library audits to termly book subscriptions, our team of qualified librarians, teachers and book specialists can help you prioritise reading for pleasure in your school. Get in touch with us by completing our online form or emailing hello@peters.co.uk. |
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How to reach struggling readers in KS2 and KS3 |
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Timetable reading for pleasure into the day. Allow children to read whatever they like, and don’t prevent them from reading the same book over again. Let them read comics, blogs, fact books - anything they want and choose to read.
Encourage Book Talk. Foster a culture of sharing and discussing books to make reading a social activity. We create monthly 
Engage with parents and carers. Encourage parents and carers to read with their children at home and provide them with resources to support reading. Invite them in to reading for pleasure sessions. Parents and carers can bring their own books, or you could even consider having a small library of adult books in school for them to choose from.
