Children’s reading enjoyment plummets to worst level in almost two decades, new research reveals today
by Educate Magazine November 5, 2024 · All News / Education News
Children and young people’s enjoyment of reading is at ‘crisis point’, falling drastically in the last year alone, according to new research published today by the National Literacy Trust.
A survey of more than 76,000 UK children and young people revealed that only 1 in 3 (34.6 per cent) eight to 18-year-olds say they enjoy reading in their free time. This is the lowest level recorded by the charity since it first started surveying children about their reading 19 years ago, and an 8.8 percentage point drop in the past 12 months alone (43.4 per cent).
The research found that the reading enjoyment crisis is particularly impacting boys and young people in secondary school. The gender gap in children and young people’s reading enjoyment nearly tripled in the last year (from 4.8 to 12.3 percentage points), with fewer than three in 10 (28.2 per cent) boys now saying they enjoy reading in their free time, compared with four in 10 (40.5 per cent) girls.
Reading enjoyment has fallen across all age groups, with those in secondary school reporting the steepest declines. Just three in 10 secondary pupils (30.7 per cent aged 11-14 and 29.7 per cent aged 14-16) currently say they enjoy reading in their free time, compared with more than half of primary pupils (51.9 per cent aged eight to 11).
The research revealed that when children and young people enjoy reading in their free time, their reading skills, aptitude for learning, wellbeing, empathy and confidence benefit.
Twice as many children and young people who enjoy reading in their free time have above average reading skills than children who don’t enjoy it (34.2 per cent vs 15.7 per cent). National Literacy Trust said this finding is important at a time when children and young people’s reading skills are cause for concern, particularly for those from disadvantaged communities.
Among the broader benefits unveiled in the research, children and young people who read in their free time at least once a month said it helps them to relax (56.6 per cent) and feel happy (41 per cent), learn new things (50.9 per cent), understand the views of others (32.8 per cent), learn about other cultures (32.4 per cent) and be confident (26.0 per cent).
Although both levels have declined in the past year, more children and young people continue to say they enjoy reading in school than in their free time (40.5 per cent vs 34.6 per cent), with particular benefits identified for boys.
The gender gap in reading enjoyment at school is five time smaller than outside of school (2.2 vs 12.3 percentage points), with almost as many boys (39.5 per cent) as girls (41.7 per cent) saying they enjoy reading at school.
Previous research by WPI Strategy for the National Literacy Trust and British Land also outlined the benefits of reading for pleasure for the UK economy. It found that, if all school-aged children in the UK read for pleasure every day, the number getting five good GCSEs by the age of 16 could increase by 1.1 million within 30 years, boosting their average lifetime earning potential by £57,500 and adding £4.6 billion to the UK’s GDP each year.
The National Literacy Trust has also launched the #GrowAGenerationOfReaders social media campaign – backed by authors, charities, publishers and more – flipping the concept of content warnings on its head to instead extol the benefits of reading, as identified by children and young people through its research.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “We know families have faced huge pressures in recent years, from the pandemic to the cost-of-living, and there have also been cuts to vital community services and libraries over the last decade. But we should all do everything in our power to encourage parents to read with their children as much as possible.
“These findings also clearly support the need for a review of the content of both the primary and secondary curriculum and qualifications – one of the aims of education must surely be that children and young people develop a love of reading.”
The public are being urged to join the campaign, posting a photo of a book cover, captioned with its warning. Free social media graphics are available here.
The National Literacy Trust offers a wide range of CPD, training, programmes and free resources for teachers to support and encourage children’s reading enjoyment in schools. Find out more here.
