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.
