Since March 2020, the National Literacy Trust (NLT) has explored the various benefits of audiobooks for children and young people, from building comprehension skills to sharing stories across generations. Time and again, two key themes have arisen: the power of audio to engage reluctant readers, and the role of audiobooks in promoting and…

In recent decades, a growing dependence on digital forms of communication has brought with it exciting visions of the potential for technology to support learning. This report aims to explore the potential role of technology in addressing the gender and disadvantage gap in young people's literacy attitudes and outcomes. It combines insights from a…

This report outlines findings from our ninth Annual Literacy Survey relating to children and young people's reading. 56,906 children and young people aged nine to 18 in the UK participated in our survey between January to March 2019. For the first time we also had information from 3,748 children aged 5 to 8 who completed a similar survey designed…

Every year in England, thousands of children leave primary school without the confidence and fluency in reading they need. This has a significant effect on their learning, life chances and engagement with reading, and it also has a long-term economic and social impact. The Read On. Get On. (ROGO) campaign was launched in 2014 to address this…

Although it has been argued that school libraries are important for supporting the reading engagement of pupils who receive free school meals, to date there has been little analysis of the extent to which use of school library spaces is related to these pupils' reading behaviors. We analyzed data from 6,264 children and young adults in the United…

In 2016, we recorded the highest levels of reading enjoyment to date, with nearly 6 in 10 saying that they enjoy reading either very much or quite a lot. Read more about children's and young people's reading enjoyment, based on our seventh annual literacy survey which we conducted in November/December 2016. 42,406 children and young people aged…

We have conducted the national annual literacy survey since 2010 and have surveyed young people on literacy issues since 2005. This report outlines findings about children's and young people's reading from our seventh annual literacy survey conducted in November/ December 2016 and where possible relates those findings back to our other reading…

In July 2012 the National Literacy Trust were commissioned by Oxfordshire County Council to deliver the Oxfordshire Reading Campaign, a two-year initiative targeting Oxfordshire primary schools and the wider community, with the aim of substantially improving reading levels at Key Stage 1 and to increase the number of pupils reaching level 2b+.…

The authors' research has consistently highlighted the link between reading for pleasure and reading attainment. Worryingly, they have found that the number of children and young people who say that they own a book seems to be rapidly decreasing. In 2005, 1 in 10 of the children and young people they surveyed said they did not have a book of their…

It is frequently said or implicitly assumed that there is a positive relationship between enjoyment, attitudes, behaviour and attainment, with pupils who enjoy reading or writing having more positive attitudes towards it, doing it more and thereby getting better at it. This paper explores to what extent this is an assumption or to what extent it…

This report outlines findings about children's and young people's reading from our fourth annual literacy survey conducted in November/December 2013. 29,422 young people aged eight to 16 participated. Some of the key findings for 2013 include: (1) Levels of reading enjoyment have improved for the first time since 2005 (see Figure 2, p. 9); (2)…

At the end of 2009 the National Literacy Trust surveyed 17,000 children and young people online in the United Kingdom's largest ever study of young people's attitudes to literacy and literate behaviour. This survey was of special interest as it repeated questions asked by the National Literacy Trust in a survey of attitudes and reading behaviour…

This paper presents additional information from the 2009 survey of young people's reading and writing. The authors conducted an online survey of 17,089 pupils aged 8 to 16 from 112 schools, conducted in November-December 2009, which consisted of 32 questions exploring young people's background, reading and writing behaviour, perceived ability and…

This report reveals that children and young people are reading less and more are embarrassed to be seen reading, while many also believe that their parents don't care if they spend time reading. However, not only are children and young people reading less and developing more negative attitudes towards reading, but there is also a clear correlation…

A recent ground-breaking study from the University of Nevada (Evans et al., 2010) found that the number of books in the home has as great an impact on children's attainment as parental education levels. The 20 year study by Evans and her colleagues found that having as few as 20 books in the home still has a significant impact on propelling a…