The number of children reading for pleasure is declining rapidly. This new government inquiry will look at the reasons behind this decline and what can be done to reverse this trend. They are currently calling for evidence for more detail about the inquiry. You can submit evidence until 23:59 on 9 January 2026. Details here.
Tag: Reading
Bridget Phillipson annonces Year 8 reading assessment
In her speech at the Confederation of School Trusts conference on 15 October Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson announced that statutory assessment in year 8 to assess reading fluency and comprehension is to be introduced. She followed this up with an open letter explaining her reasoning. You can read it on the DfE … Continue reading Bridget Phillipson annonces Year 8 reading assessment
National Year of Reading for 2026
The DfE and National Literacy Trust have joined forces to launch a National Year of Reading, starting in January 2026. Bringing together parents, schools, libraries, businesses and literacy experts, the campaign aims to foster a love of reading for pleasure in children and young people, ensuring all children get the best start in life. Find … Continue reading National Year of Reading for 2026
What is the most popular validated phonics scheme?
According to Teacher Tapp's Brand Tracker, Read Write Inc and Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised are used by more than half of schools. Rising stars were Essential Letters and Sounds and Twinkl Phonics. Find out more on the Teacher Tapp blog, here.
Waterstones Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce and BookTrust host Reading Rights summit
On January 22nd a Reading Rights Summit was held as part of Frank's campaign to address the 'invisible privilege and inequality' within children's books and reading. Find out more on the BookTrust's website here, including links to Frank's "Reading Rights campaign"
Key stage 2 attainment
The Department for Education has published provisional attainment statistics for key stage 2 national curriculum assessments in England. This shows that the gap between disadvantaged pupils’ key stage 2 SATs results and all other pupils has fallen to 3.12, from 3.21 in 2023. However, it is still a wider gap than the 2.91 gap index … Continue reading Key stage 2 attainment
How do the last five years measure up on levelling up?
The IFS has issued a new report looking at the effectiveness of the Levelling Up strategy. It covers more than just education, but in the case of education it finds that The share of pupils in England meeting the expected standards at the end of primary school has fallen from 65% in 2018–19 to 60% … Continue reading How do the last five years measure up on levelling up?
Reports on children’s writing and reading show worrying decreases
Writing The National Literacy Trust's Annual Literacy Survey of more than 76,000 UK children and young people revealed that, in 2024: Fewer than 3 in 10 (28.7%) 8 to 18-year-olds say they enjoy writing in their free time – the lowest level recorded by the charity since it first started asking children about their writing … Continue reading Reports on children’s writing and reading show worrying decreases
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