Children’s reading enjoyment levels and daily reading habits have risen for the first time in five years, according to the National Literacy Trust.
The findings come from a UK survey of 125,375 children and young people aged five to 18 between January and March 2026.
More than a third (36.1%) of those aged eight to 18 say they enjoy reading in their free time (versus 32.7% in 2025) while a fifth (20.3%) read daily in their free time (versus 18.7% in 2025).
While the increase is relatively small, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said the finding “genuinely fills me with hope”.
This year was dubbed the ‘National Year of Reading’ – and the UK-wide campaign from the Department for Education (DfE) encouraging families to ‘go all in’ and explore their interests through reading seems to be paying off.
“When reading feels relevant and role models get involved, children develop a passion with benefits that go far beyond the classroom,” said Phillipson.
She noted that “with progress slower for poorer children, we must make sure every child can find a form of reading that speaks to them”.
Reading enjoyment levels were at 58.6% in 2016, so it’s fair to say they still lag significantly behind what they once were.
The report also found children aged five to eight years old experienced a year-on-year decline in their reading enjoyment (from 62.6% to 61.6%), which was driven by a fall in boys’ enjoyment of reading.
But when kids enjoy reading, children tend to read more often, with benefits for learning, wellbeing and empathy.
How can we keep up momentum?
The report suggested that for reading to become more strongly embedded in children’s lives, it must also be relevant, meaningful and supported by the people around them, from parents to teachers.
Jonathan Douglas, chief executive of the National Literacy Trust, said “we can’t take this early progress for granted”.
He suggested to keep up momentum, we need to continue “championing reading for enjoyment in our homes, schools and communities” and “supporting more young people to see reading as a relevant, meaningful and fun part of everyday life”.
The Education Select Committee is also currently undertaking an inquiry into reading for pleasure to better understand why fewer young people are enjoying getting stuck into a good book and exploring what can be done to reverse the trend.
In the meantime, if you’re hoping to inspire a love of reading at home, here are some tips to try:
Keep books accessible, ideally at your children’s eye level.Sit and start reading aloud when you can (and watch your kids gravitate towards you). Buy books related to a favourite film, TV series, or which matches their interests or hobbies.Let them choose what they read.Be a reading role model – make sure they see you reading for enjoyment, too.Set screen-free time before bed and encourage activities such as reading, colouring or journalling to wind down.Encourage different reading formats – e-books, comics and e-magazines still count.Take them to library, school and book shop-hosted events focused on reading.
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