The recent BBC article “More children and teenagers enjoying reading for first time in 5 years” reports an encouraging moment in the national conversation about children’s reading: for the first time in five years, more children and young people say they enjoy reading. On the surface, this appears to be a significant cultural turning point. After years of decline, reading enjoyment has risen from 32.7% in 2025 to 36.1% in 2026, while daily reading has also increased from 18.7% to 20.3%. This is welcome news. However, from an SEND and Pupil Premium standpoint, the article must be read with caution. A national rise does not necessarily mean an equitable rise.
The key question is not simply: “Are more children reading?” The more important question is: “Which children are benefiting from this renewed momentum, and which children remain excluded from it?”
A positive headline, but a fragile recovery
The increase in reading enjoyment should be acknowledged. Reading for pleasure is strongly associated with vocabulary growth, wider knowledge, comprehension, academic success and personal development. Sullivan and Brown’s longitudinal research found that reading for pleasure was linked to progress in vocabulary, spelling and mathematics between the ages of 10 and 16. The Department for Education has also repeatedly emphasised that reading is not only an English issue but a gateway to accessing the wider curriculum.
However, the BBC headline risks overstating the scale of the recovery. The 2026 figure of 36.1% remains far below the 51.5% reported in 2021. In other words, reading enjoyment has not recovered; it has merely stopped falling. This distinction matters. Schools should welcome the improvement, but they should not treat it as evidence that the reading crisis has been solved.
The danger is that a positive headline reduces urgency. In reality, two-thirds of young people still do not say they enjoy reading in their spare time. Only around one in five say they read daily. For many pupils, particularly those with SEND, low literacy, language difficulties, dyslexia, ADHD, autism, speech and language needs, or disadvantage, reading remains associated with frustration, failure and exclusion.
The Pupil Premium concern: the gap is widening
The most concerning part of the article is not the national rise but the unequal rise. Pupils not receiving free school meals saw a stronger increase in reading enjoyment than pupils receiving free school meals. FSM pupils rose only slightly, from 31.0% to 32.1%, while non-FSM pupils rose from 33.0% to 37.3%. This means the gap widened.
This matters because reading enjoyment is not equally available to all children. Disadvantaged pupils may have less access to books at home, fewer quiet spaces to read, fewer adult reading role models, reduced access to libraries, greater digital distraction, less cultural capital around texts, and more limited opportunities to choose reading material that reflects their lives and interests.
The article celebrates momentum, but Pupil Premium pupils appear to be receiving less of that momentum. If schools do not respond deliberately, the National Year of Reading risks becoming another initiative that benefits pupils who were already more likely to engage.
Pupil Premium strategy must therefore treat reading for pleasure as an equity issue, not an enrichment extra. It should be connected to school improvement, attendance, curriculum access, vocabulary, parental engagement and pastoral support.
The SEND issue: enjoyment cannot be separated from access
From an SEND perspective, the phrase “reading enjoyment” must be questioned. Many pupils do not dislike stories, knowledge or imagination. They dislike the repeated experience of being unable to access print fluently, being asked to read aloud when anxious, being given texts beyond their decoding level, or being made to feel behind.
For pupils with dyslexia, reading can involve slow decoding, visual stress, working memory overload and fatigue. For pupils with ADHD, sustained silent reading may be difficult without movement, structure or immediate purpose. For autistic pupils, reading may be highly engaging when connected to special interests, but alienating when texts are socially ambiguous, abstract or poorly contextualised. Pupils with speech, language and communication needs may struggle with vocabulary, inference and complex syntax. Pupils with Down syndrome or learning difficulties may require repeated exposure, visual support, carefully matched texts and explicit vocabulary teaching.
Therefore, schools must avoid interpreting low reading enjoyment as a lack of motivation. Often, it is a lack of accessibility.
A genuinely inclusive reading culture does not simply tell pupils to read more. It removes barriers so that pupils can experience success, identity and pleasure through reading.
What the article does not fully address
The BBC article presents teachers and parents as the main encouragers of reading, with 65.8% of young people reportedly encouraged by teachers and 54.8% by parents. This is important, but it needs further interrogation.
First, encouragement alone is insufficient. A pupil who cannot decode fluently, does not understand vocabulary, has no access to appealing books, or associates reading with shame will not be transformed by encouragement alone.
Second, the article does not sufficiently explore access to school libraries. A reading culture requires book-rich environments, trained librarians, visible adult reading, diverse texts, graphic novels, audiobooks, magazines, non-fiction, dyslexia-friendly formats and time to read.
Third, the article does not fully consider the role of curriculum pressure. If reading is experienced only as comprehension testing, assessment preparation or extract analysis, pupils may become technically trained but emotionally disengaged.
Fourth, it does not explore how reading for pleasure can be made inclusive for pupils who do not access traditional print easily. Audiobooks, paired reading, assisted technology, graphic texts, high-low books and read-aloud experiences must be seen as legitimate routes into reading culture, not inferior alternatives.
Maintaining the momentum: what schools need to do
Schools should treat the 2026 rise as a starting point, not a victory. To maintain momentum, they need a whole-school reading strategy that combines pleasure, access and instruction.
1. Audit who is not reading
Schools should not rely on whole-school averages. They should analyse reading enjoyment by SEND status, reading age, Pupil Premium, gender, EAL, attendance, year group and prior attainment. The key question should be: who is not benefiting from our reading culture?
This should include pupil voice. Schools should ask pupils what they read, what they avoid, when reading feels difficult, which formats they prefer, and whether they see themselves represented in the texts offered.
2. Build inclusive reading routes
Schools should broaden what counts as reading. This does not mean lowering expectations. It means widening access. Pupils should encounter novels, poetry and demanding texts, but they should also have routes in through comics, manga, graphic novels, magazines, sports writing, biographies, audiobooks, dual-coded texts, dyslexia-friendly editions, short-form non-fiction and high-interest low-reading-age books.
For many reluctant readers, the issue is not that they reject reading; it is that they have not yet found the right doorway.
3. Protect time for reading
Reading for pleasure cannot survive if it is squeezed into occasional events. Schools should protect regular reading time, but this time must be structured. Pupils who struggle with reading often need adult modelling, book choice support, reading partners, short achievable goals and opportunities to talk about texts.
Drop Everything And Read approaches can work for some pupils, but for others they create silent failure. A more inclusive model includes teacher read-aloud, guided book selection, paired reading, reading conferences and accessible alternatives.
4. Train teachers in disciplinary literacy
Reading is not only the responsibility of the English department. The EEF argues that secondary literacy must be disciplinary: pupils need to learn how historians, scientists, mathematicians, artists and geographers read texts differently. This is especially important for SEND and disadvantaged pupils, who may lack the vocabulary and background knowledge needed to access subject texts.
Every department should identify the reading demands of its subject, explicitly teach vocabulary, model how to approach complex texts and support pupils to read like experts.
5. Make Pupil Premium spending reading-specific
Schools should use Pupil Premium funding to remove practical barriers. This could include book ownership schemes, library investment, author visits, family reading events, reading mentors, transport to libraries, targeted literacy intervention, summer reading packs and access to audiobooks or e-readers.
However, schools must avoid using Pupil Premium only for intervention after pupils have already fallen behind. It should also fund belonging, identity and access to reading culture.
6. Support parents without blaming them
Parents are crucial, but schools must avoid deficit language. Some parents may have had negative experiences of school reading themselves. Others may be working long hours, managing poverty, caring responsibilities or language barriers.
Schools should offer simple, practical guidance: read aloud at any age, talk about stories, use audiobooks, visit libraries, let children choose, model reading at home, value magazines and comics, and avoid turning every reading moment into a test.
Suggestions for teachers
Teachers should:
- Model reading aloud with expression and enthusiasm.
- Recommend books personally, not generically.
- Allow pupils to abandon unsuitable books without shame.
- Use short, successful reading experiences to rebuild confidence.
- Teach vocabulary explicitly before reading.
- Use dual coding, images and context to support comprehension.
- Avoid public reading that humiliates struggling readers.
- Connect texts to pupils’ interests, identities and future aspirations.
- Use audiobooks and assistive technology where appropriate.
- Build discussion around reading so that pupils experience it socially, not just privately.
Suggestions for schools
School leaders should:
- Appoint a senior reading lead with responsibility for SEND and disadvantage.
- Audit the school library for diversity, accessibility and relevance.
- Track reading enjoyment as well as reading attainment.
- Build reading into the Pupil Premium strategy.
- Ensure SEND pupils have access to age-appropriate but readable texts.
- Invest in high-low books, graphic novels and audiobooks.
- Train all staff in disciplinary literacy.
- Create family reading events that are welcoming, not judgemental.
- Work with local libraries and community organisations.
- Celebrate reading publicly across the school, including non-fiction, manga, sport, gaming, history, biography and poetry.
Suggestions for parents and carers
Parents can help by:
- Reading aloud even when children are older.
- Letting children choose texts connected to their interests.
- Using audiobooks during journeys or routines.
- Talking about books, films, games and stories together.
- Visiting libraries regularly.
- Avoiding pressure or punishment around reading.
- Valuing comics, graphic novels and magazines as legitimate reading.
- Asking schools for dyslexia-friendly, high-low or accessible book recommendations.
- Modelling reading themselves, even for short periods.
- Making reading feel like connection rather than homework.
Conclusion
The rise in reading enjoyment is encouraging, but it is not yet a recovery. It is a fragile improvement after years of decline. From an SEND and Pupil Premium perspective, the most important message is that national improvement can hide unequal progress.
If schools want to maintain the momentum, they must move beyond slogans and celebrations. They must ask who is still excluded, who is still struggling, and who is still not represented in the reading culture being promoted.
Reading for pleasure will only become meaningful for all pupils when it is treated as both an academic priority and an inclusion priority. For disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, the issue is not simply motivation. It is access, confidence, identity, representation and success.
The task now is not just to get more children reading. It is to make sure every child can find a way into reading that feels possible, purposeful and personally meaningful.
References
- Cremin, T. (2023) Reading for Pleasure: Recent Research Insights. Open University.
- Cremin, T. (2024) ‘Reading for pleasure: scrutinising the evidence base’, Language and Education.
- Department for Education (2023) The Reading Framework: Teaching the Foundations of Literacy. London: DfE.
- Education Endowment Foundation (2018) Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools. London: EEF.
- Education Endowment Foundation (2021) Improving Literacy in Key Stage 2. London: EEF.
- Education Endowment Foundation (2020) Improving Literacy in Key Stage 1. London: EEF.
- National Literacy Trust (2025) Children and Young People’s Reading in 2025. London: National Literacy Trust.
- National Literacy Trust (2026) Children and Young People’s Reading in 2026. London: National Literacy Trust.
- OECD (2002) Reading for Change: Performance and Engagement across Countries. Paris: OECD.
- Sullivan, A. and Brown, M. (2015) ‘Reading for pleasure and progress in vocabulary and mathematics’, British Educational Research Journal, 41(6), pp. 971–991.
- Wolf, M. (2007) Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain. New York: Harper.
- Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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