Findings published during the National Year of Reading
Children’s enjoyment of reading and daily reading habits have risen for the first time in five years, according to the National Literacy Trust (NLT). Findings from the NLT’s Annual Literacy Survey for 2026 have been published in a report, Children and young people’s reading in 2026. The survey has been running each year since 2005.
Between January and March 2026, the NLT surveyed 125,375 children and young people aged 5 to 18 from across the UK about their reading attitudes and habits. More than a third (36.1 per cent) of those aged 8 to 18 said they enjoy reading in their free time (up from 32.7 per cent in 2025). This is the first increase in reading enjoyment recorded by the survey since 2021. Enjoyment increased for both boys and girls and across all age groups, with the largest rises in those aged 14 to 16, and 16 to 18. However, socio‑economic inequalities widened, with enjoyment rising more among those not receiving free school meals (FSMs) than among those who did.
A fifth (20.3 per cent) of children and young people aged 8 to 18 said they read daily in their free time. This was up from 18.7 per cent in 2025, and the first increase in daily reading since 2023. Despite these rises, reading enjoyment and daily reading levels are still significantly lower than they were a decade ago (they stood at 58.6 per cent and 32.0 per cent respectively in 2016).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, more children and young people who enjoyed reading read daily than those who did not enjoy reading (49.8 per cent to 4.5 per cent). The relationship became stronger with age, with reading enjoyment and frequency more closely aligned among older age groups. However, while reading enjoyment and frequency are closely linked, they do not fully overlap. Many children and young people who do not enjoy reading are still reading, with more than 3 in 5 (62.3 per cent) reading at least once a month. They also still associate reading with learning and other benefits – among those who read at least weekly but say they do not enjoy reading, 74.1 per cent said that reading helped them learn new words or things, and 52.9 per cent said that reading helped them do better at school.
The survey also found that reading engagement is closely linked to relevance and encouragement from others, with nearly half (48.7 per cent) of respondents saying that reading helped them explore their interests. More than half (54.8 per cent) said that their parents encouraged them to read, while almost two-thirds (65.8 per cent) said that teachers encouraged them to read. Children and young people in the more engaged reading groups were more likely to say that reading helped them explore their interests and that they were encouraged to read, especially by their parents.
2026 is the National Year of Reading – the biggest campaign in a generation designed to inspire everyone to discover the joy of reading and embed it into everyday life, supported by 800 cross-sector partners and 3,000 libraries. It is not clear whether publicity around the start of the National Year of Reading had any impact on the increase in reading engagement discovered by the survey.
Commenting on the findings, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: ‘For the first time in five years, more children are saying they’re enjoying reading, and that genuinely fills me with hope. When reading feels relevant and role models get involved, children develop a passion with benefits that go far beyond the classroom – but with progress slower for poorer children, we must make sure every child can find a form of reading that speaks to them.’
Jonathan Douglas CBE, chief executive of the NLT also commented: ‘To build on this momentum beyond 2026, we must continue to invest in what we know works – 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.’