It's time to get serious about reading for fun
Growing evidence supports reading for pleasure as the best indicator of children's future success.
Corporate / Blog / It's time to get serious about reading for fun
Thanks to two years of disruption, the Department for Education has reported learning losses in reading of up to two months in both primary and secondary pupils, and these losses are markedly higher among secondary pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.¹ Against this gloomy backdrop, reading books just for fun is surely the last thing on anyone’s minds, with pressure mounting to help a whole generation of children catch up academically.
However, decades of evidence showing the importance of giving children the opportunity to read for pleasure – proven time and again to be the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success, more so than their family’s socio-economic status² – should give educators and parents alike pause for thought. For adult booklovers, it almost sounds too good to be true.
Studies indicate that one of the most crucial factors in developing a love of reading is children having access to books of their own, and no charity or organisation has a greater impact in this area than World Book Day, whose mission is one we’ve supported for a quarter of a century. Schools of course recognise this too, with books being one of the more popular end of term rewards. But in fact, research also shows that the simple element of choice is much more powerful when it comes to encouraging a child’s love for reading.³
This is one of the reasons why the humble book token has been a favoured choice of academic reward among schools for most of our 90-year existence – because, beyond the school gates and the family home, bookshops play an incredibly important role in supporting reading for pleasure. They embody the very epitome of choice, creating an environment for children and parents to explore a diverse range of expertly curated titles, and to enjoy shared reading and storytelling experiences at instore book clubs and events. Greater diversity in publishing only serves to open this experience up to even more children, with literary awards like the Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize becoming increasingly visible in local bookshops and, by extension, local communities.
Now, more than ever, is the time to recognise the positive impacts that reading – yes, for fun! – has on the lives of young people.
[1] DfE, 2021
[2] OECD, 2002
[3] Schraw et al, 1998; Clark and Phythian-Sence, 2008
Written by Uzo Onuora