š° Adult Literacy News Summary
6 Habits 'Super Readers' Build To Finish At Least 1 Book A Week
20-Sep-2026 - UK
You probably already know that reading is pretty good for us. Itās been linked to better mental health, more empathy, a lower risk of dementia, and even increased longevity. Thereās only one problem: a lot of us canāt find it in us to do it. Earlier this year, the National Literacy Trust found a 36% decrease in reading for pleasure among teens compared to 2005 figures. Over a third of UK adults say theyāve given up reading as a hobby. In 2025, meanwhile, a YouGov poll found that 40% of Britons hadnāt read or listened to a single book in the last year.
Read moreCamilla explores ātransformative power of readingā in new BBC documentary
19-Sep-2026 - UK
The Queen will explore the ātransformative power of readingā in a new BBC documentary. Camilla will feature in the BBC Arts programme The Book That Changed My Life, which will be broadcast in the National Year of Reading 2026 and is due to air next month. The BBC has said the documentary film will follow the Queen as she meets four remarkable people whose lives have been changed by books at moments when they most needed them.
Read moreHobbycraft launches The Big Bedazzle for Dolly Partonās Imagination Library
17-Sep-2026 - UK
A week of crafting workshops across Hobbycraft stores will raise funds for the childrenās literacy charity. Hobbycraft is teaming up with Dolly Partonās Imagination Library for The Big Bedazzle, a week of glittering craft workshops raising money to support childrenās reading. The workshops will take place across 105 Hobbycraft stores from Monday 21 September, culminating in Give Like Dolly Day on Friday 25 September. Sessions will run between 9am and 5pm, subject to availability, and cost Ā£6 per person, with Ā£2.16 from each booking donated to Dolly Partonās Imagination Library ā enough to fund one book for a child in the UK.
Read moreHeroes championed at BBC Make a Difference Awards
16-Sep-2026 - UK
Laura Kenyon-Slaney has spent almost a decade supporting children's literacy through Schoolreaders, a charity that matches volunteers to UK primary schools where they give free one-to-one reading support to children. She has raised nearly Ā£250,000 for the charity and has personally helped almost 3,000 children improve their reading, confidence and love of books.
Read moreReading for pleasure can improve wellbeing - study
15-Sep-2026 - UK
Reading for pleasure can improve health and wellbeing at any age and regardless of what you read, University of Cambridge academics have said. Prof Barbara Sahakian and Dr Christelle Langley, from the university's department of psychiatry, argued that reading boosts mental health and academic performance, leading to greater empathy and lowering the risk of dementia. Their review, published in the journal Psychological Medicine, found reading at any age improves brain and mental health, enhances cognitive performance and reduces the risk of mental decline.
Read moreNew reading, maths and attendance targets to boost school standards
15-Sep-2026 - UK
A plan setting out new national benchmarks for reading and maths standards has been published, a week after international test results showed Welsh teenagers lagging further behind their peers across the UK. The Welsh government's foundational literacy and numeracy plan also commits to improving attendance levels which have still not fully recovered after the pandemic.
Read moreMore than Ā£84,000 in small grants from Dorset Community Foundation boosts grass roots groups
13-Sep-2026 - UK
Small grants totalling more than Ā£84,000 will make a big impact for grassroots community groups and charities thanks to donors who have supported Dorset Community Foundationās Neighbourhood Fund. This is the second round of the fund, which supports groups across Dorset with less than Ā£250,000 in revenue, this year. A previous round awarded more than Ā£139,000 to 37 groups. This year's grant recipients include Read Easy South Dorset.
Read moreSkills gaps donāt end at 18: Why Cornwall must invest in adult education
09-Sep-2026 - UK
There has been a lot of talk recently about NEETs ā young people not in employment, education or training. As a Liberal Democrat town councillor for Liskeard, Iāve always believed in opportunity at every stage of life. Our party has long championed lifelong learning, fairness and giving people second chances. My own experience shows why this matters and why adult education must sit alongside youth skills as part of any serious national strategy. I took two bookkeeping qualifications and then an Access course that enabled me to go to university and study business management. The bookkeeping qualifications also opened a door I never expected. They enabled me to become the treasurer of Read Easy Cornwall, the adult literacy charity. In that role, I see the impact of adult education from a different angle
Read moreAmazon employees inspire young readers during Peterborough school visit
08-Sep-2026 - UK
The team at Amazonās Peterborough fulfilment centre visited Paston Ridings School to help inspire a love of reading among pupils and promote the importance of recycling. The visit was part of the National Literacy Trustās Young Readers programme, an initiative that encourages children to develop their love of reading and gives them the opportunity to choose free books to take home.
Read moreEnglish and maths spending fallen 40% since devolution, research finds
08-Sep-2026 - UK
Spending on English and maths training for adults has fallen by about 40 per cent since skills devolution, a think tankās analysis has found. According to a Learning and Work Institute (L&W) report published today, adult essential skills learning has āfallen off a cliff edgeā since devolution and annual participation has halved over the last decade. The briefing, published for international literacy day, shows the average annual spend on English fell from Ā£135 million in the three years before devolution began in 2019-20 to an average of Ā£81 million across the last five years ā a 40 per cent drop.
Read more