đź“° Adult Literacy News Summary
Oliver James, 34, is learning to read and posting about it on TikTok
28-Feb-2026 - USA
"What’s up! I can’t read," Oliver James said in his first-ever TikTok. Since then, he's garnered thousands of followers as he works through illiteracy. James is one of over 8 million Americans who are functionally illiterate. As a child, he struggled with learning disabilities and was placed in special education. He says he suffered from abuse within the school system, and found it hard to focus on school, let alone reading.
Read moreLondon Luton Airport CEO joins Business for Literacy Council
27-Feb-2026 - UK
Alberto Martin, Chief Executive of London Luton Airport (LLA), has joined the National Literacy Trust’s Business for Literacy Council, reinforcing the airport’s commitment to supporting the development of literacy skills for young people. Established in 2023, the National Literacy Trust’s Business for Literacy Council brings together senior business leaders who are personally, and through their organisations, committed to making an impact on literacy.
Read moreLearning bus to tour and teach English and maths
27-Feb-2026 - UK
A bus with a fitted classroom will be touring towns in East Yorkshire to deliver preparatory maths and English courses. The mobile learning centre, which has been set up by East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC), has been designed to help prepare people who are seeking qualifications up to the equivalent of a GCSE. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund has funded the project with a ÂŁ170,000 investment.
Read moreSurrey prepares for devolution of adult education functions
27-Feb-2026 - UK
Skills and training opportunities for adults across Surrey are set to have greater local oversight and control as part of wider efforts to grow the regional economy. Surrey County Council’s Cabinet this week reviewed progress towards the devolution of adult education functions and related funding from central government. Commitment to transfer these functions was secured as part of the county deal agreed in 2024 and forms part of the government’s wider devolution agenda.
Read moreChildren invited to step into a library this World Book Day
26-Feb-2026 - UK
Wakefield Council is encouraging children to step into a library this World Book Day (March 5) as part of the National Year of Reading 2026. This year schools and libraries will be distributing ÂŁ1 World Book Day book tokens that can be exchanged at a bookshop or participating retailer. Story time sessions for under-fives and their grown-ups take place throughout the week at Wakefield Council libraries and each child who attends will receive a ÂŁ1 book token.
Read moreAdult education is also about strengthening our democracy
26-Feb-2026 - UK
Adult education is at a crossroads. For decades, it has been framed almost exclusively through a labour-market lens: a means to improve employability, boost productivity and fill skills gaps. While this focus is understandable, it is also incomplete. Adult learning has always played a much broader role in society – one that is increasingly vital as we face deepening social polarisation and democratic disengagement.
Read moreRead Easy helps change lives
23-Feb-2026 - UK
Reading can be a pleasure – enjoying our magazines, for instance – but for adults who struggle with forms, labels and all kinds of print, life can be difficult. The volunteers at Read Easy Chilterns help adults across the region with free and confidential support in safe places such as libraries or cafés, and online.
Read moreHartlepool businesswoman Lyndsay Hogg's 'little library' idea to be rolled out across town by Hartlepool Borough Council
23-Feb-2026 - UK
"Little libraries” are to be opened in each council ward across Hartlepool following the success of a businesswoman’s initiative. A motion to the latest full meeting of Hartlepool Borough Council highlighted how “literacy is a right, not a privilege” and that every resident “should have the opportunity to gain this critical skill”. Put forward by Labour councillors after the Government designated 2026 as the National Year of Reading, it will see the local authority take steps to increase “reading for pleasure” in the town.
Read moreChildren's books appeal launched with six collection points around Northumberland
23-Feb-2026 - UK
A Morpeth education centre has launched a community-wide appeal to collect hundreds of children’s books to help introduce youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds to the joy of reading. Maximize Education is calling on residents, schools and local organisations to donate new or excellent-condition children’s books as part of its commitment to improving literacy and educational outcomes across Northumberland.
Read moreOnly 10% of boys aged 14-16 read daily for pleasure, National Literacy Trust finds
22-Feb-2026 - UK
Fewer than one in 10 boys aged 14 to 16 in the UK read daily, according to research, which found reading for pleasure was being crowded out of teenage lives by schoolwork, screens and sports. While reading declines for both boys and girls in early adolescence, there are “signs of recovery” among girls in later teenage years, but boys’ engagement remains persistently low, according to the National Literacy Trust (NLT).
Read more