š° Adult Literacy News Summary
The Sunday Times launches bold new campaign; Get Britain Reading
15-Oct-2025 - UK
The UK is in the grip of a reading crisis, so The Sunday Times is launching a bold new campaign to Get Britain Reading. Reading for pleasure can be a silver bullet for better life outcomes and is a powerful tool that can transform lives. The proportion of children who never read for enjoyment is rising across every age bracket, according to the National Literacy Trust. One in five children aged 11 to 13 now never pick up a book voluntarily. Parents are reading less frequently to their children, and are no longer modelling reading at home.
Read moreJacqueline Wilson blames parents stuck on phones for falling child literacy rates
15-Oct-2025 - UK
Dame Jacqueline Wilson has said parents āscrollingā on their phones are to blame for childrenās poor literacy rates as she made a stirring call for change. The Tracy Beaker author said that after āloving a child and feeding a child, getting them to like books is the third thingā. Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, she said she hopes parents are not āso attached to their own phones and scrolling all the timeā and will consider reading to their children when they are really young.
Read moreEducation Secretary to set new reading standards in schools to stop kids 'falling through the cracks'
15-Oct-2025 - UK
The Education Secretary will announce the standards as part of the Government's forthcoming Schools White Paper. In her speech to the Confederation of School Leaders, she will set out ambitious new targets and tests for both schools and students. This includes an aim for 90% of pupils to reach the expected standard in phonics by the end of year 1. Currently, 89% of children reach the standard by end of year 2, with only 80% achieving the standard by the end of year 1.
Read more65 Essential Childrenās Books
15-Oct-2025 - USA
A picture book is a deceptively complex object: Ideally, it should be mind-expanding, psychologically astute, vividly illustrated, andāthe most elusive criterionāfun. It must entertain the child without boring the grown-up to tears. And it should teach children to match sounds to meaning, pictures to objects, cause to effect, without feeling like homework. Finding picture books is easy; the market is glutted with them. The hard part is picking out just the right ones. What follows is an effort to bring clarity to the earliest years of literacy, and to help foster a childās lifelong relationship with books.
Read moreAdult education services to move from the Victoria Centre to New Beginnings Learning Centre in Gravesend
14-Oct-2025 - UK
An adult education centre will be relocating to a new venue in a town after a year of speculation about its future. Kent County Council (KCC) has confirmed the Victoria Centre in Darnley Road, Gravesend, will shut at the end of the month as it is too large for the serviceās requirements. However, courses will continue at the New Beginnings Learning Centre, formerly used as the New Beginnings Childrenās Centre, in Cornwall Avenue, from Monday, October 27. Classes will also be delivered from a range of community venues across the town, including libraries and schools. The move is part of KCC's wider redesign of adult education across the county following a Ā£521,000 cut to its budget.
Read moreMigrants will need A-level standard English to work in UK
14-Oct-2025 - UK
Some migrants coming to the UK will need to speak English to an A-level standard under tougher new rules set to be introduced by the government. The changes, which will come into force from 8 January 2026, will affect some graduates and those applying for skilled worker or scale-up visas, which are for people employed by fast-growing businesses.
Read moreTidworth literacy charity needs new volunteer coach
14-Oct-2025 - UK
A charity that helps adults learn how to read is on the lookout for a new coach. Literacy charity Read Easy South is looking for a new coach in the Tidworth area. The charity, based in South and East Wiltshire, offers free, confidential one-to-one coaching to help adults who struggle to read.
Read moreNew creative hub, The Literature Laboratory, opens in Brecon town centre
13-Oct-2025 - UK
A new creative hub has opened its doors in Brecon town centre, bringing together books, art and community under one roof. The Literature Laboratory is a space for discovery, conversation and imagination, designed for both children and adults. The hub stocks a carefully curated selection of books and gifts, ranging from local Welsh voices to international titles. It also hosts workshops, readings and community events. The ethos of the shop is built on the idea that reading well helps people live well and be well.
Read more"I left school struggling to read and write"
12-Oct-2025 - UK
A 22-year-old who was diagnosed with dyslexia and dyscalculia later on in life says school was a daily battle. Luke Hall, from Cramlington, Northumberland, grew up finding it hard to recognise both letters and numbers, and remembers them "jumping around" on the page. Luke found help with charity Read Easy, which places people like him with volunteer coaches who work one-on-one on literacy skills. He left school struggling to read and write but is one of many in north-east England, according the National Literacy Trust, which estimates more than 17% of adults in the region have very low literacy skills.
Read moreWarning UK āmissing out on Ā£69bn by failing to empower dyslexic people'
09-Oct-2025 - UK
Britain's economy could be losing nearly Ā£69 billion a year by failing to harness the potential of people with dyslexia, charities and business leaders have warned. New research estimates that empowering people with dyslexia could boost the "Dyslexic Thinking" contribution to the UK economy from Ā£29.5 billion to Ā£98.2 billion. Around one in five people are dyslexic and they often excel in creative thinking, problem-solving, communication and big-picture analysis but struggle with reading and spelling.
Read more