š° Adult Literacy News Summary
South Swindon youth worker hides books across Walcot area
04-Nov-2025 - UK
The books have been hidden in the Walcot area by South Swindon Parish Council's youth worker. Loreli is one of National Literacy Trust in Swindon's Literacy Champions. Parents and guardians are encouraged to take their children out to discover these hidden treasures before they are all found. The campaign is part of a broader effort by the National Literacy Trust to involve local residents in making reading, writing, speaking, and communication a priority in the town.
Read moreRead Easy Basingstoke group seeking new volunteers
04-Nov-2025 - UK
Read Easy UK, which helps adults learn to read through free, one-to-one coaching, has operated in Basingstoke since 2019 and is looking for new volunteers to help expand its reach. More than 2.4 million adults across England struggle with reading, and Read Easy UK aims to tackle this through its network of more than 80 volunteer-led groups.
Read moreFinding confidence through reading: Local shares life-changing journey with Read Easy Chilterns
03-Nov-2025 - UK
Kayleigh has shared her inspiring journey of learning to read as an adult, thanks to the support of Read Easy Chilterns, a local charity dedicated to helping adults improve their literacy skills. Growing up, Kayleigh faced challenges in school, placed in special classes where learning was often disrupted. Years later, a chance conversation at a Job Fair with a Read Easy Chilterns volunteer sparked a turning point. Although struggling with low confidence and mental health at the time, the encouragement she received planted a seed of hope
Read moreAdult learning dips after post-pandemic boom
03-Nov-2025 - UK
A post-pandemic boom in adults learning appears to have ended with a sharp dip in the last year, according to a think tankās annual survey. The adult participation in learning survey, carried out by Learning and Work Institute (L&W) every year since 1996, found that the number of people ācurrentlyā engaging with learning fell nine percentage points to 21 per cent when responding in June and July 2025.
Read moreTLDR: Literacy in the digital age
02-Nov-2025 - UK
No one reads these days. If itās longer than an Instagram caption, itās not worth my time. I doubt most people will even make it to the end of this article. As more and more studies tracking the decline in literacy pile up, doom-mongering professors self-importantly shake their heads in despair that āpeople donāt read Joyce any moreā.
Read moreEven as literate adults, we need to learn how to read
01-Nov-2025 - Australia
Few readers can claim to be what Samuel Taylor Coleridge called āMogul diamondsā ā those who not only āprofit by what they readā, but āenable others to profit by it alsoā. If such people were rare in Coleridgeās time, then today, when reading is in dramatic decline, they are scarce enough that even the white rhino might feel a little smug. Robert Douglas-Fairhurst's Look Closer, a distillation of more than 20 years of teaching at Oxford University, is not only a generous offering, but a welcome intervention in the alarming decline of literacy.
Read moreChildren struggle to read because of outdated teaching, study says
31-Oct-2025 - UK
Most children in lower and middle income countries fail basic literacy tests, according to World Bank-backed report. Outdated teaching methods are restricting children in lower and middle income countries from attaining basic literacy, undermining their opportunities and their nationsā economic growth, a new analysis warns. A failure to teach reading with evidence-based approaches is compounded by insufficient books, inadequate teacher training, high absenteeism, limited class time, instruction in an unfamiliar language and teaching that does not match childrenās learning levels, it says.
Read moreLiteracy charity helps woman have independence
30-Oct-2025 - UK
A charity that teaches people how to read has helped a woman to become more independent. English is not Jessica Wang's first language, and she found that she struggled at her job in a takeaway in Telford and needed help from her daughter. For about 18 months she has been attending coaching sessions with Read Easy Telford in Donnington Library in Shropshire. "Before some customer details, some addresses, I didn't know how to read them," she told the BBC. "Now it's easier to do things myself, my shoppingā¦ I helped my husband register at the GP. I can do it myself."
Read moreInside the award-winning magazine that beats screen time ā and helps kids read for pleasure
30-Oct-2025 - UK
Being able to read fluently is also a vital life skill that sets young people on the best possible path for the future. Yet often, when it comes to choosing between reading and a screen, such as a tablet, TV, or mobile phone ā known for decreasing attention spans ā the screen wins. Research from the Open University has confirmed this, and it has praised What on Earth! Magazine, a monthly factual magazine for children aged seven to 14, as a potential solution to the crisis with childrenās reading and literacy.
Read moreMore than 600 people take Wiltshire adult learning courses
30-Oct-2025 - UK
More than 600 people have taken part in adult learning courses to boost their confidence and skills. Wiltshire Councilās Family and Community Learning (FACL) team has supported learners through both online and face-to-face programmes, reaching a record number of participants this year. Of the 635 learners who took part, 410 improved their essential skills and 93 per cent achieved their course outcomes. A further 78 per cent moved on to further study, volunteering, employment, or other positive steps.
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