đź“° Adult Literacy News Summary
How to Get Better at Reading
22-Oct-2025 - UK
The UK is experiencing a literacy crisis. Bookmark Reading Charity has reported that the rate of poor literacy is up by 20% compared to 2018/19, over seven million adults in England struggle with basic reading skills, and a quarter of children leave primary school unable to read well. In their Annual Literacy Survey 2024, the National Literacy Trust found that only one in three 8 to 18-year-olds say they enjoy reading in their spare time. It’s a similar story in the US where education standards are on the decline. This graph shows the drop off in reading amongst US teens and this September study finds that only 16% of Americans are reading for pleasure.
Read morePreston charity teaching adults to learn to read seeks new team members
21-Oct-2025 - UK
Read Easy, a charity based in Preston, is seeking new candidates to help with their free and confidential learning to read programme. Set up in 2021, Read Easy offers a programme taking around 18 months and offers members of local public venues an opportunity to learn the life skill of reading. Coaching adults in libraries and community centres in Fulwood, Ribbleton and Ingol, the group are currently teaching 18 adults to read and grow confidence in the field.
Read moreWill England’s new reading test for secondary pupils be useful?
20-Oct-2025 - UK
All secondary-age school pupils in year eight (aged 12 and 13) in England will be required by the government to take a reading test. The declared purpose is to help drive up reading standards so that “everyone can thrive”. Is this additional test a good idea? Although the results of the tests will not be published, they will be provided to families and to Ofsted (the body responsible for school inspections in England). The existence of the tests may therefore encourage secondary schools to devote more attention to improving reading
Read moreJacqueline Wilson blames parents stuck on phones for falling child literacy rates
15-Oct-2025 - UK
Dame Jacqueline Wilson has said parents “scrolling” on their phones are to blame for children’s poor literacy rates as she made a stirring call for change. The Tracy Beaker author said that after “loving a child and feeding a child, getting them to like books is the third thing”. Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, she said she hopes parents are not “so attached to their own phones and scrolling all the time” 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 Children’s Books
15-Oct-2025 - USA
A picture book is a deceptively complex object: Ideally, it should be mind-expanding, psychologically astute, vividly illustrated, and—the most elusive criterion—fun. 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 child’s lifelong relationship with books.
Read moreThe 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 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 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 service’s requirements. However, courses will continue at the New Beginnings Learning Centre, formerly used as the New Beginnings Children’s 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 £521,000 cut to its budget.
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 more