Children's reading at "crisis" point in East Midlands as enjoyment plummets
Less than one in three children in the region say they enjoy reading in their spare time
The National Literacy Trust have said children's reading is at "crisis point" after a report shows children that enjoy reading in their spare time has decreased by 25% on last year.
One in three children (32%) across the East Midlands say they enjoy reading in their spare time.
The charity has said this is the "lowest level" recorded since they began the survey in 2005.
Nationally, 34.6% of children and young people aged between eight and 18 said they enjoyed reading in their free time in 2024, compared with 43.4% in 2023.
The report also found the gender gap among children who say they take pleasure in reading has widened significantly this year as the number of boys who report enjoying reading has dropped.
Fewer than three in 10 (28.2%) boys aged between eight and 18 said they enjoy reading in their free time, compared with two in five (40.5%) girls.
Last year, two in five (40.5%) boys said they enjoyed reading in their free time, compared with 45.3% girls.
The report said it was "a particular crisis" for secondary school pupils as the fall in reading enjoyment was more pronounced for young people aged 11 to 16 than for those aged eight to 11.
Overall, 76,131 children and young people aged five to 18 from 405 schools across the UK were surveyed by the charity between January and March 2024.
The report said it was the "lowest daily reading level" since the survey began nearly two decades ago.
"The declining levels of reading enjoyment and reading frequency are, frankly, shocking and dispiriting," the report concluded.
It added: "Perhaps a packed curriculum, high academic expectations, and the perception of a challenging future all contribute to children having less time for reading for enjoyment and less mental space to do it.
"It's likely, too, that the recent pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis have exacerbated these challenges, with many children and young people struggling to access high-quality reading materials."
The charity is calling on the Government to urgently form a reading taskforce and action plan with multi-sector partners to address declining rates of reading enjoyment.
The Government's curriculum and assessment review should prioritise reading for pleasure alongside the skills that are vital in the development of confident, motivated readers, it added.
Jonathan Douglas, chief executive of the NLT, has said:
"We are urging the Government to form a reading taskforce and action plan with multi-sector partners - amplifying our collective reach and influence, strengthening our impact and reimagining solutions to this complex crisis."