We Need To Talk About Literacy

Britain has a literacy crisis, and it needs to end. In the 2024-2025 academic year, one in four children did not meet the required standard of reading at the end of primary school. That is a quarter of an entire cohort ending Key Stage 2 behind where they should be. Moving down the year groups doesn’t help the picture much, with 20% of students not reaching the expected standard in their year one phonics screening, a figure which rises to 33% for disadvantaged children. 

Not only does this situation risk limiting those early opportunities to discover the world through reading, but figures presented by the Adult Literacy Trust (ALT) show that people with ‘poor literacy’ skills earn 60% less on average than their counterparts with ‘basic literacy’ skills, while the chance of being unemployed is doubled for those with low literacy levels. Added to which, the ALT tells us that ‘Adults with low literacy are far less likely to access the health, housing and other social services to which they are entitled, and report significantly poorer health outcomes.’ 

Additionally, with the Literacy Trust finding that nearly 30% of children and young people feel more confident as a result of reading, 46% reported that ‘reading made them feel happy’ and three in five said that it helped them to relax; there is a risk that if left unaddressed this crisis could restrict a valuable outlet through which young people can support their mental health. This is especially important given the well-established challenges facing youth mental health.

There is then too much to risk in letting things continue as they are. The tide of literacy must rise, or many of our young people and our society will be left to flounder in a swell of lost opportunities.

That is why we should feel no pride in the fact that one in seven state primary schools lack access to a library (one in four in deprived areas). So too should we be ashamed of the regional inequality in the provision of such spaces, with the proportion of primary schools in London lacking a library space sitting at 8%, while in the Northwest the figure is twice as high and second only to the Northeast which sits at 18%.

The Government’s recent announcement guaranteeing a library space in every primary school, backed by £10 million in funding is a welcome commitment, a step towards ending the tragedy that is our literacy crisis. It would however be a disservice to the reader if I were to claim that there was no need for more to be done.

Given the regional inequality in access to such spaces, it is vital that appropriate priority be given to those areas where access is most limited. This is not to say any area is undeserving, all children deserve the chance to read, but when it comes to delivering on this investment, inequality should not be ignored.

Likewise, while the promised increase in primary school library spaces, the expansion of primary school Breakfast Clubs, the provision of 30 hours of free childcare and thousands more school nursery places make clear that the Government is committed to supporting children and families in the early stages of the education system. We must also remember that education, and the benefits of strong literacy skills, go far beyond the end of year 6.

A good friend of mine is currently training to become a secondary school Design and Technology teacher. In writing this article I reached out to him, and what he shared – that ‘poor literacy can significantly prevent students from demonstrating their true ability’ – will not be a surprise. That wasn’t all he said though, in addition to making clear the divide between what students can do practically and can express through written and comprehensive skills, he stated plainly that ‘without targeted literacy support, students’ understanding of nutrition, food science and healthy eating can remain hidden, creating barriers to success in GCSE assessments and progression to post-16 pathways despite strong practical competence.’

If you were to speak to education professionals beyond the Design and Technology discipline, I am willing to bet that you will hear a similar story, and it is one that highlights how important literacy remains after primary school. 

Targeted interventions do of course exist and many secondary schools do already have libraries, but there has been a notable decline in the provision of such spaces. In 2023, 14% of institutions lack a library compared to 4% five years earlier. Given this, and the fact that of those disadvantaged children not reading at the expected level at the end of year six, 10% went on to pass their Maths and English GCSE’s, a further commitment to provide a library in each secondary school seems to be not only a natural step but also a necessity. Not least because of the potential for the challenges faced in key stages 1 and 2 to be inherited by key stages 3 and 4.

We know the impact that poor literacy can have and we know that there are things that can be done. The Government is taking the right steps, but I don’t want to risk seeing secondary schools being a secondary thought. So I would ask them to keep going, keep walking towards an end to the literacy crisis we are facing, and guarantee a library for all secondary schools, and not just primaries.

Image: Flickr/Chris Devers (Banksy)

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