A year-long scheme has been announced by the Department of Education to help increase the number of people reading across the nation.
The National Year of Reading is a campaign set up in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust to address the significant decline in reading abilities and enjoyment across all age groups in the UK.
The initiative came after studies in 2025 finding that only 1 in 3 children aged 8-18 reported enjoying reading in their free time and over 7.1 million adults in the UK struggle with reading.
The Year of Reading campaign aims to spark reading for pleasure across all age groups, support literacy, and make reading meaningful.
Sarah MacLennan, the Creative Writing programme leader at Liverpool John Moores University, spoke about the importance of this scheme.
She said: “I have done a lot of work in terms of reading development in my 20-year teaching history and one thing that came across very strongly was when the national curriculum was introduced, reading levels went up but the enjoyment of reading absolutely plummeted.
“So, I think a year of reading is really important because if we can encourage children to love books from a very early age, and for adults to share books with children and maybe discover their own books, I think it would be absolutely fantastic.”
She added: “I was the reader in residence for Knowsley libraries for two years, and Knowsley then had the fourth lowest literacy rate in the country.
“So, I think it’s really important for Liverpool to increase the literacy levels, but I also think if we read, we’re more likely to write and we’re more likely to tell our own stories and think we’ve got a story worth telling.”
Similarly, Kate Martin, a local English teacher and author, said: “It’s good that it’s recognised and that it’s come from the government.
“There seems to be a decline in children’s reading and people picking up books so to have a national campaign, where they realise reading should be fun and we need more support for families and for schools to get books in children’s hands, has to be a good idea.”
She added: “A lot of good things are happening already, so it is just support.
“Support your authors, your independent bookshops, support your libraries – to get a free book is something we should not take for granted -, support schools.
“If we all do this together, then it could be pretty incredible.”
To find out more, visit the National Literacy Trust.
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