Longitudinal research shows that people with good literacy
skills are more likely to have higher self-esteem, better
health, better jobs and higher wages than those with poor
literacy skills. They are more able to take advantage of
the opportunities that life may offer them. See Basic
skills and social exclusion,
Samantha Parsons and John Bynner, Centre for Longitudinal
Studies, Institute of Education for the Basic Skills Agency,
March 2002
An international survey published in 2002 indicated that
children from a home environment where there are books,
and where reading is valued, do better at school regardless
of social or economic background. See Reading for Change:
performance and engagement across countries. Results from
PISA 2000, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development, November 2002 - summary
Many more children reach the expected level for their age
in literacy than in 1997, before the introduction of the
National Literacy Strategy. The key indicator, the percentage
of pupils reaching level 4 (the level expected for their
age) in national tests for English (reading and writing)
at age 11, has increased from 63% to 78% in this time. In
the mid-1990s just half of children reached the level expected
for their age. Current literacy levels also represent a
significant improvement in children's skills since the mid-20th
century, since targets apply to all children, of all abilities
and social classes, including those who speak English as
an additional language.
However, most of the gains were made in the early years
of the National Strategy, from 1998 to 2000, since when
they have begun to level off. The 1999 result of 70% was
an increase of 10 percentage points on the previous year
and the 2000 result increased this again by a further 5
percentage points. The failure to continue the year-on-year
increase in English was partially blamed on differing performances
between boys and girls: in maths and science, boys and girls
reach similar standards; in English, there is a marked gap,
particularly in writing.
The first thing you must do if you think your child is having problems with reading or writing is talk to his or her teacher, who will be able to tell you if your child is falling behind. From their ongoing assessment, the teacher should be able to give you an idea of your child’s reading level, and how this relates to what is expected at that stage.
The teacher should also be able to provide you with advice on activities you can do at home to support your child’s reading, writing and spelling. These activities will complement the teaching methods that are being used at school.
If this does not reassure you, you could arrange a meeting with the headteacher. Find some positive things to say about your child’s life at the school before raising your concerns. Remember, teachers want your child to succeed as much as you do.
The National Literacy Trust cannot provide detailed advice on individual problems since we do not have the necessary contact with the child or understanding of their particular strengths and weaknesses. However, you could consider what might be causing your child’s difficulties and talk to the teacher about how your child copes in class. Could there be a problem with hearing or sight? It might be worth making your child an appointment with your GP, or booking an eye test.
Does he or she show any of the signs of dyslexia? The British Dyslexia Association provides a helpline on 0118 966 8271 and a summary of indications of dyslexia at www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/aboutdyslexia.html. Other useful organisations
The National Literacy Trust advocates four key principles for parents’ involvement with supporting reading:
- A good relationship between parents and schools is vital, and should be maintained through an ongoing dialogue about children’s development
- The most important thing a parent can do to support their child’s reading is to help them find books that are appropriate in terms of reading age and content, and that motivate their child to enjoy reading. Making use of the local library can help here. Reading aloud can help children enjoy stories they might struggle to read themselves. Useful resources
- Any teaching resources parents use at home to support their child’s literacy should work alongside the methods used in school
- As the provider of formal education, teachers are the experts and should be trusted with the task of teaching children to read and supporting their literacy
Top tips for supporting children's reading
Recent research shows that while reading skills have improved
in the UK, there is some indication that fewer pupils nowadays
read for enjoyment. So, are children spending less time reading
than they used to? This is a surprisingly hard question
to answer for two reasons. Firstly, large-scale surveys
of children and young people's reading habits are few and
far between. Secondly, more often than not the surveys that
have been conducted on the subject have asked about reading
frequency in different ways, which makes comparison of different
surveys near impossible. However, these problems have been
recognised and steps have been taken by a number of researchers
to begin collecting meaningful longitudinal data.
The existing evidence of whether children now spend less
time reading than previously is inconclusive. For example,
a survey of nearly 8,000 children by researchers at Nottingham
University found that on average, children surveyed in 1994-5
had read 2.52 books each in the month before the survey,
compared with 2.39 in 1971. However, the amount of reading
among 14-year-old boys had declined over the same period
(see summary).
Another study by the Schools Health Education Unit found
that the proportion of 10-year-old boys who read books at
home nearly halved during the first five years of the national
literacy strategy. The report said that the percentage of
Year 6 boys who read during dinner-time, play-time, or in
the evening dropped from 29% in 1997 to 17% in 2002). A
similar drop in reading has been reported in a study by
Sainsbury (2004, see summary),
who found that just over 7 out of 10 of the younger age
group enjoy reading as a pastime, compared with 78% five
years ago, while for 11-year-olds, the proportion declined
from 77% to 65%. Children said they preferred watching television
to going to the library or reading. But the biggest changes
in attitudes were among boys. In Year 6, only 55% of boys
said they enjoyed stories compared with 70% in 1998. Among
girls, there was a 10-point decline, from 85% to 75%.
The Department for Education and Skills has produced lists
of words that children should be able to read, depending
on what school year they are in. These are part of the framework
for literacy teaching, and can be found at www.standards.dfes.gov.uk.
Less than one per cent of adults in England can be described
as illiterate, although many people prefer not use such
pejorative terms.
Around 16 per cent, or 5.2 million adults in England, can
be described as "functionally illiterate". They
would not pass an English GCSE and have literacy levels
at or below those expected of an 11-year-old. They can understand
short straightforward texts on familiar topics accurately
and independently, and obtain information from everyday
sources, but reading information from unfamiliar sources,
or on unfamiliar topics, could cause problems. Many areas
of employment would not be open to them with this level
of literacy and they may also struggle to support their
children with reading and homework, or perform other everyday
tasks.
Of these approximately 5.2 million, around 3.5 million
are at the upper end of the scale and have strengths and
weaknesses in particular areas, rather than being at the
same level for all areas of literacy. Most feel more comfortable
with reading than with writing. Around 5 per cent, or 1.7
million adults in England, have literacy levels below those
expected of an 11-year-old. More
on adult literacy statistics
The idea of a "reading age" in years can be misleading,
particularly when related to adult literacy levels. Reading
age does not necessarily correspond to thinking or comprehension
age so in talking about the difficulty of text, it is more
useful to describe it in terms of readability levels rather
than reading age. Readability levels are defined by sentence
length and complexity of vocabulary, and can be calculated
for any piece of prose using a simple formula. More
on readability levels
If the adult is employed and has access to a union, their union learning representative will be able to provide confidential advice. Information is at www.unionlearn.org.uk.
If the adult is not employed, they can call the Learndirect national helpline on 0800 100 900 for advice and information on their nearest adult literacy course, or visit www.learndirect.co.uk. Their local college will also be able to provide information on courses, as will the local library, which can also provide support such as appropriate reading materials and reading groups. Both Learndirect and libraries work with the BBC Reading and Writing (RaW) campaign – a coaching service on 08000 150 950 provides access to advisers who will agree an action plan and keep in touch to help at each stage. Advice is also available at www.bbc.co.uk/raw/.
Many adults are reluctant to admit to their literacy difficulties and ask for help. They may need support and encouragement with the process of finding and joining a class. Some local authorities and colleges use ‘learning champions’ to reassure adults about the benefits of signing up to improve their literacy skills. Offering a range of options about how support is provided – face-to-face or over the telephone; formal class or more informal, community-based learning – can also help to put learners at ease.
Adults can also get literacy support in their role as parents, through family learning activity provided by colleges, libraries, schools and other organisations. Being able to become more involved in their children’s learning can be a powerful motivator to adults to improve their literacy skills.
One of the most important aspects of supporting adults with low literacy levels is to increase their self-esteem and persuade them of the benefits of improving their reading and writing. Recognise what they can do and acknowledge improvements to skills, however small.
In 2001, the Department for Education and Skills (then
DfEE) commissioned a report looking at the needs of people
whose first language is not English focusing on barriers
to employment, education and training. Their key findings
reported:
- there is no reliable data on the number of people
living in Great Britain whose first language is not
English. This causes serious problems with the planning
and delivery of education and training provision.
- at least three million people living in the United
Kingdom were born in countries where English is not
the national language.
In 2003, the Central Office of Information (COI) Strategic
Consultancy Inclusivity team was commissioned by the Department
for Work and Pensions (DWP) to undertake a review of the
ethnic minority languages used by the department. The aim
was to understand the communication needs of each community
and recommend languages into which DWP information should
be translated. The key written languages (in alphabetical
order) were:
1. Arabic
2. Bengali
3. Classical Chinese
4. French
5. Gujerati
6. Polish
7. Punjabi
8. Somali
9. Tamil
10. Urdu
Some local authorities can provide information on the communities
in the area, and which languages are spoken, from their
local knowledge. Otherwise, it is worth contacting CILT,
the national centre for languages, for more information.
Visit www.cilt.org.uk/research/statistics/index.htm.
More detailed
statistics on languages
All readability tests rely on a very rough gauge of the level of reading vocabulary people can expect to acquire by a certain point in their development - they stop generally around the 20 mark. But successful reading is about far more than word recognition - it's about style, content, physical presentation, complexity of intellectual engagement required, learner interest, confidence and skill.
Advice on how to write clearly and simply - from the British Dyslexia Association
There are no simple answers about relating readability levels to adult literacy levels - they don't equate exactly and are not meant to. The SMOG test provides a measure of readability and not the reading age of a text. The formula was developed to help librarians categorise their stock more easily for learners and practitioners and to act as an indication of level of difficulty, but the adult literacy standards were designed to indicate what specific skills functioned at particular levels, unrelated to age.
It would be impossible to produce materials that solely met the standard definitions at each level. As a rough indication, SMOG 9-10 = Entry Level 3, 11-12 = Level 1 and 13-14 = Level 2, but this is far from an exact science and SMOG should only be taken as one indicator among many for the suitability of a text. Equating SMOG levels with reading ages is too simplistic.
More on the SMOG test and to use the SMOG calculator
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