The Gift of Reading in 2011: Children and young people's access to books and attitudes towards reading
Our research has consistently highlighted the link between reading for pleasure and reading attainment. Worryingly, we have found that the number of children and young people who say that they own a book seems to be rapidly decreasing. In 2005, 1 in 10 of the children and young people we surveyed said they did not have a book of their own at home; while in 2011 the figure stands at a startling 1 child in 3. With one in six people in the UK having the literacy level expected of an eleven year old, this is of great concern.
In this new report we explore children’s reading in 2011 with findings from our first annual survey of literacy in the UK. It examines children’s ownership of books, access to reading materials, frequency of reading and attitudes to reading. We also consider how these factors could all affect children and young people’s reading abilities.
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