Education Committee Reading for Pleasure Inquiry

Reading for pleasure (RfP) is a voluntary, intrinsically motivated practice that underpins children’s educational attainment, wellbeing and long-term life chances. A substantial international evidence base demonstrates that children who read for pleasure regularly achieve higher academic outcomes, experience better emotional adjustment and show greater social mobility than peers who do not. Despite this, national and international data show a sharp and sustained decline in children’s enjoyment of reading in England, alongside evidence that strong attainment outcomes are not matched by positive attitudes towards reading.2 This decline raises urgent concerns about equity, wellbeing and the long-term sustainability of literacy gains. This submission presents evidence that reading for pleasure should be recognised as a core educational entitlement and a matter of social justice, requiring coherent policy across early years, schools, libraries, families and communities.