- 30/06/2026
- Posted by: Valerie Vaz MP
- Category: News
There was a drop in and meet the author on 30 June where The National Literacy Trust highlighted the Summer Reading Challenge.
I spoke to the author Nadia Shireen, the author of “Bumble Bear”, “Barbara throws a wobbler” and Grimwood.
The National Literacy Trust and the Reading Agency are at the fore front of the Year of Reading and the statistics below show, how reading for pleasure has increased.
Annual Literacy Survey 2026:
Children and young people’s reading
2025. Yet in the priority wards we have been working in, the number has rocketed from 66% in 2023 to 73% in 2025.
Our hub work has not only seen improvements in attainment but also in cultural engagement.
| Activity | Six months ago | Now | Increases |
| Bookshop visits | 37.9% | 43.0% | 13.5% |
| Theatre visits | 29.5% | 33.6% | 13.9% |
| Visits to community and cultural settings | 18.0% | 24.4% | 35.6% |
| Museum visits | 30.5% | 31.5% | 3.3% |
| Gallery visits | 17.1% | 18,3% | 7.0% |
| Regular library visits | 43.9% | 47.4% | 8.0% |
This data is also published as we reach the half-way point in the National Year of Reading 2026: The National Year of Reading has been a brilliant first step and we are proud to be a delivery partner for this government initiative. So far we have seen:
- Over 2.1 million children supported through school and early years ever
- 11,000 teachers and early years practitioners signed up
- 6,800 schools and early years settings registered
- 40,000 volunteers
- 600,000 books, audiobooks and magazines distributed
- Over 150 Local Authorities activating the NYR
- 3,000 libraries supported
- 900 partners signed up
- 114 Ambassador
- 5.5 million views of our content