Hollie Warren: How reading can open a new chapter

A new Save the Children report predicts that if the situation continues unchecked, 1.5 million children will leave primary school unable to “read well” by 2025.

“Reading well” is more than just reading out words on a page. It means reading, understanding and discussing stories like Harry Potter or Treasure Island. And this is essential if every child is to achieve well at secondary school and get on and prosper later in life. From the day-to-day of boarding the right train and paying bills on time to applying for jobs and earning a decent living, reading well is essential.

Called Read On. Get On. How Reading Can Help Children Escape Poverty, the new research reveals that children’s life chances are being largely determined at an early age.

Through no fault of their own, some children fall behind young and never catch up. England has one of the largest “reading gaps” in the world. It is one of the most unequal countries in Europe when it comes to reading, second only to Romania. The gap between the strongest and weakest readers is equivalent to seven years of schooling.

It’s tragic and unfair that children from the poorest families are the worst affected. Four out of 10 children on free school meals struggle to read well. This means they will subsequently struggle to gain the educational opportunities and life chances they need to flourish and work their way out of poverty.

And these children are the least likely to catch up on their reading outside of school: almost a quarter of 11-year-olds in the poorest families have fewer than 10 books in their home.

The unfolding reading crisis is not just about individual opportunity. It matters for us all. Employers still struggle with new recruits turning up on day one with poor literacy. New research reveals the cost of this: our national wealth could be £32bn greater by 2025, if all children were confident and strong readers by the age of 11. The shocking problem has compelled Save the Children to spearhead a coalition of teachers, parents, sports stars, businesses, leading authors and other charities which aims to get all children reading well by the age of 11, by 2025.

This is not only about charities telling the Government to do more, but about the whole nation coming together to get children reading. It will do this by supporting parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles, and godparents to read with children for ten minutes every day. There is now proof that regular bursts or reading can make a real difference. We can all try to make the time to sit down together to read with children – whether it’s books, comics or newspapers. And we want people to volunteer, to help get Britain’s children reading well. They can do that by going to www.readongeton.org.uk

As part of the Read On. Get On campaign, Save the Children is hosting a series of free children’s events with some of the nation’s most famous faces, authors, illustrators and fictional characters. It won’t be easy to achieve our goal but it’s essential that we do. The UK should be seen as a country leading the way in children’s education, not as one of the most unequal in Europe.

We can all begin to redress the balance by ensuring every child is given a fair and equal chance to learn to read well, regardless of their background and where they live.

Hollie Warren is Save the Children’s education policy adviser.