We cannot just tell parents to read more. To truly improve children’s futures through reading, we need to properly support the adults around them to do so.   

Responding to the Department of Education's announcement that 2026 will be a Year of Reading, The Reader's Managing Director Jemma Guerrier said: 

We are pleased to see that the importance of reading is recognised by Government as a life-changing experience.

The Reader is the UK’s biggest Shared Reading charity. We agree that parents and carers are key influencers in the likelihood of children engaging with reading, and of course we welcome initiatives to provide access to books. But more is needed.

Our Shared Reading groups and projects read aloud with thousands of adults and children across the country every week. This includes people in prisons or rehabilitation settings, people who speak English as a second language, new parents, and children who are care experienced.  

Through this work we meet people who have had a huge range of experiences with reading throughout their lives. We also see that many parents, carers and educators know that reading is important, and that they want to do it. But that not all have the tools or the confidence.

In England, 18% of adults aged 16 to 65 can be described as having "very poor literacy skills." Many adults were never read to as a child themselves, many are time poor, and all are facing pressures to provide for their families.

We cannot just tell parents to read more. To truly improve children’s futures through reading, this initiative needs to properly support the adults around them to do so.  

At The Reader, we provide training for parents, carers and early years professionals to build confidence, share tips and ensure that reading feels fun. We know this works. After taking part, 100% of parents and carers that we surveyed wanted to spend more time reading with their child.

We're asking the government to ensure that this initiative listens to the barriers that parents, carers and practitioners face, and commits to shaping and providing the support which will empower them to read with the children in their lives.  

We have years’ of experience in doing this and are ready and looking forward to supporting in any way we can.

Read more about our work with children and young people here.