DO WE READ ENOUGH?

BY TIFFINY SIBSON

Reading is often referred to as the ‘gateway of knowledge’, yet has seen a surprising shift over the last few years:  UK reading rates fell.  How can we get people reading again? 

Not only has reading declined in sense of books being picked up, but it is also the connection between people and books. 1.2 million children are reading less than they were last year across the UK, for all children this has a significant impact, but those it affects the most are the children who are in the care system, their life has been planned out for failure.  

The drop in people reading isn’t just a number on a chart, it is not just a statistic. It is the future of this country; it is losing the foundation for academic success. It is children losing the ability to empathize, the ability to form basic conversations, the ability to connect with the world.  

 

As for children who may have had a challenging childhood, they had more than likely lost out on this form of escapism. But for those of us who found it, we have found academic success, emotional success and through these books we have been able to discover ourselves. 

“a reader lives a thousand lives before dying…the man who never reads only lives one”.

Studies have shown that children who have been through the care system, struggle with connecting to peers, but books are one of the very few things that can bring us together. All children need something to connect to, and if they do not have a stable support system, they should have the opportunity to turn to books.  To see themselves in a character. To know they are not alone.  

“For me seeing children connecting with books and the characters within them is one of the biggest rewards” 

Over the past few years there has been an increase in research surrounding children and how reading can impact and shape their lives. As of 2024, 20% of 15-year-olds had a reading age of an 11-year-old, and 10% had a reading age of a 9-year-olds. At 9 you are getting ready for your SATs, which set the foundation of your academic life leading into secondary school, and at 11 years-old you are beginning your journey through secondary school. If a child is deemed functionally illiterate, it is common for them to be unable to engage in their lessons, also leading to failure in classes that are essay based, or language based.  Currently in England, 5.1 million out of the 38.2 million adults have been labelled as functionally illiterate.  

 

Therefore, we need to begin to form these habits at a young age, specifically in early primary school.  

To find out a teacher’s insight on this matter I spoke to an early year’s teacher (who wishes to remain anonymous). She explains reading at an early age helps with phonics, the baseline of all education. It also helps with imagination and creativity, these books open a new world to children, where they can explore different worlds, different feelings, different situations. They create connections with the characters inside of these and often label themselves as these. My own little sister connects with characters; she often tells me ‘I am Matilda.’ To quote the former children’s laureate Chris Riddell, books are’ empathy engines’ 

 As a child, I was fortunate enough to have many books. One of which always stood out for me was Fantastic Mr. Fox.  I always knew I was different from most children: while I was adopted, others lived with their real parents. For me, I connected with the book, and a specific character: Ash. 

 I saw myself in him, and from then my motivation to read only grew stronger, I wanted to explore which other characters I can relate with. Since moving back into foster care, I still connect with Ash: that feeling of different. Through this I have been able to rid myself of the negative connotation surrounding ‘different.’  

If a child has not already made this connection at primary school, the chances of them forming it throughout secondary school rapidly diminish. Studies have shown that those who read for pleasure will always perform higher than those who do not.  

Of those people who have success with their GCSE’s, show females who had had a stable childhood consistently performed the best. Those in the Care System performed the worst. 

 Only 20% of those in the system achieve a single 5 or above.  Many of my friends I grew up with or I even lived with did not pass. I know for them college was more of a thought; ‘what am I actually capable of applying for?’ 

From all the research I have conducted I have found that those children who had that early connection and relationship with books have always performed better and will eventually go to university. On average 36.4% of students apply for university once finishing sixth form or college, of which only 14% of children in care go to university.  

Throughout secondary school I had a teacher who encouraged me to discover myself through books. I think that if a young person has a someone like I had, then they will not feel any different from the person they sit next to. No matter what background a child comes from they all connect with books the same. They have found a character they love; they idolize when studying. A poem they connect with, a story they see themselves in. 

 

But when a child cannot do this, they stop. They give up, and many of these are those in care. They cannot see themselves in the characters or the stories. 

For other children, reading became a chore. Something that is boring. In secondary schools, we are forced to read classic texts, which gives the impression that that is all there is in reading. We need to show the other genres in reading; we need to show young people the opportunities and knowledge they can gain from reading. Sci-fi and mystery usually entices children, and so I spoke to an author who writes for ‘middle grade’ (8-11 yrs) readers, Darren Simpson.  

Darren Simpson was someone I was instantly able to connect with: although we read different genres we were able to connect simply through a love of books. I told him about my love for Greek mythology, and my favourite book; the song of Achilles. 

Through books we can connect to anyone. Speaking to Darren Simpson was such a privilege and so eye-opening.  He revealed that growing up one of his biggest inspirations was Roald Dahl, with The Twits. Dahl, of course, also wrote the life-changing Fantastic Mr Fox.  

Simpson then went on to write three books, Scavengers, The Memory Of Thieves, Furthermoor. He has created worlds which children, and even adults can escape to. Worlds where they can connect with the characters, and the plot. Where they can empathise and go on adventures, where they can lose themselves between the pages of books.  

So how can we change these reading rates from falling even further? The concept of reading needs to be changed, the way so many people now think reading is something that is boring and non-beneficial.  

Primary schools should hold meetings with the parents where they go through the key benefits of reading, to show parents the statistics between readers and non-readers. Secondary schools should show the genres and the worlds these children can explore through books, how people can learn important life lessons through books, to empathize and create an imagination that can carry them through life.

Books set the foundation for a child’s motivation.  

‘I want to be a police officer.’ ‘I want to be a performer.’ ‘I want to be a criminologist.’ ‘I want to be a ballerina,’ ‘I want to be a vet,’ ‘I want to fly planes’. ‘I want to be a footballer.’  These children have seen these through the books they learn from, from the world they learn from. Books can be –should be- one of the biggest forms of inspiration for a person. 

 I found books as a child and through them I have discovered myself. As my sister grows, I can see the books that I read to her are shaping who she is becoming. The fact I am in care does not mean that I am different. I found myself in books, like so many before me and so many after me.

We need to shout louder about their power.