Nathalie Smith
Early years Consultant
@NathalieSSmith
April seems to be the time to think about reading, with Hans Christian Andersen's birthday marking international book day on the 2nd and ‘
Drop everything and read’, where families are encouraged to put 30 minutes aside and enjoy books together, on the 16th.
So why is reading for pleasure from a young age so important?
The
OECD survey of adult skills published in 2013 showed that England came in at a disappointing 47th out of 65 counties on the measure of the number of young adults that read for enjoyment. The survey also found that the difference in reading ability between those who never read for enjoyment or pleasure, compared to those that read for half an hour a day (because they are told to), was the equivalent to a whole year of schooling. This lack of reading for pleasure has the potential to have a large impact on the literacy skills of our young people which can also impact their future prospects with regards to further education and employment. If encouraging our children and young people to read more can have a positive influence on this, why wouldn’t we encourage it?
