National Year of Reading

Are you ready to GO ALL IN?

2026 is the National Year of Reading. 

A UK-wide initiative brought to life by the Department for Education in partnership with the National Literacy Trust and a wide network of literacy organisations, the National Year of Reading is a campaign designed to reverse the long-term decline in Reading for Pleasure and reconnect communities with reading in all its forms

Reading enriches and empowers us; it expands our minds and gives us the ability to articulate own unique experience of the world. Increasingly, however, our young people are spending less time reading.

Under the banner “Go All In” — If you’re into it, read into it — the campaign invites everyone to discover how reading connects with the things they already love, whether that’s music, sport, films, family time, hobbies or everyday curiosities. Rather than asking people to find time to read, the campaign brings reading into culture and everyday life, making it more accessible, relevant and fun.

See the full campaign here (opens new window)

Why Now?

According to a 2025 survey by the National Literacy Trust:

• Just 1 in 3 (32.7%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said that they enjoyed reading in their free time
• Fewer than 1 in 5 (18.7%) 8- to 18-year-olds said that they read something daily in their free time
• Even among children aged 5 to 8, daily reading rates dropped by 3.4 percentage points in the past year to 44.5%

Read more about the report here

So what are UKLA doing?

For the National Year of Reading, UKLA is focusing on parents and families, recognising their central role in every child’s reading journey.

Research shows that when families read together, children benefit academically, socially and emotionally. Shared reading supports language development, strengthens relationships and helps foster a lifelong love of reading. Evidence confirms that parent–child reading has a significant positive impact on children’s language development and early school readiness, particularly in the early years (Law et al., 2020).

A strong home learning environment — where books are accessible and reading is shared — is closely linked to positive long-term outcomes. As UKLA trustee Professor Teresa Cremin CBE notes, reading for pleasure is shaped by relationships between children, teachers, families and communities.

Throughout the year, UKLA will share research, resources, events and practical ideas to support families and carers as partners in literacy.

By placing families at the heart of this work, UKLA champions reading as a shared, community-centred practice — because when families read, children flourish.

• “Reading for pleasure is strongly influenced by relationships between children, teachers, families and communities.”

  Teresa Cremin CBE

How can I get involved?

Over the course of the year, UKLA will be hosting events, creating resources and spotlighting key pieces of research – new and historical – all with the aim of supporting families and carers in cultivating a love of reading at home. From webinars with experts in the literacy sector, to comprehensive book guides, to breakdowns of the latest published reports, we’re Going All In to support the National Year of Reading.