Education & Young People Community & Social Justice 2024
National Literacy Trust

National Literacy Trust Annual Report 2024/25

The National Literacy Trust works to address inequality through the power of literacy, partnering with 9,015 schools across the UK. Their 2024/25 annual report marks the charity's 30th anniversary, highlights a record low in children's reading enjoyment and records the commission from the Secretary of State for Education to lead the National Year of Reading 2026.

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Report snapshot
1,500+ new primary school libraries created; 9,834 parents of under-5s reached in last year Key Metric 1
528,303 books gifted in the last year; 5 million children inspired and empowered over 30 years Key Metric 2
Hub areas recording reading levels up to 22% higher than the national average Key Metric 3
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📋About

School libraries, literacy hubs, early years language support, family literacy, teacher resources, adult literacy, policy advocacy

📊Key Metrics

1,500+ new primary school libraries created; 9,834 parents of under-5s reached in last year Key Metric 1
528,303 books gifted in the last year; 5 million children inspired and empowered over 30 years Key Metric 2
Hub areas recording reading levels up to 22% higher than the national average Key Metric 3

✅Key Outcomes

  • Only 34.6% of children aged 8-18 enjoy reading in their free time — lowest ever recorded — prompting commission to lead National Year of Reading 2026
  • 20 Literacy Hubs in the UK's most deprived communities bucking national decline in reading engagement
  • Early Words Matter campaign launched targeting 250,000 children in Hub areas over 5 years

📍Geography

UK-Wide

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