Third of teachers doubt reading crisis can be solved

New research has shown that while the teaching profession is willing to support children’s reading, a third doubt that our children's reading crisis can be solved.

The findings come from a survey by education technology company Renaissance of 1,013 UK teachers.
 
The research found that nine in ten teachers (91 per cent) are aware of the evidence that 15 minutes of daily reading makes a measurable difference to children’s skills and attainment. Eight in ten (82 per cent) are confident their school has the expertise to support struggling readers, and nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) believe daily reading of 15 minutes or more would be feasible to introduce. Eight in ten (81%) also accept that alternative formats - audiobooks, graphic novels, comics, reading on screens - should count as valid reading, though opinion splits evenly on whether parents agree: 42 per cent think they do, 38 per cent think they do not.

But teachers are far less certain the message is getting through to parents. Fewer than one in four (23 per cent) believe parents are aware of the 15-minute evidence. Almost two thirds (63 per cent) actively believe they are not. Seven in ten teachers (70 per cent) say parents and carers bear primary responsibility for encouraging children to read outside school. And yet a third of all teachers (33 per cent) doubt that our children's reading crisis can be solved.

Asked what challenges children face with reading, screen time tops the list, cited by 86 per cent. Insufficient support at home follows at 82 per cent, with concentration and attention problems at 74 per cent. Just 27 per cent point to a lack of support within schools themselves. And only one per cent say reading outside school is the school’s job alone.

In practice, even the 15-minute threshold is far from universal within schools. Just under half of all schools (48 per cent) have 15 minutes or more of dedicated reading time. Among secondary schools the figure falls to 28 per cent, compared with 62 per cent in primary. Timetable constraints are the most cited barrier (71 per cent), followed by competing curriculum priorities (53 per cent).

Set against National Literacy Trust data showing that only half of parents now read with their child daily - down 15 percentage points since 2019 - the Renaissance survey reveals a growing disconnect between what teachers know, what schools can do, and what is happening at home, suggesting the opportunity for closer home/school collaboration.

Renaissance's research tracks the cumulative word exposure of children across their school career: those who average 30 minutes or more of daily reading encounter around 13.7 million words by the time they leave school; those reading for fewer than 15 minutes encounter just 1.5 million. That difference - more than 12 million words - is what researchers mean when they talk about the reading gap.
 
Crispin Chatterton, Director of Education, Renaissance, says: “What comes through most clearly in this data is that teachers are ready to act. The challenge is making sure parents have the same information teachers do. And that schools have the time and resources to put what they know into practice.

“There remains a real cause for optimism,” Chatterton adds. “Teachers’ strong embrace of alternative reading formats, their widespread understanding of the 15 minutes evidence base, and the fact that nearly two-thirds believe daily reading time is achievable all point to a profession not just ready to act but energised to drive meaningful change.”