COVID-19 Research and Policy Observatory
Our research and policy observatory includes up-to-date research, policy and analysis on the impact of COVID-19 on children and young people’s learning, literacy and wellbeing.
Literacy is the ability to read, write, speak and listen in a way that lets us communicate effectively and make sense of the world.
Lacking vital literacy skills holds a person back at every stage of their life. As a child they won't be able to succeed at school, as a young adult they will be locked out of the job market, and as a parent they won't be able to support their own child's learning. This intergenerational cycle makes social mobility and a fairer society more difficult.
People with low literacy skills may not be able to read a book or newspaper, understand road signs or price labels, make sense of a bus or train timetable, fill out a form, read instructions on medicines or use the internet.
Low levels of literacy undermine the UK’s economic competitiveness, costing the taxpayer £2.5 billion every year (KPMG, 2009). A third of businesses are not satisfied with young people’s literacy skills when they enter the workforce and a similar number have organised remedial training for young recruits to improve their basic skills, including literacy and communication.
Our research and policy observatory includes up-to-date research, policy and analysis on the impact of COVID-19 on children and young people’s learning, literacy and wellbeing.
Our research underpins our programmes, campaigns and policy work to improve literacy skills, attitudes and habits across the UK.
Children who enjoy reading are three times more likely to have good mental wellbeing than children who don’t enjoy it. Read more.
Children who say they have a book of their own are six times more likely to read above the level expected for their age than their peers who don’t own a book (22% vs. 3.6%). Read more.
A boy born in Stockton Town Centre (an area with serious literacy challenges) has a life expectancy 26.1 years shorter than a boy born in North Oxford. Read more.
Only 1 in 2 (47.8%) children and young people said they enjoy reading in early 2020, the lowest level of reading enjoyment we have recorded since 2005. Read more.
In 2021, just over one-third (34.5%) of children and young people said that they enjoy writing. This is the lowest level of writing enjoyment we have recorded since 2010. Read more.
1 in 5 (21.7%) children and young people said that listening to an audiobook or podcast has got them interested in reading books. Read more.
16.4% of adults in England, or 7.1 million people, can be described as having 'very poor literacy skills.' Adults with poor literacy skills will be locked out of the job market and, as a parent, they won’t be able to support their child’s learning.