News

25% off Skills Academy to celebrate #Literacy25

We’re offering 25% off our popular reading intervention Skills Academy to celebrate our 25th anniversary.

£3 million book giveaway to all UK primary schools

One of the country’s leading educational suppliers, BookLife, has set up a new scheme to support school libraries and help primary schools improve their literacy skills.

Life expectancy shortened by 26 years for children growing up in areas with the most serious literacy problems

Our new research finds that children born into communities with the most serious literacy challenges have some of the lowest life expectancies in England. 

We launch Swindon Stories with literacy bus tour

We were delighted to launch our National Literacy Trust Hub in Swindon yesterday, which will be known locally as Swindon Stories. 

We launch call for evidence on fake news and critical literacy

We held an expert witness session of our Commission on Fake News and the Teaching of Critical Literacy in Schools and launched a call for evidence to gather further input from organisations and individuals on this important issue.

We're giving away 25 free memberships to celebrate our 25th anniversary

We are gifting 25 free memberships for schools, as part of our 25th anniversary celebrations.

A new chapter for reading in Peterborough

A pioneering new approach has been launched in Peterborough to ensure that every child in the city enjoys reading and can read well

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall visits HMP Styal to learn more about Books Unlocked

Our Patron HRH The Duchess of Cornwall visited women’s prison HMP Styal in Cheshire last week to find out more about how prisoners' lives are being transformed by our Books Unlocked programme.

UK businesses pledge to tackle nation’s literacy crisis in 2018

New businesses signing the Vision for Literacy Business Pledge in 2018 include John Lewis, Clarks and Metro Bank.  

Bradford schools pledge to improve literacy in the classroom and community

20 local nursery, primary and secondary schools have signed the Bradford Schools Literacy Pledge, committing to an increased focus on literacy in their schools and settings.

News Wise: helping primary pupils tackle fake news

From today, primary schools can register their interest in taking part in our new programme, News Wise, which aims to help teachers empower their pupils to access, understand, analyse and participate in the news.

Read On. Get On. coalition launches robust measure of children’s reading at age 11

The Read On. Get On. coalition, for which we hold the secretariat, has today launched a new robust measure of children’s reading at age 11 in England. 

Teams taking on the Arctic Challenge raise almost £75,000 for our work

Cressida Cowell crowned UK literacy champion as she wins Ruth Rendell Award 2017

Cressida Cowell has won the coveted Ruth Rendell Award 2017 for her tireless championing of literacy throughout the UK.

1 in 8 disadvantaged children in the UK don’t own a single book

Cressida Cowell leads our Christmas Stories campaign to give a disadvantaged child their very first book this Christmas.

Brightening up story time with free books at Stockton Sparkles

Families had the chance to take home free books at Stockton’s highly anticipated Christmas lights switch on, thanks to the Read North East campaign.

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall supports our campaign to improve literacy levels in Stoke-on-Trent

On Tuesday 28 November, our Patron Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall visited Stoke-on-Trent to celebrate the work of our Hub in the city with school children, authors and local organisations.

We celebrate the achievements of students taking part in Skills Academy

Pupils from schools across the UK came together this week to take part in our first ever Skills Academy celebration day.

Our new research review shows that personalised print books could boost children’s early literacy skills

We have published a new research review today which shows that reading personalised print books with young children could help them develop their early literacy, language and communication skills.

Football fan gives a rave Read North East review

Read what Middlesbrough FC fan Charley thought about her Read North East book in her review.

Businesses encouraged to support children’s reading in their local area by gifting a Literacy Toolkit

We are delighted to have partnered with Walker Books to create a Literacy Toolkit which businesses can gift to a local primary school or community group.