Research services | National Literacy Trust

Our research work

Our research programme is designed to:

raise literacy attitudes, habits and skills across the UK
underpin our programmes, campaigns and policy work
inform our identity as an organisation

What we do

Annual literacy trackers

We ask children, young people and other stakeholders about literacy using large-scale national surveys.
Issue-led research

We explore literacy issues using multiple approaches to further our understanding on a commission basis.
Evaluating our work

Our evidence-based approach means we comprehensively explore the impact of our programmes.
Bespoke evaluations of programmes or products for others

Commission us to help you understand your impact.

Surveys

Annual Literacy Survey

Our annual survey of children and young people aged 5 to 18 covers reading and writing, and takes place in January/February.
Find out more
Secondary practitioner survey 2021

Our new survey for secondary teachers and other staff will explore the role of literacy across and within different subjects
Learn more

Commission research

We offer our research expertise to give you comprehensive insight into your literacy programme or product’s impact on a range of audiences. We have specialist knowledge of engaging with children and young people and a track record of working in schools and other settings.

Latest research

Research
Home Learning Environment - Parent Survey 2021

This report explores the findings of a survey conducted with 1500 parents of children from birth to age five about the home learning environment.

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Research
Book Ownership in 2021

The impact of book gifting on children and young people’s reading engagement

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Research
The Future of Primary School Libraries

Evidence from across the sector and submissions from teachers to give an idea of the current situation in primary school libraries; the benefits they bring to pupils and the...

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Research
Children and young people’s letter writing in 2021

This report outlines children and young people's letter writing attitudes in behaviours, and how they were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Research
Children and young people’s reading engagement in 2021

This report outlines children and young people's feelings about reading in early 2021, a period that coincided with the third national lockdown in the UK.

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Research
Reading challenges: How to design and run them to make them work

This report explores the impact reading challenges can have on children’s reading enjoyment, behaviours and skills, and the key considerations when developing reading challenges. It...

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Research
Multilingual young people’s reading in 2021

Celebrating the diverse linguistic backgrounds and skills of young people by focusing on multilingual leaner reading enjoyment, behaviours and linguistic identity.

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Research
Exploring the impact of World Book Day on the reading lives of children in the UK 2019-2021

This report, commissioned by World Book Day, captures children’s perceptions of how the event supports their reading opportunities and influences their developing reading identities.

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Research
NewsWise evaluation report 2020-21

This report evaluates the impact of the third year of NewsWise – a free, cross-curricular news literacy programme for 9- to 11-year-olds across the UK.

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Our research work

Annual literacy trackers

Issue-led research

Evaluating our work

Bespoke evaluations of programmes or products for others

Annual Literacy Survey

Secondary practitioner survey 2021

Commission research