This report presents findings from our Annual Literacy Survey on teachers’ experiences on audio listening opportunities in school environments in 2026. It draws on responses from 2,617 teachers from across the UK.
This report sits alongside our research on audiobook listening in family life and children and young people’s engagement with audio, both of which were published in July 2026.
Key findings
Opportunities to engage with audio in school were limited and inconsistent
- 3 in 10 (28.8%) teachers reported that pupils in their setting had opportunities to listen to audio.
- 33.4% said that pupils did not have these opportunities and 37.8% said they were unsure.
- Among teachers who said pupils had opportunities to engage with audio, most reported audiobook-only (47.9%) and mixed-format (45.7%) provision, with podcast-only provision far less common (6.4%).
Schools used audiobooks and podcasts for both literacy and learning
- Among teachers who reported audio provision, use of audiobooks was more often linked to encouraging reading for pleasure (68.1%) and motivating reluctant or less confident readers (52.9%).
- Podcasts were more strongly associated with curriculum-focused learning (75.0%), and over half (56.3%) of teachers felt that listening to podcasts could increase pupils’ knowledge.
- More teachers in primary settings reported using audiobooks, while podcast and mixed-format provision were more common in secondary and sixth form settings.
Audio provision was influenced more by practical barriers rather than a lack of value
- Among teachers who reported some form of audio provision, the main barriers to using audio formats were lack of devices or headphones (63.2%), the cost of subscriptions or platforms (60.0%) and lack of time in the timetable (59.6%).
- Among teachers with no audio provision, barriers increased for lack of devices or headphones (73.7%), lack of time in the timetable (66.3%) and the cost of subscriptions or platforms (64.5%).
Findings suggest that teachers who use audio in school see benefits for pupils’ reading enjoyment, motivation and knowledge-building. However, opportunities to listen to audio remain inconsistent, and many schools lack the resources needed to make audio provision widely available.
