This report explores what shapes early learning routines and routine shared parent-child engagement, and for whom, based on responses from 3,505 UK parents of children aged 0-5.
It is often assumed that confident parents are also more likely to engage in activities that support their children’s learning, but our 2025 annual parent survey tells a more complex story: most parents felt confident supporting early learning, yet daily shared engagement in activities such as reading, talking and play fell to a six-year low.
Building on this seemingly contradictory finding, this report explores how confidence, knowledge, resources and access to support interact to shape early learning routines.
To do so, we grouped parents into four distinct groups and looked at the characteristics, similarities and differences between them:
- parents feeling confident and engaging frequently;
- parents feeling confident but not engaging frequently;
- parents feeling less confident but engaging frequently; and
- parents feeling less confident and not engaging frequently.
Key findings
- Families experience different combinations of knowledge, resources, access to support and practical pressures that shape shared engagement in early learning.
- High confidence does not guarantee regular engagement, and lower confidence does not prevent it.
- Parents feeling less confident were also consistently less likely to have high knowledge around early language development and how to support it, while parents engaging less frequently were more likely to have fewer books at home, participate less in digital learning activities and make less use of community support.
- Parents who regularly used local support such as libraries, family hubs and community groups were often more engaged with their child's learning, even when they reported lower confidence.
- Once differences in knowledge, resources and support were accounted for, practical barriers such as time or cost of activities did not significantly distinguish the groups.
What do these findings mean for us?
These findings show there is no single pathway or one-size-fits-all solution for supporting early literacy and learning: different groups of families have distinct combinations of needs, challenges and strengths.
If support for early literacy and learning is to be effective, it requires multidimensional, tailored approaches that go beyond building confidence.
This report offers a framework for recognising and understanding these differences, and it can support practitioners, policymakers and organisations working with families make informed decisions about supporting early language through tailored approaches that build on families' strengths while responding to their individual circumstances.
This research project was funded by KPMG UK.
Recommendations for the four groups identified
- Confident and engaging frequently: Recognise, sustain and further facilitate existing learning routines and strengths.
- Confident but not engaging frequently: Build on existing confidence and facilitate consistent learning routines and connections with local support.
- Less confident but engaging frequently: Reassurance, model, build confidence and stronger connections to local services.
- Less confident and not engaging frequently: Provide accessible, welcoming and coordinated support for families facing multiple challenges.
Our Early Words Matter campaign
Our Early Words Matter campaign is working to support 250,000 pre-school children, with a focus on those growing up in areas where poverty and low literacy are most seriously impacting people's lives.
The campaign supports early years educators and families with events, activities and resources designed to strengthen shared parent-child engagement at home and in the community.
Continued collective action will be essential to address the barriers families face and ensure more children start school ready to thrive.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the National Literacy Trust and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of KPMG UK.
