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Writing for pleasure

Writing is more than just a skill - it’s also a powerful tool for thinking, communication, and self-expression.
Child boy outside Community National Literacy Trust

The downward trend in the number of children and young people writing for pleasure in the UK continues into 2025, according to our latest research.

Our latest report, supported by Twinkl, which explores children and young people’s writing enjoyment in their free time paints a troubling picture of declining enjoyment, motivation and habits, with concerning long-term implications for learning and literacy outcomes.

However, building on 15 years of research and practice, we are committed to championing writing for pleasure as a vital part of every child and young person’s development, wellbeing, and as a means to support them to engage with a digital-first world.

READ OUR RESEARCH IN FULL

What is writing for pleasure?

Writing for pleasure can be defined as the act of writing because of a person’s own choice and volition as a means of satisfaction. It could be argued that there are two types of pleasure in writing. Namely, writing as pleasure (enjoyment) and writing for pleasure (satisfaction).

Our 2025 report focuses on the moment when writing becomes far more than academic achievement, test-based attainment and skill, and can instead be a deeply personal pursuit. Writing for pleasure therefore is an expressive act tied to creativity, emotional wellbeing and identity.

Why is it important?

When children enjoy writing and write daily in their free time, there are tangible benefits to their writing skills, critical thinking skills, confidence, creativity, and wellbeing.

“Writing for enjoyment helps children process the world, find their voice, and make sense of who they are. It builds empathy, sharpens critical thinking, and gives them the tools to express what matters.”

Sharna Jackson, author of the High Rise Mystery series

Child girl outside happy nature community - National Literacy Trust

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What does our research say in 2025?

Our 2025 Annual Literacy Survey of nearly 115,000 children and young people aged 5 to 18 from across the UK confirms a deepening disengagement from writing.

Building on 2024 findings that drew attention to a sustained decline in writing enjoyment, the 2025 report reveals:

  • Only 1 in 4 (26.6%) young people aged 8 to 18 say they enjoy writing in their free time.

    This marks a near halving of writing enjoyment over the past 15 years.

  • Just 1 in 10 (10.4%) write something in their free time each day.

    In fact 61% fewer children and young people are writing daily in their free time today compared with 2010.

  • A decline in younger children's enthusiasm for writing enjoyment

    Younger children, particularly those aged 8 to 11, have historically shown higher levels of writing enjoyment but this year’s data shows they are now losing enthusiasm fastest.

However…

… a trend that has remained consistent over 15 years is that pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) are consistently more likely to enjoy writing in their free time than their peers not receiving FSM (31.1% vs 25%).

These young writers, often assumed to be less engaged, are more likely to write daily, in varied formats, and with a strong sense of ownership and other motivating factors.

“The findings offer a sobering view of writing culture in the UK but also point to actionable insights. By focusing on what motivates children and young people, particularly autonomy, creativity, and personal and cultural relevance, they are far more likely to engage with it on their own terms. That’s where true progress begins.

Jonathan Douglas, CEO of the National Literacy Trust

Secondary school young people boys  classroom writing_National Literacy Trust

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What are some of the motivating factors for writing for pleasure?

For the students who are demonstrating a desire to write daily in their free time, writing is not just about academic success, it is a deeply personal, expressive act tied to creativity, emotional wellbeing, and identity.

Even those children who don’t enjoy writing would be motivated to write if they were able to tap into these significant motivating factors:

  • Choice

    Being able to choose their own topics.

  • Style

    The autonomy to select their writing style.

  • Personalisation

    The freedom to respond to inspiring prompts and draw inspiration from memorable experiences that they wanted to share.

“My favourite part [of the Power of Voice writing project] was when we looked at people who are famous activists. It really inspired me and made me realise I can make a difference, and even if it’s a small difference, it’s still a difference.”

One pupil’s experience of our programmatic work

The National Literacy Trust's 2024 policy report: Oracy and how the government can help every child find their voice

These motivators could serve as vital entry points to rekindle writing enthusiasm, particularly among younger children, who remain more open to re-engagement than teens, more of whom are motivated by writing that is connected to their individual interests, aspirations and life experiences.

Give children choice

Choice in the format of writing plays such an important role.

While paper-based writing remains the most common format, less enthusiastic writers showed a preference for digital writing often through formats connected to music, media, and personal communication (such as song lyrics, reviews, scripts).

This underscores the importance of recognising diverse writing formats in any effort to reignite interest.

As evidenced by our recent reading for pleasure research, we need to meet children and young people where they are at and provide freedom for them to explore writing styles and formats in order to ignite new passions for self-expression and creative discovery.

How we are helping with this?

Our flagship Young Writers programme continues its crucial mission to embed writing for pleasure practices, working with schools, businesses, and charities as part of a multi-sector approach to shift perspectives on writing. You can read our report which explores how our programmatic approach supports writing for enjoyment.

We are urging government to consider the significance of writing for pleasure as part of its Writing Framework and prioritising writing for pleasure in the implementation of Curriculum and Assessment reforms.

BRAND NEW: Young Poet Laureate programme

Inspire the next generation to express themselves creatively through poetry. Introducing Young Poets Week, a week-long celebration and exploration of poetry in all its exciting forms – from rhyming couplets to rap, sonnets to spoken word! Followed by an exciting new opportunity for young creative talent across the country to apply to be a Young Poet Laureate for their region.

Teachers: express your interest to be part of the programme here
YCP 2024 boy poet web

Writing for pleasure in schools

Explore a range of high-quality resources, expert-led CPD and training, and programmes to support teachers to nurture your students' love of writing and access techniques to equip pupils with both the skill and the desire to write.

Discover resources, programmes and CPD opportunities
Writing for pleasure_schools Two secondary school pupils take part in poetry writing workshop

Writing and the future of Literacy

We know that we live in a digital age where generative-AI tools to both write and read texts are increasingly prevalent and will play a key role in the literacy lives of our children and young people.

We are committed to work with families and teachers to discover ways to equip children with the writing skills they need to ensure they get the most out of what AI can offer. It is critical that we empower young people with the ability to add their own thoughts and check outputs with an analytical eye.

This is something we will be exploring in depth in our forthcoming reports that seek to understand young people and teachers' use of generative AI to support literacy in 2025, and as part of our Future of Literacy work.

Donate here and together, we can ‘build spaces where writing isn’t just assessed, it’s celebrated’.