Where the gains come from
The 2026 increase was not evenly shared, and that matters more than the headline figure. Among the youngest children, aged 5 to 8, enjoyment dipped slightly, from 62.6% to 61.6%, driven by a fall among boys. And socio-economic gaps widened: enjoyment and daily reading rose more among children not receiving free school meals than among those who did.
So progress is real, but fragile, and the children most at risk of disengaging are still being left behind. The survey landed during the National Year of Reading, and the message for schools is clear: the work is far from finished, and the children who need engaging most are the ones least likely to find it on their own.
Why reluctant readers still read
The most telling finding for teachers is about the children who say they don’t enjoy reading at all. They keep reading anyway. More than 3 in 5 reluctant readers (62.3%) still read at least once a month, and many said reading supported their learning and their understanding of the world. Purpose, not pleasure, keeps them turning the page.
This is where non-fiction earns its place. A child who finds little joy in a novel will often pick up a newspaper to find out what is happening, to settle an argument, or to follow a story they care about. Non-fiction meets them on their own terms. Reading non-fiction books, as opposed to fiction, can be every bit as engrossing for children, yet it is often overlooked when we suggest what they might read next.
Reading with a critical eye
Teachers looking to introduce non-fiction texts to students might do well to start with the news. Separate National Literacy Trust research found that half of children were worried about not being able to spot fake news. This points to the need to raise the profile of critical literacy across the curriculum.
With social media reshaping how news is communicated, misinformation seeps easily into public discourse. Young people need the skills to identify reliable sources and to question where a story has come from. Practised regularly, these are the skills of a confident, critical reader. The kind the 2026 data suggests we need to nurture earlier and more evenly.
How non-fiction builds awareness of the world
A survey carried out for a 2019 report by the International Broadcasting Trust found that 86 per cent of children wanted to know what was happening in the world, but were unsure where to find it. Non-fiction answers a real appetite, which is part of why it works so well with readers who shrug off fiction.
By reading a publication such as First News, an award-winning newspaper written especially for young people, children build their reading skills alongside their understanding of the fast-changing world they are growing up in.
Secondary English teacher Michelle Shufflebottom has seen the effect of giving students regular independent reading time with the newspaper. “We wanted to introduce high-quality non-fiction texts as a gateway to their GCSE experience,” she says. “We wanted to encourage them to see reading as something that isn’t just about big, heavy books but a way of improving their awareness of the world.”
Her students read the newspaper, share interesting items, then discuss and debate them. They also complete comprehension exercises and vocabulary puzzles based on news stories, in class and for homework. “A year and a half in, students are noticeably more confident at talking about big issues and have a better understanding of what is happening in the world around them,” she says.
How non-fiction increases empathy
Reading also builds empathy, and with non-fiction that means empathy for real people in real situations. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, examining local, global and intercultural issues helps young people understand and appreciate different perspectives, so they can interact respectfully with others and take responsible action toward collective wellbeing.
Newspapers are a rich source of stories and a stepping stone to wider non-fiction. Biographies, blogs, histories, research, letters and diaries connected to the news give students a deeper understanding of the world. “We can talk about current events, relate them to past events, and even make predictions of what this might cause, or what might happen next,” says Lauren McFarlane, of St Michael’s Catholic School, High Wycombe.
Reading a blog by someone their own age in another country, after a news story about that place, raises real questions for students. How do their living conditions differ? What about their schooling? Do they share the same priorities? Comparing their own lives with very different ones is a first step toward becoming a global citizen.
How non-fiction reaches the hardest readers to reach
Non-fiction is also easy to dip in and out of. With a newspaper, you don’t have to start at the beginning, or read all of it, only the stories you find interesting. For a reluctant reader, that lower barrier to entry is often the difference between picking it up and putting it down.
Craig Liddle, assistant head at Springfield Junior School in Derbyshire, has seen the difference with exactly the children the 2026 data flags as most at risk. “I use First News with Year 6 in our guided reading lessons,” he says. “The children like the different range of activities on offer and how they link to news and current affairs. Even the hardest to reach and disadvantaged children are all engaging.
“Many of my reluctant readers don’t think they are reading and comprehending, and this is a huge positive for me and them. We have a dramatic improvement in children’s weekly reading scores and we hope this will continue to improve.”
The bottom line
The 2026 figures offer a real encouragement: reading enjoyment is rising again, and daily reading with it. But the gains are uneven, and the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children has grown. Schools cannot take this progress for granted.
Non-fiction, and the news above all, gives every child a reason to read, whether for pleasure, connection or to make sense of the world. When children have a good reason to read, they tend to keep reading for life. For the children least likely to reach for a book, non-fiction could be the reason they do.
To read more articles like this, visit the Talking Points section of our website, or sign up for First News at home and at school.
