Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in national illiteracy levels; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that groups at high risk of illiteracy receive adequate education.

​​High and rising school standards, with excellent foundations in reading and writing, are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.

The government has committed £28.3 million this financial year to support and drive high and rising standards in reading. This includes supporting the teaching of phonics, early language and reading for pleasure via our English Hubs, including the Reading Ambition for All programme, which aims to improve reading outcomes for children that need additional support, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. We are also building secondary schools' capacity to support students with reading needs by providing new reading training.

We are setting an ambition for 90% of children to meet the expected standard in the Phonics Screening Check by the end of year 1, through an improved focus on the children that struggle in the earliest years. We are also introducing a reading check for all pupils in year 8, to ensure that schools are identifying and providing support to pupils who need it at the beginning of secondary school.

This is alongside launching the National Year of Reading 2026, which will have a targeted focus on certain priority groups including boys aged 10 to 16, parents from disadvantaged communities, and early years children.