Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to (a) encourage young people to read and (b) promote reading for pleasure in (i) Eastleigh constituency, (ii) England and (iii) the UK.

The Department is committed to continuing to raise literacy standards – ensuring all children can read fluently and with understanding.

Literacy skills are underpinned by communication and language skills developed in the early years. Our proposed reforms to the Early Years Foundation Stage, including revisions to the curriculum activities and assessment goals under the seven areas of learning, are intended to improve early language and literacy outcomes for all children. We have also launched Hungry Little Minds – a three-year campaign to encourage parents to engage in activities that support their child’s language and literacy. The Hungry Little Minds website gives parents access to video tips, advice and suggested apps and games to help with early learning for their children from age 0 to 5.

Evidence has shown that phonics is a highly effective component in the development of early reading skills, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Our phonics performance is improving. In 2019, 82% of pupils in Year 1 met the expected standard in the phonics screening check, compared to just 58% when the check was introduced in 2012.

Reflecting our commitment to encouraging early reading, in 2018 we launched the £26.3 million English Hubs Programme. We have appointed 34 primary schools across England as English Hubs. The English Hubs programme is supporting nearly 3,000 schools across England to improve their teaching of reading through systematic synthetic phonics, early language development, and reading for pleasure. The English Hubs are focused on improving educational outcomes for the most disadvantaged pupils in Reception and Year 1. To note, Springhill Catholic Primary School in Southampton is an English Hub, and covers Eastleigh and other constituencies.

Education is a devolved matter and the Department is only responsible for policy in England. The Scottish and Welsh Governments are responsible for education policy in Scotland and Wales.