Reading for pleasure

That this House recognises the significant impact of reading for pleasure in improving a child’s educational attainment and life chances; notes that children who read for pleasure daily or nearly every day are a year ahead in reading performance compared those who never do; further notes with concern that child literacy rates are falling year on year; believes an improvement in literacy rates will help close the attainment gap; further notes that not all schools have libraries; recognises that 10 to 16 year olds make four time as much progress in vocabulary, maths and spelling if they read for pleasure than if their parents have a degree; further recognises that the UK has one of the lowest rankings for teenage literacy in OECD countries; highlights that reading to children, with no formal teaching agenda, is the most effective way to encourage them to read for pleasure independently; and calls on the Government to support teachers to include opportunities for non-tested story time as an intrinsic part of every school day