The Reading Lives of 8 to 11-Year-Olds 2005-2013: An Evidence Paper for the Read On. Get On. Coalition

This report focuses on children aged 8 to 11 and their enjoyment of reading, reading behaviour, and attitudes toward reading. It synthesises information from surveys that have been conducted since 2005, but most heavily exploits data from the fourth annual literacy survey conducted in November/December 2013 in which 10,946 8 to 11-year-olds participated. In addition, this report explores the link between reading, gender, and socio-economic background (assessed by free school meal uptake) for this age group and how certain subgroups of pupils are potentially doubly disadvantaged. Some general findings in this report include: (1) Nearly two-thirds (65.8%) of 8 to 11-year-olds enjoy reading either very much (34.4%) or quite a lot (31.4%); (2) Nearly three-quarters (72.8%) of 8 to 11-year-olds have a favourite book or story; (3) 84.6% of children aged 8 to 11 say that they have a book of their own at home; (4) Two-fifths (40.7%) read daily outside class, while over a third (34.7%) read a few times a week; (5) Nearly a quarter (22.8%) of 8 to 11-year-olds read for up to 10 minutes at a time, while another quarter (25.3%) read for up to 20 minutes; (6) When asked what types of materials they read outside class, most 8 to 11-year-olds say that they read text messages (56.4%), followed by magazines (51.6%) and fiction (50.5%); (7) A lot of 8 to 11-year-olds are avid readers of books; (8) Nearly 9 in 10 (87.0%) 8 to 11-year-olds have been given a book as a present, while 9 in 10 (92.7%) have also been to a library; and (9) Most 8 to 11-year-olds have positive attitudes toward reading. [The research for this report has informed the publication "How reading can help children escape poverty" produced by the Read On. Get On. coalition.]