The increase in young people’s reading rates under this Government is one of our proudest achievements. In 2009, under Labour, England ranked 25th for reading in the OECD PISA rankings. In 2022, under this Conservative Government, England’s ranking has risen to 13th.
During a debate about World Book Day in Parliament, I made the point that improving literacy levels for young people – particularly through teaching phonics – has unlocked the independence of mind and creative thinking needed to enable children to read for fun, which is a key theme of this year’s World Book Day.
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