September 2, 2026
This blog was created in collaboration between Martin Galway, Head of Professional Learning and Partnerships at National Literacy Trust, and Georgina Cook, Education Specialist for Language and Literacy at Renaissance.
Reading for pleasure is one of the most powerful drivers of a child’s learning, wellbeing, and long-term success. Yet for the past two decades, children’s reading enjoyment has fallen to some of its lowest recorded levels. The good news? Primary school reading habits can be rebuilt with the right strategies, resources, and a little trust in young readers. This guide shares five practical, evidence-based ways to strengthen primary reading engagement and support even your most reluctant readers.
A shared mission: Renaissance and the National Literacy Trust
Renaissance and the National Literacy Trust share a common goal: helping every child in the UK build the skills, confidence, and love of reading that lead to stronger outcomes in school and beyond.
The National Literacy Trust brings decades of research and frontline experience, while Renaissance has been working for over 40 years to support literacy outcomes in schools Together, both organisations are committed to closing the reading enjoyment gap and ensuring that reading for pleasure is never left to chance.
Introduction
The National Year of Reading has arrived at an important time. For the past two decades, children and young people’s reading enjoyment has fallen to its lowest levels – with ramifications for children’s learning and life outcomes.
But there is hope. The National Literacy Trust’s 2026 report on children’s reading in the UK showed a small increase in both reading and enjoyment and daily reading.
The primary years are where reading habits take hold or quietly fall away. Get this right, and we give children the will and skill for a smoother transition into secondary, driving stronger outcomes, and the wellbeing that reading can offer throughout life. We also help children to see themselves as readers, with tastes, preferences and a voice. That identity, once formed, is built to last.
If you’re looking to boost reading engagement in your primary classroom and encourage regular reading habits, here are five reading for pleasure strategies you can put into practice through resources, activities, and everyday routines.
5 strategies to raise reading for pleasure in your primary setting
1. Listen to pupil voice and broaden what ‘counts’ as reading
- Children are already making sophisticated reading choices when given autonomy and access. They navigate genres, authors, themes and communities – often independently. As one pupil shared in the National Literacy Trust’s recent survey on young people’s perspectives on reading, “I usually read on my phone as I can select what type of story I want with characters from games or movies I enjoy… I go on AO3… which I love a lot.”
- Crucially, help children identify what they enjoy. This free Book Choice resource includes worksheets and guidance to facilitate a creative activity that supports children to share what sparks their interest – and helps you keep a record for future reading recommendations.
Broadening what “counts” as reading, from comics and audiobooks to online stories, validates diverse reading identities and keeps more children engaged.
2. Encourage access to reading
- Access is the foundation of primary reading engagement – start with your local library. Libraries can feel difficult to navigate for children who don’t often visit them – but these spaces provide a fantastic chance for children to discover something that they love and connect with reading. As a free and accessible option – with a range of formats such as large print, braille and audio – they can help nurture a diverse range of readers. If you’re lucky enough to have a local library, a class visit can enhance your pupil’s confidence in how they navigate the space, and browse, choose and borrow the books they enjoy. The tips in this Library LifeLine blog will help you plan your visit.
- Ensure accessible formats are available in your setting. Consider graphic novels, illustrated texts, audiobooks, dyslexia-friendly fonts, short-form nonfiction, and high-interest, low-reading-age titles. When children understand what they’re reading and enjoy it, they build the reading confidence and self-efficacy that fuel lasting motivation.
3. Understand where children are – and meet them there
- To boost reading habits, start with where children actually are. Create a class display of “All the ways we read” to validate varied reading identities and spark discussion. Explore different reading formats with your class. Ask: Where do you read? What do you read on (book, phone, tablet, audio)? What kinds of stories or texts do you enjoy?
- Understanding what drives the gap between school and home reading can help you develop strategies that support reluctant readers beyond the classroom. Renaissance spoke with teachers across the UK about what shapes pupil’s progress and habits, gathering practical, real-world approaches for struggling readers that you can adapt to your own setting.
4. Don’t insist on persisting
- If a child hates a text, don’t force them to finish it. This risks reinforcing the idea that reading is something to endure rather than something to choose. Adult readers abandon books all the time! Giving children permission to do the same builds authentic reading habits and a stronger sense of reader identity, both essential ingredients for lifelong reading for pleasure.
5. Make reading low stakes
- For many children, reading in school is closely tied to assessment, performance and “getting it right”. But when reading always feels like work, it can quickly become the least appealing option – especially in a world where entertainment is instant and abundant. Low-stakes reading environments help children reconnect with the intrinsic rewards of reading, such as imagination and wellbeing, rather than external expectations.
- Protect a daily 15-minute reading habit. Even a short, consistent period of reading each day can have a lasting impact on literacy, confidence and reading enjoyment. Research from Renaissance has found that students who read for an average of 15 minutes daily are exposed to millions more words each year, helping to build vocabulary, comprehension, background knowledge and reading stamina. Over time, these small, consistent reading habits compound, supporting stronger attainment, greater confidence and a genuine love of reading.
Bringing it all together
Reading for pleasure does not happen by accident. It grows where children are given choice, access and the freedom to read in the ways that suit them. These five strategies share a common thread: trust children as readers. Meet children where they are, rather than where a scheme expects them to be. Let reading become something children return to for learning, wellbeing, and enjoyment.
Support primary reading engagement with Renaissance
Real choice and real progress can work together, rather than against each other. Renaissance Accelerated Reader helps you offer children genuine freedom to choose books they love while tracking the reading they do, so practice and pleasure reinforce one another. Paired with the daily 15-minute reading habit, it’s a practical way to build vocabulary, comprehension, and reading stamina across your whole class, while keeping the joy of reading firmly at the center.
Discover how Accelerated Reader can help you nurture confident, motivated readers in your primary setting.