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Rethinking “Reading for Pleasure”
Reading for Pleasure has been a buzz word on many people’s lips in education for the past decade but lately there seems to be a shift in perspective.
The recent TES article on Reading for Pleasure asks a provocative question: should schools be pushing reading for pleasure at all?
Perhaps surprisingly, a growing number of researchers and practitioners are saying maybe not – at least not in the way many have been doing it. It’s a bold challenge to a narrative that has dominated literacy policy and practice for years but many valid and important points were raised.
A strategy that isn’t working
Despite national initiatives, library time, book corners, DEAR sessions, and endless posters of celebrities holding books, children’s enjoyment of reading is at a 20‑year low. Only a third of young people say they enjoy reading “very much” or “quite a lot.” That’s a disheartening statistic for anyone who has ever tried to spark that elusive “love of reading.” So why are the initiatives having little to no effect?
The TES article says that one issue is that schools have been treating reading for pleasure as a bolt‑on. Drop everything! Read! Enjoy! If we reflect on our own experiences though, we know that enjoyment can’t be commanded and time alone doesn’t magically transform a child into a reader – certainly not a keen one.
Several of the experts consulted for the article argue that reading is an essential skill and not just a hobby we can simply persuade every child to adore. We don’t base maths policy on asking pupils to love long division or writing policy on choosing to write essays at home. We teach them because they matter. Clearly, we would all like pupils to love everything we teach them and for them to choose to continue pursuing it in their own time but that may be too idealistic. What is more attainable, and some would argue relevant, is that pupils see reading as an essential life skill.
What Are We Actually Trying to Achieve?
This is where the article gets interesting. The problem isn’t the aspiration – of course we want children to read more. The problem is the terminology and the pedagogy.
“Reading for pleasure” has become a catch‑all phrase with a wooliness around how to actually achieve it.
It requires explicit strategies, expertise and clear, realistic expectations. Researchers like Teresa Cremin argue for a shift toward volitional reading: reading that is habitual, self‑directed and rooted in personal interest. Not necessarily joyful but chosen.
That subtle shift matters. It moves us away from the idea that reading must be blissful and toward the idea that reading must be meaningful.
Cremin remains steadfast in her belief that we need to be strategically intentional around how we develop this and also that it is ‘the professional, moral and social responsibility of all staff’ to do so.
What This Means for Schools
If we take the article’s argument seriously, then the future of reading in schools isn’t about beanbags, fairy lights or 20 minutes of silent reading. It’s about:
1. Building reading relationships
As with so much in education, relationships are the cornerstone to understanding and developing pupils’ motivation to read. We need to be responsive to pupils as individuals with their own unique reading experiences and incentives. The research shows that teachers modelling themselves as authentic readers – not in a performative way – can make a big difference. As we all know, many children and teenagers are really attuned to insincerity and will soon see through disingenuous attempts to get them reading through recommendations of books we’ve not actually read. Real, genuine conversations about reading matter.
2. Subject‑specific reading
Especially in secondary schools, where reading is often treated as the English Department’s problem. Historians read differently from scientists and pupils need to see that.
3. Strategic, not sporadic, planning
Volitional reading doesn’t happen by accident. It requires time, training, and a whole‑school culture. One person cannot change a culture by themselves and it can’t be left to chance or to performative tick box activities.
Should Schools Promote Reading for Pleasure?
Alex Quigley makes the point that teaching non-readers how to read has to be prioritised over policies and practices that devote time to getting them to enjoy reading. That stands to reason as enjoyment is so closely linked to feeling successful with something. If pupils feel like reading remains a struggle, how can we expect them to enjoy it?
The TES article is right to challenge the status quo. Not because reading for pleasure is unimportant, but because our current approach isn’t working, especially for the pupils who need it most.
If we want young people to choose to read, we need to stop trying to force them to love reading and start helping them see themselves as readers – curious, capable and connected to a community that values what reading can do. Support their autonomy to develop their own sense of what, when, how and why they will choose to read.
Tips & Help Understanding a child’s reading journey
Since the launch of the English Hub initiative in 2018, the profile of phonics and early reading in schools has grown.
Draft curriculum meetings 21 October 2026 - 24 February 2027
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