READING for pleasure is in decline among children in Jersey, according to new research – prompting fresh calls for a long-term strategy before the Island follows the UK’s worsening literacy crisis.
Every Child Our Future chief executive Cris Lakeman has urged Jersey’s new Education Minister to seize the opportunity to act after new evidence suggested the Island was “following the same trajectory as the UK”.
In a letter to Deputy Catherine Curtis, Mrs Lakeman pointed to a recent House of Commons Education Committee report, which concluded that falling levels of reading for pleasure now represent a “significant national challenge”.
“The report’s findings are echoed locally,” she said.
“A recent Open University survey on reading for pleasure in Jersey suggests that the Island is following the same trajectory as the UK, with reading for pleasure in decline.
“This presents an opportunity for Jersey to respond proactively before these trends become more deeply embedded.”
Mrs Lakeman warned that the decline in children’s reading for pleasure was “no longer simply a literacy issue”, but one that affected “educational attainment, wellbeing, social mobility and future economic prosperity”.
The Commons committee said reversing the trend would require “a long-term, coordinated response rather than a series of short-term initiatives”, involving government, schools, libraries, charities, parents and communities.
Mrs Lakeman said Jersey was already well placed to respond, citing universal library membership for children, committed schools, an active library service and a range of community initiatives promoting reading.
“The challenge now is to build on these strengths through a shared, long-term strategy that ensures every child develops a lifelong love of reading,” she said.
Among the ideas put forward are the creation of a Jersey Reading Guarantee, ensuring every child has access to books they can own, strengthening school libraries, expanding family reading initiatives and measuring children’s enjoyment of reading alongside academic attainment.
The Commons committee also found children from less advantaged backgrounds were less likely to own books, read regularly or enjoy reading, and recommended targeted support to tackle those inequalities.
Mrs Lakeman has invited the Education Minister to discuss how government, schools, libraries, charities and community partners could work together to develop “a long-term vision for reading for pleasure on the Island”. She is yet to receive a response.
In case you missed it:
The Jersey Evening Post has partnered with Every Child Our Future this year to support the Big Jersey Read initiative, which encourages Islanders to pledge to read for just ten minutes each day to help build lasting literacy habits in both children and adults.
Selected stories from the JEP Junior, the children’s newspaper created to support The Big Read, have now been turned into short podcasts, explaining real news in clear, easy-to-understand language.
Young readers can listen while they read along, or enjoy the episodes on their own, with topics ranging from wildlife and sport to social media, science and the world around them.
Listen to the JEP Junior podcasts below or on your usual podcast platform.
