Peter Gibson MP has welcomed the news that the largest global comparison of its kind shows that children in England are better at reading than anywhere else in Europe or the United States.
Improving reading standards for children broadens aspiration and is fundamentally important to their future academic achievement, wellbeing and success in life. The reading and writing of Standard English, alongside proficient language development, is the key to unlocking the rest of the academic curriculum.
The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls), which is published every five years, has found that England has risen from eighth to fourth, behind Singapore in first place, Hong Kong in second and Russia in third.
Pirls was the only worldwide education comparison conducted during Covid restrictions, though its 2021 findings were delayed by the pandemic. The study involved hundreds of thousands of children, and a total of 43 countries submitted comparable results from children in Year 5 or equivalent who sat reading tests in spring 2021 or spring 2022, around the age of ten.
Mr Gibson has raised the importance of reading a number of times in the House of Commons, most recently highlighting the Skerne Park Academy reading lobster scheme. The scheme is designed to promote a life-long love of reading for the children, the children now all have their own lobster reading buddies to listen to their stories and scheme is already proving hugely successful.
We know that improved reading skills lead to more opportunities and improved skills in life, and schemes like this are hugely important to improving children’s reading skills and ensuring they have the best start in life.
Speaking about this news, Mr Gibson said: “Reading is a hugely important skill, which is the key to education. It is hugely welcome to see that children’s reading skills have not been adversely impacted by the pandemic and that our children are some of the best readers in the world. While there is always more progress to be made, pupils and teachers across the country should be incredibly proud of this achievement.”
“I welcome the contribution of local schools and teachers towards encouraging wider reading here in Darlington. Schemes such as that at Skerne Park Academy are hugely welcome and I look forward to continuing to work with local stakeholders to ensure we can continue to improve reading skills and give children the best possible start in life.”
Picture: Seb with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak MP and Peter Gibson MP, a reading lobster, kindly given to Peter by Skerne Park Academy to promote awareness about reading in schools.
