One in five children in UK ‘do not have access to books at home’

Two in three children said reading makes them feel better

One in five children in UK ‘do not have access to books at home’ (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Almost one in five children in the UK do not own their own books, a new report has found.

According to a report by the National Literacy Trust, 18.6 per cent of children aged between five to eight said they do not access to books at home.

This figure has risen by 1.9 per cent since the pandemic and is currently at the highest point since 2019.

The report highlights the educational and mental wellbeing benefits of reading for children, with seven in 10 children aged 8 saying they read to learn new words.

Additionally, two in three children aged eight say that reading makes them feel better and almost half of children, 41 per cent, said that reading makes them feel better when they are sad.

A third of parents said reading is a key part of their child’s daily routine, while 31 per cent of parents said their child reads less outside of the school term.

The report is published in partnership with McDonald’s which has donated 500,000 free books to deprived areas across the UK.

Some of the book donations include The BFG by Roald Dahl andHair Love by Matthew Cherry.

A third of parents said reading is a key part of their child’s daily routine (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The regions with the highest percentage of book ownership were the South East and South West, while the regions with the lowest percentage of book ownership were London and the East of England.

Of those who said they do have a book of their own, 1 in secen or 14.4 per cent said they had fewer than 10 books at home

There was a slight difference between the percentage of boys and girls who said they have a book at home, with 84.1 per cent of girls answering yes and 79.1 per cent boys saying they have a book at home.

The survey was answered by 8,210 five to eight-year-olds between January and March 2022.