Evidence that inspires our work

We're committed to robust impact evaluation of our work, rooted in the strongest research evidence

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Why do we support young children who face disadvantage?

  • Children who face disadvantage have fewer opportunities to develop reading skills compared to their peers (Carroll et al., 2020; National Literacy Trust, 2023).

  • 33% of five year olds in the most deprived areas compared to 28% in the least deprived areas do not reach the expected communication, language and literacy skills (Pro Bono Economics, 2024).

  • Primary school children who face disadvantage lag behind their peers in reading attainment by six to seven months’ progress (Education Endowment Foundation, 2024).

  • 38% of 11 year olds in England from disadvantaged backgrounds compared to 20% from non-disadvantaged backgrounds leave primary school unable to read to the expected standard (Department for Education, 2024)

  • It is crucial to support children facing disadvantage early on in their reading journey (Pro Bono Economics, 2024) and engaging children at a young age in reading can mitigate against disadvantage (Torppa et al., 2020).

  • There is a crisis of reading enjoyment among children in general (Clark et al., 2024) but reading enjoyment is even lower in children from disadvantaged backgrounds compared to non-disadvantaged backgrounds (Clark et al., 2023).


What are the benefits of reading/literacy?


Children who read are more likely to have increased life chances, such as:


Why is it important to develop positive attitudes towards reading in children?

  • Reading attitudes such as reading confidence and reading enjoyment influence reading attainment and vice versa (Clark et al., 2024; Cremin, 2023; McGeown et al., 2015).

  • Children’s attitudes towards reading tend to become less positive with age and therefore it is especially important to foster and protect positive attitudes towards reading from a young age (McGeown et al., 2015).

  • Children who enjoy reading and who read for pleasure reap cognitive, social and benefits to wellbeing (Cremin, 2023; Sun et al., 2024).

  • Reading for pleasure is more important in children’s development and for their life chances than their socio-economic background and parental education (Sullivan & Brown, 2013).


How does Chapter One’s delivery model support children’s reading?

References

BookTrust. (2023). The role of multiple ‘reading influencers’ in supporting children’s reading journeys.

Carroll, C., Hurry, J., Grima, G., Hooper, A., Dunn, K., & Ahtaridou, E. (2020). Evaluation of Bug Club: a randomised control trial of a whole school primary aged reading programme. The Curriculum Journal, 31 (4), 605-625.

Chambers, B., Abrami, P., Tucker, B., Slavin, R. E., Madden, N. A., Cheung, A., & Gifford, R. (2008). Computer-assisted tutoring in Success for All: Reading outcomes for first graders. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 1 (2), 120-137.

Clark, C., Picton, I., Cole, A., & Oram, N. (2024). Children and Young People’s Reading in 2024. London: National Literacy Trust

Clark, C., Picton, I. & Galway, M. (2023). Children and young people’s reading in 2023. London: National Literacy Trust.

Clark, C., & Teravainen-Goff, A. (2018). Mental Wellbeing, Reading and Writing: How Children and Young People's Mental Wellbeing Is Related to Their Reading and Writing Experiences. National Literacy Trust Research Report. National Literacy Trust.

Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE). (2022). Reflecting Realities. Survey of Ethnic Representation within UK children’s literature 2017 - 2021.

Cortes, K. E., Kortecamp, K., Loeb, S., & Robinson, C. D. (2025). A scalable approach to high-impact tutoring for young readers. Learning and Instruction, 95, 102021.

Cremin, T. (2023). Reading for pleasure: Recent research insights. School Libraries in View (SLIV)(47) pp. 6–12.

Cremin, T.,Hendry, H., Chamberlain, L., & Hulston, S. (2023). Approaches to Reading and Writing for Pleasure: An Executive Summary of the Research. The Mercers' Company, London.

Education Endowment Foundation. (2020). Improving literacy in Key Stage 1. Guidance Report.

Education Endowment Foundation. (2024). Impact of Key Stage 1 school closures on later attainment and social skills (a longitudinal study).

Gilbert, L., Teravainen, A., Clark, C., & Shaw, S. (2018). Literacy and life expectancy: An evidence review exploring the link between literacy and life expectancy in England through health and socioeconomic factors. London: National Literacy Trust.

Lee, L., & Szczerbinski, M. (2021). Paired Reading as a method of reading intervention in Irish primary schools: an evaluation. Irish Educational Studies, 40(3), 589-610.

McGeown, S. P., Johnston, R. S., Walker, J., Howatson, K., Stockburn, A., & Dufton, P. (2015). The relationship between young children’s enjoyment of learning to read, reading attitudes, confidence and attainment. Educational Research, 57(4), 389–402.

Merga, M. (2017). Becoming a Reader: Significant Social Influences on Avid Book Readers. School library research, Vol. 20.

National Literacy Trust/British Land. (2021). The power of reading for pleasure. Boosting children’s life chances. London: National Literacy Trust

National Literacy Trust. (2023). Children and young people’s access to books and educational devices at home during the cost-of-living crisis. A survey of over 3000 parents and carers in 2023. London: National Literacy Trust

Neitzel, A. J., Lake, C., Pellegrini, M., & Slavin, R. E. (2022). A synthesis of quantitative research on programs for struggling readers in elementary schools. Reading Research Quarterly, 57 (1), 149-179.

Picton, I. & Clark, C. (2022). Diversity and children and young people’s reading in 2022. London: National Literacy Trust.

Pro Bono Economics. (2024). Early literacy matters: Economic impact and regional disparities in England.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American psychologist, 55 (1), 68.

Sammons, P., Toth, K., & Sylva, K. (2015). Subject to Background: What promotes better achievement by bright but disadvantaged students? Sutton Trust.

Slavin, R. E., Lake, C., Davis, S., & Madden, N. A. (2011). Effective programs for struggling readers: A best-evidence synthesis. Educational Research Review, 6 (1), 1-26.

Sullivan, A., & Brown, M. (2013). Social inequalities in cognitive scores at age 16: The role of reading. CLS Working Papers, 2013(13/10).

Sullivan, A., & Brown, M. (2015). Reading for pleasure and progress in vocabulary and mathematics. British Educational Research Journal, 41 (6), 971 - 991.

Sun, Y. J., Sahakian, B. J., Langley, C., Yang, A., Jiang, Y., Kang, J., ... & Feng, J. (2024). Early-initiated childhood reading for pleasure: associations with better cognitive performance, mental well-being and brain structure in young adolescence. Psychological Medicine, 54(2), 359-373.

The Sutton Trust. (2024). Life Lessons 2024. The development of oracy and other life skills in school.

Torppa, M., Niemi, P., Vasalampi, K., Lerkkanen, M. K., Tolvanen, A., & Poikkeus, A. M. (2020). Leisure reading (but not any kind) and reading comprehension support each other—A longitudinal study across grades 1 and 9. Child development, 91 (3), 876-900.

It all starts with literacy.