Chapter One national poll findings - September 2026

This toolkit provides ready-to-use messaging to help you share our research and showcase your support for children's literacy during the National Year of Reading 2026

Key messages and approved stats


Three key messages 📣

  • Families want to read more with their children, but time is stretched. The barrier is time and capacity, not willingness.

  • Confidence matters as well as skill. Children need the freedom to practise without fear of getting it wrong, and one-to-one attention gives them that.

  • Working adults are ready to help, and businesses can make it possible. Thirty minutes a week with an online reading volunteer can change how a child feels about reading.


Headline data 📊

Please use the approved wording given so figures stay consistent.

Nearly two thirds (64%) of UK parents spend less than an hour reading with their child in a typical week

Almost nine in 10 parents (86%) would like more time to read with their child

More than half of primary school teachers (53%) say children's fear of making mistakes in front of others is a barrier to reading

Around nine in 10 parents (87%) and teachers (91%) agree that having a trusted adult or reading volunteer read regularly with a child would improve their confidence

Almost all teachers (96%) say it's valuable for children to have a consistent adult outside their family and school circle who takes an interest in their progress

Two thirds of working adults (67%) say they would volunteer to read with a child if their employer supported them

69% of working adults think businesses should make that possible

Source line for visuals: Chapter One research conducted by Censuswide, August 2026.


Suggested LinkedIn post A: organisation | Image bank

New research from @Chapter One shows how much appetite there is among UK workers to help children read: 67% of working adults would volunteer to read with a child if their employer supported them.

At [organisation], we're one of nearly 200 organisations making that possible. Our online reading volunteers read one-to-one with children aged 5 to 8 for 30 minutes each week, helping to build their confidence and a love for reading.

[Optional: number of volunteers, or a line from one of them.]

Read the findings [web page link]


Suggested post B: individual volunteer | Image bank

Every week I spend 30 minutes reading one-to-one with a child as an online reading volunteer with @Chapter One, through [organisation].

[Add a line about your own experience.]

New research from Chapter One shows why that time matters: more than half of primary school teachers (53%) say children's fear of making mistakes in front of others is a barrier to reading. Reading with one adult, week after week, gives a child room to practise.

Two thirds of working adults would volunteer if their employer supported them. If that's you, [organisation] makes it possible: [internal sign-up link or contact]

(Please don't name or identify the child you read with.)


Intranet or internal newsletter blurb | c.60 words

New research shows that two thirds of working adults would volunteer to read with a child if their employer supported them. At [organisation], we do. Through our partnership with Chapter One, you can spend 30 minutes a week reading one-to-one online with a child aged 5 to 8, helping to build their confidence and love of reading. Find out more: [contact or link]


Questions?
You can read the full findings here. If you have any questions about the research or need advice on sharing the findings, including graphics, please contact Rebecca Hewitt at rebecca.hewitt@chapterone.org.
It all starts with literacy.

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