Bridget’s right.

I agree with Bridget Phillipson. There, I’ve said it. And no, I haven’t gone mad.

But let me clarify. I agree with her on one thing.

And it is this, an announcement from the government:

The Education Secretary is calling on parents to lead by example and make reading a daily habit to help reverse the decline in reading for pleasure, to help give kids the best start in life as part of the Plan for Change.

The call comes as the Department for Education and National Literacy Trust join forces to launch a National Year of Reading, starting in January 2026 to kick start a reading revolution.

Reading, as one of the three ‘Rs’, is of fundamental importance to a good education.

And it will remain so, no matter what gadgets or technology become available.

After all, arithmetic is still important decades after calculators became ubiquitous.

Imagine not having the skill to read this? How dark would life be? Why would any parent deny the right of being able to read to their children?

I always remember Bamber Gascoigne, the former BBC presenter of University Challenge, asking the contestants on his show what they were ‘reading’.

Going to university is about reading books associated with the subject you are studying. A well-read person is an educated person. By well-read I mean they have read quality material.

Children should read a mixture of modern and older classics. They should also read quality material by contemporary authors.

It is helpful for children to keep a review diary and when a novel has been completed to write about it – the plot, the characters and whether they enjoyed it or not and their reasons for their views.

It is important for parents to listen to their children read; to check they are not skipping over words and can pronounce them properly.

I tell children to have a strip of paper as a bookmark and to write down any words they come across they don’t know the meaning of. When the child has written down ten words it is good to look them up.

I would recommend the use of a proper dictionary rather than looking up the words on Google. This teaches the child to find words by alphabetical order which is an important skill and also because having to look for the words will improve spelling.

Children should have a regular reading slot every day. This is far more productive than surfing the internet or spending time engaging with a screen.

It develops a child’s imagination and ability to handle ideas and develop their own viewpoints and intellect.

I would also recommend parents read to their children as a reward – a great time to do this is just before the child goes to sleep.

There seems to be in society a view that the state should bring up children. We have youngsters arriving at school in nappies because they haven’t been potty trained.

We have parents abusing and even attacking teachers.

There must be personal responsibility. Parents must do their part in the education of their children.

Helping them learn to read should be non-negotiable.

ends