I had a thought the other day that I have not quite been able to shake. I could not remember the last time I read a book for pleasure. Not for work, not to prepare for a meeting, not to follow up on something a colleague had mentioned. Just for the joy of it. 

That is a little embarrassing to admit. I talk to our students and families regularly about reading. I often recommend books, and yet somewhere in the busyness of school leadership, my own reading for pleasure had quietly disappeared. 

I suspect I am not alone in this. And I suspect some of our children are heading the same way, earlier than any of us would like. 

What the research tells us 

The OECD has described reading for pleasure as one of the most important indicators of a child’s future success, more so in their analysis than levels of parental education. Children who read for enjoyment consistently outperform their peers across a wide range of academic measures, not only in English but in mathematics, science, and problem solving. They develop broader vocabularies, stronger empathy, and a more confident sense of themselves in the world. 

Research published in the journal Social Science and Medicine, drawing on data from nearly 9,000 children in the UK Millennium Cohort Study, found that reading for pleasure was directly linked to improved prosocial behaviour and reduced behavioural difficulties in children as they approached adolescence. It is not simply an academic advantage. It shapes who children become. 

The decline: what is driving it 

Against that backdrop, the Australian data is genuinely concerning. Australia Reads recently reported that nearly three in ten Australian teenagers do not choose to read at all. A survey by the same organisation found the proportion of children aged 6 to 17 reading for pleasure dropped from 37 per cent in 2010 to 28 per cent today. The PIRLS international assessment placed Australia 21st out of 50 nations for reading enjoyment, with 26 per cent of our students reporting they do not like reading at all. 

Screens are clearly a factor. Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows children spending 20 hours or more per week on screens increased from 16 per cent in 2017 to 24 per cent by 2022. Research is finding that this displacement is directly measurable: time spent on passive screen consumption is coming directly out of time that was previously spent reading. 

But researchers also point to something schools need to hear: an overemphasis on teaching and testing the skills of reading, at the expense of developing the love of reading, has contributed to the problem. We can teach children to read fluently and still fail to make them readers. 

What TAS does 

Our library team works hard to keep reading alive and visible across both campuses. We encourage staff to share what they are reading, we invest in book selection that interests young people, and our teachers put significant effort into building genuine reading culture alongside curriculum requirements. But I will be honest with you: the reading habit is largely built at home, not at school. What we can do is nurture curiosity and provide access. What families can do is create the conditions. 

What you can do at home 

• Model it. Children who see the adults in their lives reading are significantly more likely to read themselves. It does not need to be a novel. A magazine, a biography, anything that makes reading visible and normal. 

• Let them choose. Interest beats grade level every time when it comes to building the reading habit. Short stories, sports biographies, fantasy series: the cognitive benefits come from sustained engagement with text, not from genre. 

• Keep books accessible. Research consistently finds that homes with books visible and available produce stronger readers. A shelf in a child’s room is not a small thing. 

• Protect a reading window. Even twenty minutes before bed, with devices out of the room, makes a measurable difference over time. It is also one of the better things we can do for sleep. 

I have started reading for pleasure again. Not a leadership text or a policy document. Just a book I want to read. If your family has a reading ritual that works, or a book that made a difference to your child, I would genuinely love to hear about it. And if anyone has a recommendation about the St Kilda Football Club or the world’s great engineering marvels I should be reading to my ‘want to read’ list, I am very open to suggestions. 

Paul Sjogren 

Principal, Trinity Anglican School 

Research sources used in this blog 

OECD (2002): ‘Reading for pleasure is one of the most important indicators of a child’s future success.’ Cited in OECD reading research overview and referenced widely in subsequent PISA reports. 

Mak, H.W. & Fancourt, D. (2020): ‘Longitudinal associations between reading for pleasure and child maladjustment.’ Social Science and Medicine. UCL study, n=8,936 children from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. 

Australia Reads / IPA (2025): Report on decline in volitional reading among young people. Found 29% of Australian teens do not choose to read; proportion of 6-17 year olds reading for pleasure declined from 37% (2010) to 28%. 

PIRLS 2021 (ACER/IEA): Australia ranked 21st of 50 nations for reading enjoyment. 26% of Australian students reported they do not like reading; 45% only somewhat enjoyed it. 

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2022): Children spending 20+ hours per week on screens increased from 16% (2017-18) to 24% (2021-22). 

Underwood (2021), cited in Taylor et al. (2024), Reading for pleasure: scrutinising the evidence base, Taylor & Francis: between PISA 2000 and 2018, the proportion of Australian students reporting ‘I read only if I have to’ increased by 15-16 percentage points.