According to Frank Cottrell-Boyce, the UK faces a serious crisis in children's development linked to poverty, housing insecurity, isolation, and erosion of local services. He said too many children are starting school without consistently experiencing shared stories and books.
A BookTrust survey found that daily shared reading among families with children up to eight fell from 60% in 2021 to 49% in 2025. However, the proportion of children who like or love reading rose from 66% to 80%. More than a third of parents worry about their child's screen use, while nearly half say shared reading encourages less screen time.
Working with BookTrust over the last two years as children's laureate has been a hugely rewarding experience.
Professor Sam Wass stated that scientific evidence shows shared reading supports children's language development, attention, and wellbeing.
Cottrell-Boyce's speech marked the end of his two-year tenure as children's laureate during the National Year of Reading. He revealed his new role as reading rights ambassador for BookTrust and urged people to join the reading rights movement, saying: "I urge everyone to join our movement to ensure that every child has daily access to books and shared reading in their first seven years of life."
Launching the reading rights campaign is something very close to my heart as I’m truly passionate about making sure the transformative gift of reading is shared with every single child.
We’ve worked with early learning centres, nurseries, schools and family hubs and the UK Government to make sure children have the best start in life with guidance from midwives, health visitors, early years professionals, families and communities.
I urge everyone to join our movement to ensure that every child has daily access to books and shared reading in their first seven years of life. It’s so important for their happiness, mental health, empathy and future opportunity.
There’s a huge body of scientific evidence to show how shared reading supports children’s language development, attention and wellbeing.