Over 12 million books borrowed as part of Summer Reading Challenge 2022

Participation in the Summer Reading Challenge led to children reading more books, enjoying reading more, and feeling more confident in their reading ability, research published on World Book Day showed. The findings from the Arts Council England-funded independent evaluation of the 2022 science-themed Summer Reading Challenge were published by The Reading Agency.

The Summer Reading Challenge is run in partnership between The Reading Agency and UK public libraries, with the aim of getting children aged four to 11 into libraries to keep up their reading enjoyment and confidence. There was a year-on-year increase in the number of children that completed the challenge, with 309,287 completing it in 2022 compared to 233,755 in 2021. 

The research explored areas including the impact on reading engagement and behaviours, and the impact on wellbeing. Participating children and teachers reported several positive impacts on children’s reading engagement and behaviours. Most felt that children were more likely to read after participating in the challenge because it helped them to find books they enjoyed. Reading more regularly over the summer also increased some children’s reading confidence, as they were able to develop their vocabulary and practice reading aloud.

Children were also inspired to write their own stories and share recommendations with others, and were motivated by rewards and incentives. In the 2022 evaluation, over half of those surveyed stated that their children felt better about themselves through taking part in the challenge, and 75% had improved their reading skills.

The annual evaluation findings for 2022 also provided evidence to suggest that librarians and volunteers engaged in delivering the challenge played an instrumental part in motivating children to read, with 67% of parent/carers strongly agreeing or agreeing that, because of taking part in the challenge, they used the library more as a family (including digital use and e-lending).

In 2022, the challenge saw 132,223 new library members, which was a 40% increase from pre-pandemic total in 2019, and a total of 12,777,143 books, including e-books and audio titles, were issued through libraries over the summer. Children reported visiting the library as part of the challenge an exciting opportunity to find new books, going to the library enabled children to identify and pick up new books that they wanted to read.

The Arts Council-funded research also found that the challenge provided children with a sense of purpose and accomplishment, and reduced the impact of negative or challenging feelings. Children reported experiencing less stress and feeling a sense of accomplishment, as well as developing creativity through reading. 

In 2022, library co-ordinators gifted an additional 67,996 packs to families living with disadvantage, further bolstering the reach and engagement of the challenge. Libraries worked with a wide range of local organisations to reach specific groups and individuals, increasing engagement with the challenge and enabling equal opportunity of access. 

Resources translated into home languages were produced to support public libraries with their activities, events and promotions. In 2022, in response to the large number of Ukrainian children arriving in the UK, three key downloadable resources were translated into Ukrainian to support Ukrainian families in their area to take part in the challenge and engage with their local library service.