OVERCOMING THE BARRIERS TO LITERACY

That this House is concerned aboutthe high number of children and adults who struggle to read; is alarmed by the large proportion of offenders and excluded pupils with literacy difficulties; recognises the significant social and economic cost of poor standards of literacy; welcomes the inquiry by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Education (APPGE) into overcoming the barriers to literacy; notes that the APPGE recommendations include a greater Government emphasis on reading for pleasure, recognition that greater attention needs to be paid to pupils' post-primary literacy needs, and support for parental involvement in developing literacy and communication skills; further notes that the APPGE encourages the protection of library provision, increased status for teachers' continuing professional development, and teachers' freedom to use a combination of teaching strategies and resources to create the lessons best suited to their pupils' needs; and calls on the Department for Education to lead a cross-departmental literacy strategy.