86% of England suffering from low levels of literacy

According to the latest figures released by the National Literacy Trust and Experian, children's futures will be put in jeopardy in England if action isn't taken at a local level to tackle the country's deep-rooted literacy crisis.

Experian analysed data on social factors most closely associated with low literacy and created a literacy vulnerability score for every electoral ward.

The analysis showed the area with the greatest literacy problems is Middlesbrough, followed by Barking, Hackney South and Shoreditch, Liverpool and Sheffield. However, across England, 86% of constituencies contained at least one ward demonstrating the greatest need.

Across England, inner cities and their surrounding areas dominate the list of locations with the greatest need for literacy support.

The analysis also reveals that low literacy levels aren't restricted to regions with low income, employment or social deprivation but far more widespread; only 75 constituencies out of 650 showed no serious literacy issues.

Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust, said: "For 20 years, the government has addressed England's widening literacy gap through national strategies. We now know that a new, targeted approach is needed as our work with Experian reveals the country's literacy challenge to be intensely local."

Click here to see the full list of scores and rankings.

At Kumon we believe good literacy skills are the cornerstone to all other education and that is why we work to instil a love of literature in the students we work with.

We encourage them to read as much as possible and, through our worksheets, expose them to as many different genres and types of writing as we can. In this way we know we can broaden their experiences and encourage them to select reading material for themselves, safe in the knowledge that no books are beyond their capabilities.