The advantage of my job and my contacts is that I often receive reports and studies that I have missed in my inbox. This is also the case with the Effective Practices for Literacy Teaching report I received via Paul Van den Broeck. The report was written on behalf of the European Commission by an international team of top experts, including Colin Harrison (Nottingham), Greg Brooks (Sheffield) and P. David Pearson (Berkeley). The reason? The sharp decline in reading skills after COVID, as shown by the PISA 2022 results.

Why is this important for Europe? Because the decline in reading skills is not just an educational issue. It also affects health care, employment, poverty reduction and democratic citizenship. In short, if we improve reading, we improve society.

The report contains insights, but I’ll pick out the most concrete and useful ones. Here they are, broken down into practical points of interest:

1. Start as early as possible – and involve families

• Language development between 0 and 3 years is crucial. Think of singing, reading, and talking.

• Parents make a big difference. Interaction counts above all: talking about books together works better than a shelf full of unread children’s books.

• So invest in family literacy programs, such as Bookstart or parent-child workshops.

2. Invest in ECEC (Early Childhood Education and Care)

• Early childcare works, especially for children in vulnerable situations.

• Quality is crucial: well-trained employees, well-thought-out curricula, monitoring and accessibility.

3. Reading at school? Make sure there is a balance

• Yes, decoding and technical reading skills are essential, as is prior knowledge.

• But just as important: reading pleasure, talking about stories, singing and reading together (for people who have already seen my lectures on this: one alone is not enough)

• A school-wide reading climate makes the difference: making books visible, teachers who read themselves, and classroom libraries.

4. Differentiate and personalise

• Good reading instruction is tailored to level and interests.

• Students benefit from immediate feedback, even digitally.

• Small groups work better than mass learning, especially online.

5. Provide support for weaker readers

• Think of duo-reading, peer tutoring, small groups with guided instruction.

• Start early, but don’t forget the teenagers: strong reading interventions are also possible in secondary education.

• Data-supported work helps: knowing where students get stuck enables targeted help.

6. Take digital and critical literacy seriously

• Not every child is a ‘digital native’ (someone should write an article or a book about that) – learning to deal critically with (online) texts is a must.

• Teach children to evaluate sources, recognise fake news, and integrate information.

• Start doing this in primary school.

7. Focus on adult education

• This report also (rightly) calls for attention to adult literacy. I am actually pleased about this.

• Think of workplace learning, accessible courses and outreach to hard-to-reach groups.

This report is strong because it combines several things:

• Substantiated analyses (more than 600 studies consulted)

• European latitude (from Finland to Greece)

• Practical examples and concrete recommendations

And most importantly, it acknowledges that reading is more than a skill. It is also a mindset, a social experience, and a way to stay connected to yourself and the world. A final, extra tip? Don’t use this report as a thick file to put on the shelf. Use it as a source of inspiration for policy, team meetings, or teacher training.