Go all in: Reigniting a love for reading

This year at BETT, we had the pleasure of hearing from Andrew Ettinger and A.F. Steadman about the importance of reading for joy and the national reading campaign Go All In.

About the speakers

Andrew Ettinger was an English teacher in South London and has worked across the education system in senior roles. Currently, he is the Director of Education at the National Literacy Trust, where he is responsible for overseeing all the Trust’s education work with schools, children, and families.

A.F. Steadman is an English author who worked in law before writing the Skandar series. This five-book series follows Skandar Smith and his friends as they train to become Unicorn Riders. The first book in the series won the Waterstones Book of the Year in 2022 and became the biggest children’s debut in 20 years. Since then, it has grown into a global sensation, widely regarded as the most successful fantasy series since Harry Potter.

What is literacy?

Andrew first talked about the heart of the National Literacy Trusts' work, which is to improve literacy skills. Literacy is being able to speak, listen, read, and write in an effective manner. This is a vital skill as it enables us to understand information, think critically, and engage effectively with the world around us. It is also something that the UK Government highlighted in the recent curriculum review, with the new curriculum having an increased focus on “skills for life and work” such as oracy and communication skills.

As literacy is the bedrock of so many aspects of learning and life, a lack of literacy has far-reaching consequences, from the early years through to adulthood. At school, a lack of these skills can negatively affect confidence and self-esteem. As an adult it can be difficult to do many basic things such as filling out forms or making sense of instructions. It can also make it more difficult for people to support their children’s learning, which continues this vicious cycle.

Literacy can also affect life expectancy. As children born into communities with the most serious literacy challenges have some of the lowest life expectancies in England, as much as 26.1 years lower. This again links to the recent curriculum review, as the reform aims to ensure that every young person, regardless of background, has access to the same high-quality education.

Enjoyment in reading

Literacy starts with reading—and more importantly, an enjoyment of reading. Children and young people, aged 8 to 18, who enjoy reading are three times more likely to have good mental wellbeing than children who don’t enjoy it. Yet only 1 in 3 children and young people said that they enjoy reading, in early 2025.

One of the top three predictors of reading performance is book ownership. In 2024, more than three times as many children and young people who had a book of their own at home said they read daily and almost four times as many enjoy reading compared with those without a book at home.

Reading leads on to other important aspects of literacy, particularly writing. As A.F. Steadman mentioned during her conversation, her love of writing started with reading. In 2024, the National Literacy Trust found that fewer than 3 in 10 children and young people enjoy writing in their free time. The report also showed that levels of writing enjoyment had reduced by 18.1 percentage points over the last 14 years.

Go All In

In an effort to promote reading enjoyment, the National Literacy Trust has joined the Department for Education to create a reading campaign called Go All In. At the heart of the campaign is a powerful proposition: If you are into it, read into it.

While the campaign is aimed at children and young people, anyone can take part. Its strategy is rooted in the understanding that the decline in reading and reading enjoyment is closely linked to a loss of motivation. In 2025, only 3 in 10 children and young people with the lowest levels of reading enjoyment believed that reading helps them learn new words or new things. Just 1 in 7 said they were motivated to read for ‘mindful’ reasons, such as relaxation or happiness. These findings suggest that, for many, reading is no longer associated with either meaningful benefits or positive feelings.

Designed to spark curiosity and inspire behavioural change, the Go All In campaign focuses on appeal, highlighting the immediate rewards of reading rather than only its long-term benefits. It connects reading to young people’s existing interests—whether that’s music, football, or fashion—showing that reading can strengthen the knowledge of topics they already love. The campaign also celebrates different forms of reading, including audiobooks, e-books, and even song lyrics.

In conversation with A.F. Steadman

Andrew was then joined by author A.F. Steadman to explore the impact her books have had on young readers. Their discussion highlighted how her stories have captured the imagination of children across a wide age range, resonating with both boys and girls.

When asked how reading can be made enjoyable again, she said it needs to feel exciting. She shared a story about visiting a school where every pupil and teacher had read the first book in the Skandar series ahead of her visit. Teachers had decorated their classroom doors with scenes and themes from the book, creating a real buzz of excitement in the lead-up to her arrival.

She also explained that many children discover her books through recommendations from friends, teachers and parents, and she is often met by teachers carrying stacks of books that students have asked her to sign. Teachers play a significant role in sparking reading interest through book recommendations, while parents can help by talking about books at the dinner table or in the car, making reading part of everyday conversation.

Steadman went on to talk about how reading inspired her to write short stories based on the books she loved, which eventually led to her writing her own award-winning series. Many children are nervous about writing if they lack confidence in spelling or grammar, and she admits she has struggled with grammar too—but writing itself is one of the best ways to improve those skills.

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We hope you enjoyed reading this article about our experience at BETT. If you did, make sure to check out our previous post about building trusted and safe EdTech ecosystems.