Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year
With thanks to LW-B
Month: December 2011
Linguistic versus synthetic phonics
Someone on the Reading Reform Foundation website recently asked what were the differences between linguistic and synthetic phonics. Although some people claim that the differences between linguistic phonics and synthetic phonics are minimal, I would contend that they are enormous and, furthermore, that these differences have profound consequences for teaching and learning. To begin with, the… Continue reading Linguistic versus synthetic phonics
Farewell to the Hitch
In memory of Christopher Eric Hitchens, 1949-2011, writer and permanent oppositionist.
Policy in place, practice not undertaken!
Reflections on the statement by the DfE that only 27% of schools use phonics systematically:Peter Crome, professor of geriatric medicine at Keele University and chair of the National Audit of Dementia, was talking on Radio 4 this morning about the Audit’s findings. As I listened, I heard him say that the ‘policies were in place,… Continue reading Policy in place, practice not undertaken!
That Y1 phonics screening test again
Following on from my previous posting, although the Y1 phonics screening test should literally be ‘child’s play’ for pupils taught using a good quality phonics programme, it looks very much as if it won’t be much fun for the 73% of schools not teaching phonics well. For them, the check is going to come as an unpleasant… Continue reading That Y1 phonics screening test again
New Y1 phonics screening check – child’s play!
At the end of last week the Standards and Testing agency of the DfE sent out to schools its ‘Y1 phonics screening check’, and I have to say that it is great news for Sounds-Write. It is proposed that the test will consist in a sample list of forty words. The structure will be as… Continue reading New Y1 phonics screening check – child’s play!
Two-thirds of children fail new reading test
We might at last be about to gain some real insight into how well children in England’s primary schools are being taught to read. It seems that in a trial run of the new reading test, in which some 8,963 children from 300 schools took part, and which is about to be rolled out at… Continue reading Two-thirds of children fail new reading test
A tale of two cities
Morrisons announced this week that it had had to send back three-quarters of its new recruits from Salford for remedial training before they were ready to start working for the company. Out of two hundred and ten staff recruited, a hundred and fifty had to be sent for ‘remedial training including refresher course in literacy… Continue reading A tale of two cities
Teach the teachers first!
It’s perhaps a little early in the day to be saying this but the signs are that the government has made a huge blunder in putting together resources and training for match funding. Already, it is becoming obvious to us that many schools are using the opportunity to replenish their libraries (a massive allocation of… Continue reading Teach the teachers first!
Praise for Sounds-Write from former Teacher of the Year
Alison Hatch, Deputy Headteacher at Reculver CE Primary School in Kent was recently trained in Sounds-Write on one of our Kent trainings by Derrie Clark. She described it as a ‘light bulb moment’ in her career and in her understanding of how reading and spelling should be taught.Alison won the National Primary Teacher of the Year… Continue reading Praise for Sounds-Write from former Teacher of the Year