The latest issue of Teach Primary has published a short piece I wrote for the magazine about the new Y1 phonics screening check. See also my previous blog postings on the subject here, here and here.
If you would like to read it, it’s sent out free to all primary schools and is also available from WHSmith.
Thanks, just in time for my lunch time visit to Smiths
Buon appetito, Richard!
John
Whoops, too bad for us furriners. I was hoping for a sneak peek at the website, where they have a sample copy.
What struck me about the sample issue was the complete absence of children of colour, even in the ads. I could swear I have read about schools in the UK with large Somali, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Jamaican populations. You sure wouldn't know it from Teachprimary.com!
Nice looking kids in the magazine, though, reminiscent of Ontario in the 1930's.
I'll check out the other blog posts re the phonics test.
If you were able to read hard copy of the magazine, you would see that the ethnic diversity of the UK was represented.
You're dead right about ethnic diversity in UK, though. Even when I was teaching in London in the 70s and 80s, in the secondary school in which I worked, we had over eighty language spoken. Today, the same is true in almost all of our major cities. I was watching the (educated) nation's favouriste classicist Mary Beard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Beard_(classicist) on TV last night talking about everyday life in Rome 2000 years ago. Her insights into life in the city bore a startling resemblance to modern day London, though in the latter case the reason for such ethnic diversity is not yet because people die (malaria) faster than they can procreate! For aye that, if you'd like a copy of Teach Primary, just send me your address by email and I'll pop a copy in the post for you. on Teach Primary on Y1 phonics screening check