The importance of phonics in the teaching of reading has always played a key part in our guidance to primary schools. Following the publication of Sir Jim Rose's “Independent review of the teaching of early reading”, we accepted all of the review’s recommendations, and we have paid particular attention to the recommendation that phonics should be taught as the prime approach to learning to read. We have renewed the Primary National Strategy’s framework for teaching literacy to reflect this. The renewed framework now says that systematic phonics is the best route to teach children to read. With help from Jim Rose, we have developed a high quality systematic phonics teaching programme, Letters and Sounds, to support teachers in implementing these changes. To help schools that wish to choose a commercial scheme instead, we have published guidance on a set of criteria which define the key features of an effective phonics teaching programme and which build directly on the review’s recommendations for high quality phonic work. Publishers of such schemes are able to provide a self-evaluation against these criteria on our phonics website.
We have taken steps to ensure that local authorities have the capacity and expertise to support schools in developing effective phonics teaching. The Primary National Strategy’s Communication, Language and Literacy Development programme has provided training in early reading for every local authority and funded additional consultants to lead this work in 50 targeted local authorities. This programme will build greater quality and capacity in the teaching of early literacy through developing work on speaking and listening and strengthening leadership and management of early literacy in schools.
We are also working with local authorities and the Training and Development Agency to ensure that newly qualified practitioners are equipped with the necessary skills to implement the recommendations from Sir Jim Rose’s review.