There are hundreds of programmes available for teaching phonics. If you are responsible for choosing one, take time to look carefully at the content, reputation and cost of several programmes before making a decision. First, of course, you should choose
‘Systematic Synthetic Phonics’ and ‘Balanced Literacy’: What’s The Difference?
Elizabeth Nonweiler, November 2022 INTRODUCTION In spite of numerous studies over decades, the controversy about how best to teach children the foundations of literacy continues. In England, nearly all schools teach ‘systematic synthetic phonics’, at least to some extent, but
Decodables
Teaching Reading / By Monique Nowers You can also listen to this article as a podcast: Decodables are books designed to facilitate the development of decoding skills in the early stages of learning to read. Many educators are talking about decodables, but
Response to the BDA campaign to reverse government policy on SSP teaching
The BDA with Usha Goswami is campaigning to get the DfE to dilute and undermine the teaching advocated in systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programmes and in the DfE policy paper, the Reading Framework (July 2021). “We are launching a petition
Phonics Developments in England from 1998 to 2018 by Jenny Chew
Phonics Developments in England from 1998 to 2018 The first UK government attempt to give phonics a higher profile in England was in the National Literacy Strategy (NLS), introduced in 1998. Whole-word and whole-language approaches had dominated before that, and
Tackling Inequality Through Teaching: A Letter to the Prime Minister by Dr Marlynne Grant
The Rt Hon Theresa May MP Prime Minister 10 Downing Street London SW1A 2AA Dear Prime Minister Tackling Inequality Through Teaching While the debate about grammar schools hits the headlines, I would urge the government not to take its eye