My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Primary education

Phonics and reading

6 replies

WinnieTheWilt · 17/06/2015 06:33

Your HT announces that reading will be taught in the new curriculum using but not 'over emphasising' phonics, and refers to the searchlight model. How would you respond?

OP posts:
Report
AuntieStella · 17/06/2015 06:47

I'd despair.

I simply don't want my child taught by a method that has been shown again and again to fail more pupils than phonics.

Because it's better for the individual child that they learn well, and phonics is the centuries-old traditional method and it works for about 95% of children.

Other methods, or mixed methods work for about 80% of children.

Now, I don't know if my child would be in that 15% who find it harder when other methods are chosen. But even if not, being in a classroom where 20% struggle is probably quite a different experience from where 5% do.

Report
TeenAndTween · 17/06/2015 07:44

A school teaching phonics properly in KS1 is one of my very few musts for a school. I would seriously consider moving schools if my child was still in infants.

Report
HarveySchlumpfenburger · 17/06/2015 07:53

What TeenandTween said. I'd be willing to accept some 'less than ideal' phonics teaching e.g. tricky words taught as sight words, but any mention of the searchlights strategies would be a big no.

I doubt there's much point in trying to convince the HT of any other approach.

Report
kesstrel · 17/06/2015 17:36

I suppose you could consider complaining to Ofsted. They are supposed to be taking this issue seriously.

Report
WinnieTheWilt · 17/06/2015 17:55

I teach there btw. I wouldn't send my child, no.

OP posts:
Report
mrz · 18/06/2015 16:54

Point him/her in the direction of the Ofsted "Ready to Read" report on reading failure in Stoke schools www.gov.uk/government/publications/ready-to-read-how-a-sample-of-primary-schools-in-stoke-on-trent-teach-pupils-to-read

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.