The Phonics Test for 6 Year Olds

[WroxhamSchool]

Hello from me!

Just a little introduction, I am the Deputy Head of The Wroxham Primary, in Potters Bar. We are a one form entry Primary School with a Nursery. We work on the principle that our children are the most important part of the school and as a result, we include them in their learning. For example the children help work out where we are going to go with our topics and they select the challenge of work they feel confident with, which makes for a great learning environment and one where the children feel valued. The school has moved from Special Measures in 2003 to Outstanding in in 2006, where it has stayed ever since.

That is just a little bit of background information, now onto the main event! I emailed Rowan Davies, who suggested that I posted on here, so I hope that is ok?

As some of you know the Government has decided to bring in a new test for our six year olds in England, to check their phonic knowledge. We at our school and many other organisations (see list below) are against this idea, as it goes against everything that we believe in.

We feel that this test, which will be reported to OFSTED, will narrow the curriculum for the children in Nursery and Reception, as some schools will feel pressure to ensure that the children are ready for the test in Year 1. This is not a good thing as it will result in putting some of our children off reading, as not every child accesses reading through this method.

We have started a campaign, which is gathering momentum, with our base being readingshouldbefun.wordpress.com

On the Blog you will find lots of information about the test, in addition to this you will find a short video showing the real meaning of reading (which does include phonics, just not only phonics).

We would love to have the support of Mumsnet, as we know that you are key to our children's learning (we only have them 6 hours a day!).

I would be interested to hear from people and try to answer any of your questions. I will also direct some of the people who are backing the campaign to this site, as they have additional information to myself.

Below is a statement from The Cambridge Primary Review, which details their position, but I would like to emphasise that we do not have a problem with the teaching of phonics, just the fact that our 6 yr olds don't need to be tested, or have the data sent to OFSTED.

Thanks in advance

Roger Billing

One of the key recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review, the most comprehensive research into English primary education for the last forty years, recommends that children should have an entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Research evidence in this country and internationally shows that talking to and with young children is of great developmental importance. Telling stories, listening to stories and enjoying books is a vital part of learning throughout primary school. The following video clip shows that enjoying high quality literature at primary school is essential and that learning to read should be a varied and rewarding process.

Some of the Groups backing the Campaign

David Reedy ? President, UKLA

John Coe ? Chairman, National Association for Primary Education (NAPE)

Alison Peacock ? National Network Leader for the Cambridge Primary Review (CPR)

John Hickman ? Chair, National Association of Advisers for English (NAAE)

Russell Hobby ? General Secretary, National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT)

Christine Blower ? General Secretary, National Union of Teachers (NUT)

Professor Trisha Maynard ? Chair of The Association for the Professional Development of Early Year Educators (TACTYC)

Bill Goodhand ? Chair of The National Association for Small Schools (NASS)

moondog says:
There will be schools who will only focus on the ability to decode and read the words that the test will cover, which in turn will change the learning that goes on in our Foundation Stage, for the worse.'
(hooray, I got the italics to work this time!)

As schools won't know which words will be in the test (because that would defeat the whole object) and because there are hundreds and hundreds of words which could be used for the test once children have learned even only one way in which each phoneme can be represented, it would be impossible to even attempt to second guess and teach only specific words. The whole point of learning the phoneme/grapheme correspondences is that a child can then decode any word which contains correspondences that they know. They don't have to learn specific words. Why some people cannot see that this gives them a tremendous advantage over children who are taught a small range of words by look and say is completely beyond me.

I would also add that I spend my working days working with struggling readers who have been taught just the toxic mix of analytic phonics, look and say and using 'other cues' which I think you advocated earlier (if it wasn't you, I apologise). Once they get some explicit direct instruction in how the alphabet code actually works, and how to sound out and blend words, most of them improve hugely. The saddest and most frustrating part of my job is that these children have developed poor self esteem, a fear of reading and are not attaining at levels which they would be capable of had they been taught properly in KS1 & KS2. And the most idotic dogma of the 'balanced literacy' lot is their insistence on the primacy of reading for meaning. Children cannot read for meaning unless they can work out what the words 'say'.

dolfrog. I wouldn't bother addessing any replies to me because I don't bother to read them. I have heard it all before on other forums, more times than I care to recall, and it doesn't improve on repetition.

MyBoysHaveDogsNames the test is called the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/pedagogy/a0077650/phonicsframework

Hi, I have signed it. I love books and so do my kids. I hate any kind of testing. The teachers will know if any pupils are having issues. Let's just trust the professionals and leave it up to them. NO TO TESTING!!!

turdass - teachers may or may not know if pupils are having problems. But often they won't tell a parent without being forced to.

As long as teachers have to tell the parents how their child did on the decoding test I'm in favour of it.....

(I think often teachers don't know that a child is having problems reading, because too many teachers don't expect children to be able to read by the end of Y1, so when they can't it's because they're boys, or summer born, or a late starter, or have been off sick once - the teacher will believe anything other than they have been badly taught, or the pupil has a problem....)

turdass there isn't a question about whether your child will be tested or not - signing the petition isn't going to prevent that. It's how teachers know what to teach next. The question is whether it is a nationally reported

OK - NO TO LEAGUE TABLES!!

(is that ok?)

After reading the doc mrz linked to, I think it looks really good.

The results are not only going to be reported to parents, but also to governors. So if a school is not teaching phonics well everyone will know nice and early and have a chance to correct it.

On the other hand if a school is teaching phonics well, and just a few kids are failing to learn, then they can be put on the SEN register and properly assisted nice and early.

Without the inevitable 'let's wait and see'......

I'm all for no league tables but the Y1 test won't be published - if we are to believe Mr Gove

So what am I meant to be saying no to then?

The only primary league tables at at age 11- currently ...

Thanks mrz, I will have a read.

Indigo I'm holding judgement until the pilot study is completed

Maisie, er no I didn't say that (17:41).
I was quoting someone else.

Please don't associate my name with such bizarre ideas.

17:11 I mean.

moondog

"The key issue in cracking any sort of code is to uncover meaning."

very true and we all have different ways of cracking that code, and many are not able to do it the phonics way, which can be a real problem if you are not provided with an alternative to phonics.

Surely dolfrog this phonics test plays to your agenda, because the kids who (you claim) struggle to learn via phonics will be (in theory) properly identified by the end of Y1.

And then (or earlier) appropriate support will be provided - which could include non phonic teaching......

I'm 'just' a parent here sticking my oar in. My ds1 is in reception and really struggling to pick up reading using phonics. I've given it a year, but he's shown very little improvement though he had learned all the letters within about a week (possibly has more visual learning ability). He has not touched a reading book yet, whilst spending a lot of time reading sentences like, "Dogs can jump a log' and "Logs can jump a dog" and words like 'prop' and 'blink'. Not much fun at all (hence I haven't pushed it home either, though we've done a little bit). Guess what? He now 'hates reading' when a year ago he was quite excited about learning how to read books as he loves books.

I am now firmly of the belief that it IS NOT THE ONLY/ BEST METHOD TO TEACH READING. It seems to be that schools rely solely on phonics and any testing of phonic teaching is going to increase this reliance, to the detriment of many children.

Our school is reviewing their teaching of reading and starting a new scheme next year, and I do hope they will start incorporating more methods for children who do not respond to learning 'the code'. I am going to do my own thing over the summer holidays and help him to start reading books so he has some confidence that he can do this, and desire to do it -probably what I should have been doing all this year, but didn't want to undermine the teaching methods of the school.

Good point Indigo!
Dolfrog, I respect and admire your indefatigable attempts to flag up the issue of APD and to provide many excellent links to good research. You are a fount of wisdom and knowledge on the subject.

It is worth pointing out however that the children you refer to will be in the minority.

Indigobell. Schools who have 33 kids per class can't focus on the 10 (randome guess here) who are not responding to phonics. They will be eager to get the best 'grades' for the 23 who do respond and therefore look good. Diverting resource to those who need a different system and who will always look bad in a phonics test because it's particularly hard for them, is not going to be a 'look-good' policy for the school.

If you spend a lot of time with teachers (as I do) you will find that thier knowledge of the research surrounding how best to teach reading is frighteninlgy patchy.

It's something they invariably bring up-their anger and irritation at mot being taught how to teach reading.

Instead, they seem to spend vast swathes of time doing lots of other stuff and listening to people expound 'theories'.

I was astounded at how clueless most were (through no fault of their own) and how they are completely thrown when a child falters.

I think they should rename it as a screener. I know it's called a 'check' but people keep referring to it as a 'test'

MM - that's really not how the system works.

Dolfrog claims kids can't learn to read using phonics because they have an underlying problem. Those kids should therefore be on the SEN register and given extra help.

There is no way it will be anything like 10 kids per class who can't learn via phonics (if it's being taught well). According to dolfrogs figures it will be about 3. According to phonics experts it will be far less.

This new test will encourage schools to either teach your child to read using phonics, or to put him on the SEN register and teach him alternative way.....

If your child can't learn to read using phonics, and the rest of the class can, then he should be on the SEN register which will enable him to get extra support. However if lots of kids in your DCs class can't learn using phonics - then school are doing something very wrong.

After many years of teaching beginners and others , I'd agree that there are children who dislike sounding out intensely. It is a pain, they would rather have the words just pop out of their mouths as they seem to do for adults. The effort is often too much, and everyone thinks it should be fun. That's probably why there are so many books with insufficient practice words presented to children, or word lists, about which a poster has complained above. Pictures are less demanding. A list is easier to produce than a simple text or story using limited letter/sound correspondences for its construction. But if you want your child to read words, it's words that you practice, some kids need more and some less.

At llast there are more choices being made available for the practice of sounding out. I even understand that the UK government is making it possible for schools to buy such resources if they have not already got them.
What is happening in UK is real ground-breaking innovation in the teaching of reading and the universal screening of the fundamental necessary skill of decoding is a step forwards, not backwards.

Ah yes, the idea that it all has to be 'fun' and that learning is possible without practice, practice and more practice. It's to blame for most of the mess we are in

This is the best book I have ever read on the topic. Blew my world apart. (Thank God.)

Agree moondog, a very good book.