Am I right in thinking a school should have a phonics based reading scheme?

[Namechangenurseryconcerns]

Parents evening last night-ds (reception) doing well. Can blend cvc and read simple sentences. Tentatively asked when we might get a reading book alongside/rather than phonics worksheets /'picture cards' to discuss and was told that they don't really have books that can be phonetically decoded.
They have banded books-dreaded ORT, ginn etc but these aren't decodable to those in the first phases of phonics.
This is poor right? We have the songbirds books at home and will continue reading these ( teacher was happy with this) but what about the rest of the children?
Could someone in the know link me some requirements so I can make a polite fuss /help them with funding if necessary?

Songbirds weren't included in the matched funding catalogue - but were already miles cheaper than anything else.

You're right in that there really is no excuse though.

I think some schools get used to churning out the same excuses.

Some schools get wayyy more money than others.

Some schools get wayyy more money than others.

True - but irrelevant, given the time span we are discussing.

Sorry for double post

Not necessarily. I have worked in some bigger schools where money is absolutely no object.
And a smaller one in which they didn't even have enough money to supply books in each classroom and teachers supplied them themselves.

I am not saying I agree, imo every school should find the money from somewhere and reading underpins everything. But we cant make blanket statements

Every school has had the money and the opportunity to fund decodable books over the last ten years - as other posters have said, Songbirds are incredibly.cheap and always have been.. The reasons they haven't are mostly ideological, not cash based.

has had

indeed, you said it.

How does that help a new head with no money, laying off staff etc?

£10 a year they'd have had to spend.

Sorry teacherbob you're not convincing me that some schools haven't been able to put away £10 a year to support the most essential curriculum priority? If all the staff shopped at Sainsbury's they'd have amassed enough schools vouchers to probably get that down to maybe £1 a year.

My head put his hand in his own pocket and bought books when he first took over and was faced with Ginn 360

I have no magic wand to help a new Head in a school where ineexplicably bad decisions have been made regarding funding over the last ten years.

£100 is not difficult to find/raise though

Ginn360! That's what we had when I started school in 1989! Level 1 book 1 had 'look' on every page. I was so upset - I was one of those freak children who could just read without being taught, and it felt like such an insult!!!

Here - this was it!!! I was SO upset!

I was in a junior school in July and they are using Ginn 360 and some of their pupils are still on Look!

Yes - remember queuing at the teacher's desk?

I don't think I've ever sat at mine. I'm lucky if I can even see it under the mounds of stuff piled on it.

I've not had a desk since 1996

I have a desk but I never sit at it. When I am teaching front of class I stand or sit with the children and when the children are working I am sat at the small tables with them
Infact, my desk is too small, I cant even get my legs under it!

We still use Ginn 360 and the teachers have desks!!!

Oh dear!

I know - it's terrible. PTA raise thousands but when the head asks for money for reading books etc they refuse as all they want to spend it on is trips to places the kids have all been to before (rural area, not much choice) and the staff don't want to go on!!

PTA raise thousands but when the head asks for money for reading books etc they refuse

it shouldn't be up to the pta to fund essentials though!

I know it shouldn't but a lot of schools use theirs for stuff like that.

I agree! it shouldn't be PTA funding reading schemes

Why can't essential books be pta funding?
or if lots of the parents aren't happy with books school have, can they coordinate with teachers to raise funding exclusively for that? If the school/teachers ask for contribution towards school books, I would be happy to pay. Even £1 each x number of children contributing make a bit of cash to buy the books if the school is struggling financially? Am I too naive?

Books are essential resources and school budgets should reflect this. Children who can't read can't independently access the curriculum.