Phonics crucial but not sufficient alone, says NUT

1 December 2005

Commenting on the Rose Report on the teaching of reading, Steve Sinnott, NUT General Secretary, said:

“We want every child to be a proficient reader. But teachers are desperately weary of the reading wars.  Phonics has too often been hijacked by politicians as a weapon to beat each other with, rather than being seen as a vital but not exclusive method of teaching reading.

“I welcome much of Jim Rose's report, including his criticism of the futile debate about methods of teaching phonics.  But we all need to recognise that teaching the meaning of words and a love of reading is also vital.

“The last thing teachers want is a massive upheaval as a result of the promotion of a single fashionable technique.  They know that to teach reading effectively there must be a range of strategies to hand.

“Without that, a teacher will be constrained in teaching a child who is struggling to cope with phonics or who is trying to teach children the richness of the English language with its roots in so many other languages.

“Above all, the teachers must be involved in the debate on what works in the teaching of reading.”