Rose report on the teaching of reading

20 March 2006

Commenting on the final Rose Report on the teaching of reading Steve Sinnott General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers Europe’s largest teaching union said:

“The Governments announcement that phonics will take a prime place in a National Curriculum is more spin than substance. It is already a National Curriculum requirement for infants.

“Teachers will be bemused by the Governments proposal to promote synthetic phonics. Phonics is already at the heart of early years teaching. They simply wish for an end to the reading wars.

“All teachers know that understanding words and sentences is not simply achieved by
decoding text, teachers need the flexibility and trust in their professional judgment to be able to respond to children’s individual needs. There are many children who come into school for whom the first priority must be to learn how to speak and listen.

“I urge the Secretary of State to listen to the knowledge and experience of teachers before she adds more detail to an already overloaded National Curriculum”.