Sandra has circulated the info below.

Hi

This email is to alert people to a phonics test which will be implemented this academic year.  Year 1 pupils will be required to read from a list of 40 real and  made up nonsense words in order to check their ability to decode words  using a phonemic strategy only.  Therefore if a child changes a nonsense word to something recognisable, it will be marked as incorrect.  Results of the tests will be found on RAISEonline.  Ofsted  Inspections will focus on how phonics is being taught.

A group of interested parties have been meeting regularly to campaign against this test and letters have been sent to Ministers.  The concern is that a phonemic strategy will become paramount with less focus on reading for meaning and pleasure. Primary Education Students  are required to be able to teach synthetic phonics specifically and is privileged over other strategies involved in reading which include: bringing personal knowledge to a text in order to make meaning, recognising words visually and using syntax and illustrations to support the context of specific words.

Another major concern is the reading material that will be recommended as a consequence of this focus (i.e. dull reading scheme books rather than the quality children’s literature that is available in the UK. A return to ‘Peter and Jane’ or ‘Janet and John’, but without the remit to range further).

I attach a recent letter to Nick Gibb for information.

Letters to the Press, to MPs and any more ideas about how to campaign will be warmly received.

We might want to consider how ‘Once’ in ‘Once upon a time’  can be decoded using a phonemic strategy!

Kind regards

Sandra

Dr Sandra J Williams

Senior Lecturer in Education

University of Brighton