Are our children being “failed” by phonics?

According to a recent sensationalist headline in The Guardian, a focus on phonics to teach reading is “failing children”.

The report quotes a so-called “landmark study” by researchers at UCL’s Institute of Education that criticises the evidence behind the use of systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) to teach reading to primary school children.

The researchers are among 250 signatories on a letter to the education minister in England calling on the government to allow a wider range of approaches to the teaching of reading.

Teachers could be forgiven for feeling a sense of déjà vu over the publication of this report. The debate around the use of systematic synthetic phonics to teach reading in the early years has played out in public for many years, with fierce advocates on both sides.

But really there should be no debate, because there is overwhelming evidence that SSP is the best approach for teachers to take.

As we’ve set out in a previous blog, there is extensive and robust research demonstrating the effectiveness of SSP, which is why it is the favoured approach of many education systems across the world.

We discussed the report in our latest podcast with teacher and reading expert Rob Randel, who questioned its value.

“It just muddies the waters,” he said. “There’s such an accumulation of research that backs up the evidence for systematic synthetic phonics. This [report] is just about generating outrage.”

We won’t go into the details of why the report gets it so wrong, as this has already been set out in these excellent blogs by Greg Ashman and Jennifer Buckingham.

What we’re concerned about is the impact this article might have on teachers here in Wales, and particularly that it might be used as ammunition for those who want to stick with the current approaches to teaching reading.

It’s already confusing enough for teachers to know what approach to take, especially with the ambiguous statements about teaching reading in the Welsh Government’s Curriculum for Wales guidance.

Indeed, our own survey showed that teachers think we’re getting reading wrong in Wales.

We’ve said it before and we’ll keep saying it – we simply can’t afford to get reading wrong.

We urge teachers not to fall into the trap of just reading and believing news articles such as this. There is good quality research and evidence out there about the effectiveness of SSP.

We sincerely hope this study and the sensationalist reporting around it won’t undermine efforts to increase the adoption of systematic synthetic phonics in early years classrooms in Wales.