Gordon Askew: Posts about the Year One Phonics Screening Check - a 'must' read

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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Gordon Askew: Posts about the Year One Phonics Screening Check - a 'must' read

Post by Debbie_Hepplewhite »

As I highlight a couple of related blog posts written by IFERI committee member, Gordon Askew, the battle is truly raging in Australia regarding the possible uptake of national phonics screening. Myths and misunderstanding about the check abound and some academics from both sides of 'the pond' are collaborating to undermine the uptake of the check.

Results in England's statutory Year One Phonics Screening Check from 2012 to 2017 have shown a substantial increase in the number of children reaching or exceeding the 32 out of 40 words read (correctly or plausibly) which is evidence enough that the advent of the check is raising the effectiveness of phonics teaching in England.

http://ssphonix.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/ ... ening.html
Y1 Phonics Screening

I find it deeply concerning that so many in the profession still undervalue the statutory Y1 phonics screening check or, even worse, dismiss it with scornful derision.

Consider this. What if this county were faced with a widespread epidemic of some very serious illness, but one which could very successfully be treated if detected early enough? Would it not be sensible to screen all those at risk to identify potential problems in time to intervene effectively? And, if it were very difficult to distinguish individuals at risk at the early stage necessary for that successful treatment, would it not be the most efficacious (and responsible) course to provide universal screening for those in the potentially vulnerable category?

The current case with children learning to read (or rather not learning to read) is, in many respects, directly comparable. Of course being unable to read well is not an illness, but it does, often, very seriously blight lives. It also denies access to all the life-enhancing learning and enrichment that reading can bring.

We know from countless examples of schools who teach systematic, synthetics phonics thoroughly and well, using one of the outstanding programmes now available, that almost all children (of whatever socio-economic background) can learn to read fluently by the end of Key Stage 1 or before.
Do read the whole post, it is not long.
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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Re: Gordon Askew: Posts about the Year One Phonics Screening Check - a 'must' read

Post by Debbie_Hepplewhite »

This is Gordon's follow-up post - again, please read the whole post, it is not long:
Phonics screening (2): Why read nonsense?

Before leaving the subject of the screening check, a couple more issues have been raised with me that I would like to try to clarify. The inclusion of pseudo-words (or nonsense words if you like) is becoming something of a old chestnut of an issue. I know this has already been explained by many others, but it seems to remain a concern so I will try again, even though I fear it may now be being perpetuated by those determined to discredit the check regardless, rather than those who don't yet understand.

Let me first be very clear, please. I do not and never have supported the teaching of meaningless words in the normal course of reading lessons. Reading is ultimately about the construction of meaning. Absolutely it is. Young children have such a great deal to learn about English words and their meaning that there is no time to waste teaching them nonsense and no need to confuse them unnecessarily.

However these pseudo-words are important for very occasional use, purely as an assessment mechanism. The crucial thing that we need to establish in the screening is whether a child can use phonics to decode a word they do not already know. This is the circumstance in reading when phonics is vital.
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