Two thirds of children fail new phonics reading test

The test-run of the new primary school reading check (due to be introduced in June 2012 for Year 1 pupils in England) suggests that two-thirds of pupils are likely to fail it when it is introduced.

So what does this tell us when we consider the large number of children who continue to need extra support with their reading and end up leaving school without the literacy skills they need on entering the world of work?

The simple truth is that, despite the big government push for all schools to teach phonics, only a minority (about 27% according to the DfE) appear to be teaching it systematically. The majority of schools, although using phonics, continue to use it as part of a mix of methods alongside picture clues and memorising spellings.

Until this changes, and teachers put faith in teaching phonics first and fast, without confusing children by mixing it in with distractions, reading standards will not be improved.

More information can be found on the DfE website here

abc PocketPhonics app

I had the opportunity recently to review a phonics product called PocketPhonics, and I have to say I was impressed.

PocketPhonics is an educational app that works with both the iPhone and iPad and is designed to teach children:

• letter sounds
• how to write letters
• how to blend letter sounds together to read simple words

The app mainly covers the 'simple alphabetic code' (the most common spelling for each of the 44 phonemes or letter sounds) plus a few alternative spelling variations:

s, a, t, p, i, n

m, d, g, o, c, k

ck, e, u, r, h, b

f, ff, l, ll, ss, j

v, w, x, y, z, zz

qu, ch, sh, th, th, ng

ai, ee, igh, oa, oo, oo

ar, or, ur, ow, oi, ear

air, ure, er, ou, ue, ay

ou, wh, ir, ph, ie, ew

ea, aw, oe, au

What is really clever about this app, is that the parent / teacher can set the level so that the child can progress through the sounds at their own individual pace. The word games they play are based on the sounds they have already learnt.

The sounds are very pure and there are various fonts and writing styles to choose from (including upper and lower case letters).

There is also a free guide that can be requested that explains very clearly why children should learn to read with synthetic phonics.

A lot of research and thought has gone into producing PocketPhonics - if you are looking for a way to help your child learn their letter sounds in a fun and engaging way (and you happen to own either an iPhone or an iPad) then I think this is a great app to go for.

This video gives more information - note that the sounds are given using the American English accent - a British English option is also available on the app.