Teachers: 'Flawed' phonics test

Schools Minister Nick Gibb has backed a controversial new Government reading test which takes place across England this week.

Speaking to ITV 1's Daybreak Mr Gibb said the test will take place in a "non-stress" environment and insisted the method of Phonics was the most effective way to teach children to read.

Teaching unions have warned that they could boycott a new reading test, which will be taken by pupils for the first time this week.

Daybreak's Correspondent Jonathan Swain reports from a school in South London.

Before children are introduced to books, they are taught individual sounds to construct words.

For example, when taught the sounds for the letters t, p, a and s, the children can build up the words "tap", "pat", "pats", "taps" and "sat".

Phonics is the word used to describe the sounds the letters make. In simple terms, the word 'cat' can be read from its three sounds: c-a-t.

These are not the names of the letters as we say them in the alphabet, but the sounds these letters make.

Likewise, the word 'thick' is made up of three sounds: th-i-ck, where pairs of letters combine to make a single sound. Similarly, 'rash' is made up of three sounds: r-a-sh.

The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has warned that it could boycott a new reading test, which will be taken by pupils for the first time this week.

At the union's annual conference last month, NAHT general secretary Russell Hobby said there were fears that the check will be used to "attack rather than assess".

"If this proves to be the case, heads could refuse to administer it, and set their own test instead," he said.

Delegates at the NUT's annual conference in Torquay at Easter passed a resolution arguing that the mandatory testing of phonics is "unnecessary and inappropriate".

They called for concerns to be raised with ministers about the test "at every opportunity" and for the union's executive to prepare a campaign, including a boycott, if the test is used towards league tables in the future.

• The Year One Phonics Screening Check is taken by pupils at the end of their first year of formal schooling (Year 1)
• The check is based on phonics, a system which focuses on sounds rather than recognising whole words

• Pupils are asked to sound out or decode a series of words, some of which are made up, to test their reading skills

• This includes non-words like "voo", "terg", "bim", "thazz", "spron", "geck", "blan" and "fape".

As six-year-olds across England prepared to take the Government's controversial new reading test, three teaching unions raised fresh concerns that the check is "flawed" and could do more damage than good.

They suggested that including made-up words will frustrate youngsters who can already read, and confuse those with special educational needs, or for whom English is a second language.

Plans for a reading test were announced by ministers last year, amid fears youngsters with poor reading skills were slipping through the net.