Reading Audit Research Hub Phonics

Find reports and links to best-practice in relation to phonics and early reading below:

• Education Endowment Foundation: Phonics
  Phonics is an approach to teaching reading, and some aspects of writing, by developing learners’ phonemic awareness. This involves the skills of hearing, identifying and using phonemes or sound patterns in English. The aim is to systematically teach learners the relationship between these sounds and the written spelling patterns, or graphemes, which represent them. Phonics emphasises the skills of decoding new words by sounding them out and combining or ‘blending’ the sound-spelling patterns.
  

  Education Endowment Foundation. (2017). Phonics – Toolkit Strand. [online] Available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/resources/teaching-learning-toolkit/phonics/ [Accessed 21 Aug. 2017].

• Independent Review of the Teaching of Early Reading: an independent review of the teaching of early-years reading, including the role of synthetic phonics In June 2005, Jim Rose, former HMI director of inspection at Ofsted, led an independent review of the teaching of early-years reading, including the role of synthetic phonics. This publication sets out a number of recommendations for ensuring effective practice. This review suggests ways forward and pinpoints areas where change is called for and it highlights successful changes that have been made and should be sustained in existing provision. These include support for children learning English as an additional language, and those with special educational needs.
  

  Webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. (2006). Independent Review of the Teaching of Early Reading: The Department for Education. [online] Available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121006145228/https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFES-0201-2006 [Accessed 21 Aug. 2017].

• The Rose Review
  The final report of the independent review of the primary curriculum, which Jim Rose was invited to undertake in January 2008. It follows the interim report that was published in December of that year. The interim report drew a wide range of responses which, together with further information gathered from visits to schools, consultation conferences, evidence of international best practice and meetings with expert groups, have been used extensively in forming the final recommendations of the review.
  

  Rose, Jim, (2017). Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum: Final Report. [online] Available at: http://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/pdfs/2009-IRPC-final-report.pdf [Accessed 21 Aug. 2017].

• Rowe, Ken and National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy (Australia), Teaching Reading (2005).
  The objectives of the Inquiry were to review and analyse recent national and international research about literacy teaching approaches; identify the extent to which prospective teachers are provided with reading teaching approaches and skills that are effective in the classroom and have the opportunities to develop and practise the skills required to implement effective classroom reading programs; identify the ways in which research evidence on literacy teaching and policies in Australian schools can best inform classroom teaching practice and support teacher professional learning; examine the effectiveness of assessment methods being used to monitor the progress of students’ early reading learning; and produce a report of the Inquiry’s findings in the second half of 2005 and offer best practice in effective approaches to literacy teaching and learning, both at classroom level and in the training of teachers.
  

  Rowe, Ken. (2005). “Teaching Reading”. [online] Research.acer.edu.au. Available at: http://research.acer.edu.au/tll_misc/5/ [Accessed 21 Aug. 2017].

• Teaching Children to Read. National Research Panel
  Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and its Implications for Reading Instruction – Reports of the Subgroups
  

  National Reading Panel (2000). Teaching Children to Read. [online] Available at: https://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/nrp/Documents/report.pdf [Accessed 21 Aug. 2017].

• Reading By Six: How the Best Schools do it
  A survey of primary schools, showing how the best schools in England teach virtually every child to read.
  

  Ofsted (2010). Reading by six – how the best schools do it – GOV.UK. [online] Gov.uk. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reading-by-six-how-the-best-schools-do-it [Accessed 21 Aug. 2017].

• A Seven Year Study of the Effects of Synthetic Phonics Teaching on Reading and Spelling Attainment
  A Scottish study carried out on around 300 children of the effectiveness of a synthetic phonics programme that was taught in Primary 1. Performance on this programme was compared with performance on a typical analytic phonics programme, and also with performance on a similar programme that included a substantial element of phonological awareness training.
  

  Johnston, Rhona and Watson, Joyce. (2005). Insight 17 – A seven year study of the effects of synthetic phonics teaching on reading and spelling attainment. [online] Gov.scot. Available at: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2005/02/20682/52383 [Accessed 21 Aug. 2017]. *If the above link does not work, the report is also available here

• Phonics ‘fundamentalism’ is based on flawed science, says education expert
  In this article, Jonathon Owens writes that the Department for Education’s promotion of synthetic phonics can be damaging to early readers. Dr Andrew Davis, honorary research fellow at the University of Durham’s school of education, says that the way that reading has been taught has “disturbing and potentially destructive consequences” for teachers.
  

  Owen, Jonathon. (2017). Phonics ‘fundamentalism’ is based on flawed science, says education expert. [online] Tes. Available at: https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/phonics-fundamentalism-based-flawed-science-says-education-expert [Accessed 23 Nov. 2017].

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