Background
In June 2005, Sir Jim Rose led an independent review of the teaching of early reading. The final report (PDF 431 KB) was published in March 2006. It recommends that:
- High quality, systematic phonic work as defined by the review should be taught discretely. The knowledge, skills and understanding that constitute high quality phonic work should be taught as the prime approach in learning to decode (to read) and encode (to write/spell) print.
- For most children, high quality, systematic phonic work should start by the age of five, taking full account of professional judgements of children’s developing abilities and the need to embed this work within a broad and rich curriculum.
After the publication of the Rose Review, it was decided to make two changes to the National Curriculum to underpin the Review's recommendations. One is to alter the wording of an Early Learning Goal 'linking sounds and letters' in the Foundation Stage, so that it unambiguously reflects a systematic phonics approach. The other is to amend the Key Stage 1 English programme of study so that it reflects the Review's conclusion that children should learn to employ their phonic knowledge as their first strategy in reading.
We consulted with stakeholders about the suggested curriculum changes. This consultation was separate from the broader consultation on the new Early Years Foundation Stage that will be implemented from 2008. Strong support for the changes was found in all stakeholder groups - from those in foundation stage settings and primary schools to local authorities and professional associations.
The changes will be formally communicated to all schools with Reception and Key Stage 1 classes and local authorities in September 2007.
Implications for schools
The proposed changes to the programme of study and the early learning goal are designed to clarify what is required for phonic work with beginner readers, while maintaining a curriculum that is broad and rich, and an appropriate emphasis on speaking and listening skills
The recommendations from the Rose Review, which the curriculum changes will underpin, are fully reflected in the renewed Primary Literacy Framework, which was published in October 2006, and in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) which will become statutory from September 2008.
To support teachers and practitioners in implementing the early reading part of the renewed framework and EYFS, we have developed a national training programme in communication, language and literacy based on quality first phonics teaching. We have also published the phonics teaching programme 'Letters and Sounds'. All of this work is underpinned by the renewed Primary Literacy Framework and the Early Years Foundation Stage, both of which have been developed in line with the Rose Review recommendations.
Implications for assessment
The change to one of the early learning goals of the Foundation Stage has a corresponding impact on two scale points (nos. 5 and 6) in the Foundation Stage Profile (FSP). QCA have trialled the revised FSP scale with a sample of settings and schools and the key findings are that there are only minor variations in children's achievements between the existing scale and the revised scale. These variations are judged not to be statistically significant.
At Key Stage 1 there are no implications for assessment resulting from the change.
Schools and settings will have a legal obligation to follow the amended curriculum from the school year 2007-08. For further information on the Foundation Stage Profile (FSP) exemplification please follow this link: http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_13833.aspx.
Under our new obligations on ensuring quality we look at policies retrospectively, as well as those in development. We take these responsibilities seriously. As part of this we have completed an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) for the changes to the curriculum at Key Stage 1 and the Foundation Stage following the independent review of the teaching of early reading. Download the EIA (Word 105KB).
