11th April 2012 9:00
By Blue Tutors
Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief schools inspector at Ofsted, has warned that England is being overtaken by other nations because the progress on literacy has stalled. He said that since 2005 the improvements that were being made have stopped, whilst other countries, specifically Japan, the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway, have improved more quickly. However, teaching unions have complained about these reports, and claimed that the government and Ofsted are ‘playing fast and loose’ with international data.
Wilshaw was speaking on BBC’s Newsnight when he said that improvements were made between 1995 and 2005, but those improvements have not continued in the last 7 years. He added that one in five children who leave primary school are below the level of reading and writing expected, and that this has a big influence on the chances of those children passing their English GCSE. Sir Michael believes that the secret to boosting childrens’ overall academic performance is getting things right when they are young.
A plan has been laid out for future literacy teaching, which includes raising the standard expected of students by age 11, and telling parents their child’s reading age and how the child is performing against national targets. Ofsted will increase the focus of their inspections on literacy, and encourage teachers to concentrate on phonics when teaching children to read.
Some teaching unions have criticised the report, and stated that, while they believe that literacy is vital, it should be recognised that standards have improved in the last 20 years, and that Michael Wilshaw’s comments are supported by findings influenced by a premeditated view. It is also claimed that national tests are narrowing the curriculum, which would explain why children have difficulty making the transition from primary to secondary school.