There's been a rapid pincer movement in the past few days as Ofsted and the Government have both made it clear that there will be a very rigorous focus on phonics as the way to get children reading before the age of six (see News, page 4).
Ofsted's report is full of examples of schools where three-year-olds have their daily dose of recommended phonics programmes and reading scheme books.
The DfE's business plan says it is to introduce a reading test for six-year-olds and expects an even greater emphasis on synthetic phonics (News, page 5).
The arguments for and against 'phonics first and fast' have been rehearsed many times and will no doubt be brought out again in the light of these latest moves.
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