The measure, delivered through the English Hubs programme, forms part of a £2million investment from the Department for Education (DfE), to ‘drive high and rising standards in reading and writing’.
It follows the education secretary, Bridget Philipson’s speech to the Centre of Social Justice on Monday (3 February) where she outlined how the success of phonics delivered for millions of children, but said ‘now is the time to build on this work with a new focus on reading and writing’.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson commented, ‘This Government will build on the successes of recent decades, raising the bar when it comes to standards and delivering on our Plan for Change, breaking the link between background and success.
‘Reading and writing are the cornerstones of learning. They hold the keys to the rest of the curriculum, with pupils who struggle to read so often struggling across the board.
‘So while progress has been made – in particular when it comes to phonics – now is the time to take that work to another level.
‘That means continuing to drive up quality of teaching, giving our brilliant teachers the tools and resources they need, and extending further support directly to the children and young people who need it most – because no child should leave school without a strong grasp of the basics.’
