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Read Australia™ - Letters and Recommendations to the Australian Government Regarding Literacy Achievement including an Open Letter to Julia Gillard and Letter to the Minister of Education and Industrial Relations, Australia (Hon
Cameron Dick MP)

 

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2004 - Reading Instruction in Australian Schools

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An Education Department Who Are Choosing to
Bury Their Heads in the Sand Regarding the Teaching of Reading and the State of
Learning to Read in Australia

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Read Australia™ - We use facebook like an interactive newsletter, please join us!

Questions? info@ReadAustralia.com

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Please send us your letters of recommendation to the government

eg Open Letter to Julia Gillard from Read Australia™

Response to Letter sent by Minister for Education and Industrial Relations

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Why is the Australian Government and the Education Department failing our children?

"It's time you became accountable to our Australian families"

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Learning to Read As Indicator of School Success

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To: Minister of Education and Industrial Relations

Read Australia™
PO Box 976
Sanctuary Cove
Gold Coast
QLD 4212

September 16 2011

Thank you for your letter David.
What a shame the Hon Cameron Dick couldn't have taken the time to respond himself. Especially as he is based in Queensland- still the worst state in Australia for reading according to the latest NAPLAN results.

Its so disheartening- if you (the Government) don't set the standards then Australia will continue to plumet further and further down compared with the rest of the world. Did you read the recent report about Australia being one of only 3 countries in the world where children of migrants are achieving more with regards to reading than students in our Australian state schools?

You (the Chief of Staff) claim that the department is committed to ensuring that each and every student has the literacy they need to meet the challenges of the 21st century- but these are empty words. I could be committed to ensuring that every Australian wins the lotto - but that's not going to happen either.

The facts are that the government and education department are NOT actually doing that. Literacy - specifically reading- is NOT the focus for state schooling as we see from results- or, rather, they are not correctly focusing on the most effective research based methods.

If there is not a synthetic phonics approach combined with phonemic awareness, fluency, comprehension we cannot ensure that ALL children are reading by 6- including those who speak English as a second language or who have special needs. I do not know of even ONE state school in Australia where this is happening nor have I seen one state school that is offering even the majority of children what they need regarding early reading achievement. Why? The main issues are.....too many children with little additional classroom support, very little quality early reading training (ie a synthetic phonics approach) little effective involvement from parents, poor resources. Teachers can be wonderful- hard working- doing their best- but without the right training and support they may as well be trying to teach the children Chinese. Most Head Teachers have no idea of how to teach a child to read by 6 and yet you are suggesting that they be solely responsible for the decisions made within their school in that regard?
Then again, I doubt many in the education department have actually done this either. And yet you are the ones making decisions regarding the teaching of reading? Seem illogical and one would pressume you would be asking for help and advice. I find it so worrying that you arent. I have been teaching even very young children to read and spell with confidence (3+) and yet there has been no request to even meet with me to see if we could help you to help our Australia children.
And it's why I had to create Read Australia™ in the first place. I am encouraging like-minded professional and reading specialists to join us, for the sake of our Aussie children.

I challenge you to give me the name of even ONE school in Australia in which every 6 year old is reading. If you find one please do ask them how they are doing this- there is only ONE approach that enables teachers to meet the needs of all students, and this is using a fun, multisensory direct, systematic synthetic phonics approach combined with phonemic awareness, fluency and comprehension (we call this a Synthetic Phonics Plus™ approach as is based on a synthetic phonics appriach but goes much deeper). However no great teacher would teach 'phonics' in isolation.
This is the UK government report showing how UK schools are actually doing this- not just talking about it. http://www.readaustralia.com/ReadingBySix.pdf The UK report outlines how schools are achieving this- focusing on 12 of them. Look at how some of the best schools in the UK are ensuring that EVERY child is reading by 6. Phonics testing at 6 is mandatory with the pilot study now complete. The new check is based on a method (synthetnic phonics) that is internationally proven to get results, and the evidence from the pilot is clear - thousands of six-year-olds, who would otherwise slip through the net, will get the extra reading help they need to become good readers, to flourish at secondary school and to enjoy a lifetime's love of reading. Findings published by the DfE reveal 43% of pilot schools identified children with reading problems that they were NOT already aware of. This study finds that the check will be of real benefit to pupils but takes just a few minutes to carry out, is backed by most teachers and is liked by most children. Imagine how useful this would be in Australia. Why are you not learning from this?

You say there is strong evidence to show that teachers should draw on a range of approaches regarding the teaching of reading. With respect- what a cop out. It again tell schools they should mix and match and just do what they think. Teachers should be drawing on approaches that work for ALL children- but without telling them what they are how are they supposed to know? Do they not have enough to do already?? And our children suffer- as we see from NAPLAN results.

Please, at least see what the UK government is now doing- in line with reading research. Also read the document by Coltheart and Prior (Learning to Read in Australia) - and speak to reading scientists and esperienced reading teachers (and former Head Teachers) such as Debbie Hepplewhite and Ruth Miskin. Take a minute out of your busy schedule to recap on the government report and recommendations of 2005- the AU Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy'. These are in line with ALL worldwide government reports. So even if you wish to continue ignoring our concerns please just take a peak to see what you are supposed to be putting in place for our children- and aren't.

Even the Director of the National Capital Centre For Literacy Research doesnt know how to ensure that all Australian children are reading by 6- despite her numerous qualifications! She openly speaks for not supporting or endorsing a synthetic phonics approach- the very heart of all recommendations regarding the prevention of reading difficulties. And she has never actually taught a class of children to read- of any age. We often listen to 'academics' - without finding out if they have ever actually taught classes to read and spell! I find it bizarre. Surelt we need to listen to a combination of people with different experiences and knowledge to offer?

It is currently possible for Australia’s future teachers to complete a Bachelor of Education course in Australia with less than two per cent of total credit points devoted to instruction in the teaching of reading. Does that not scare you? It should scare parents!

I am well aware that the Department 'does not mandate, endorse or approve...' anything- the phrase seems to be very much part of any response sent by anyone within the education department. Do you just cut and paste it? Schools SHOULD be able to look to the department to know what to do- as the majority don't know how to ensure that EVERY child is reading by the end of Year 1 at the latest. You are failing schools by not offering them the training and help they need. Even 4 years ago you were being advised about the dire situation- see the Cotheart Prior report. 2 years on from seeing the Australian Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy. Why just ignore these reports?

If you watch Read Australia™ videos to be uploaded to youtube - of the study starting in October - you will see why you are failing our Australian students. We will provide them with the training, information and resources they should be receiving from you. We are also empowering parents so that they can ensure that their children are able to read by 6 even if their Prep teacher doesnt know how to do this.

You will see that it takes us around 10 weeks (20 minutes per day) to teach 4 and 5 year olds to read to at least a reading age of 6. I did that myself for about 8 years in the UK. It means teaching them to read and spell- NOT guess or memorise. We are helping them enter Prep already reading- not because we are pushing for children to be reading by 5 but as we know many children will be failed by your system. Why you would not embrace the opportunity to help our children do this across the country is baffling to me. The reason we are doing this is not to get children reading as early as possible, but to prevent them failing as they are unlikely to have prep teachers who know how to do this, especially in QLD (the worst state in Australia for literacy).

You should be proactively working with schools to ensure that every child is reading by 6 and giving every child who has no choice but to have a state education the same opportunities to at least be able to avoid reading failure. Instead you bury your heads in the sand - and spend billions of our money on initiatives that wont work?? How long do Queensland students have to demonstrate through NAPLAN results how badly schools are failing our children- and not given the training and resources to change this?

I presume this will again fall on deaf ears - it seems we are banging our heads against a brick wall every time we try to help you.
Fortunately for our Australian families many of us remain determined to ensure that ALL of our Australian children are taught to read by 7 (and ideally 6) even if this is not a priority for you- other than through words. When parents see that their children are not being given the teaching that will help all read by 6 who will be accountable?

I have emailed Suzanne Innes who also gave me the exact quote - '' Education Queensland does not mandate, endorse or approve individual training courses or resources. This is a decision that is made at the school level. Individual schools select programs for their school in consultation with the wider community. This ensures that programs meet the specific needs of their students.'
I have pointed out that this does the opposite- leaving them to their own devices means that schools are NOT meeting the specific needs of their students. She has not responded to my latest email. I do understand that it can often be difficult to look outside the box and bring about change- or to even consider that perhaps you are getting it very, very, wrong. Far easier to keep plugging on and hope for improvements- and hope that ploughing lots more of our tax dollars isnt initiaitves (despite them NOT being based on anything reading scientists and specialist are advising) will make a difference.. It reminds me of a hamster on a wheel. You can keep buying a more expensive one- but the hamster still isnt going anywhere.

I strongly urge you to seek help from those who have DONE this- actually taught 3,4 and 5 year olds to read- and also WHOLE classes of 5 and 6 year olds. The people you are obviously getting your advice from are living in la-la land and have obviously never successfully taught a whole class of children to read by 6. If Im wrong I will eat my hat.

h a t hat

Emma

Emma Hartnell-Baker BEd Hons. MA Special Educational Needs. Cert Life Coaching
Developing the 'Triple L' Approach- 'Listen, Learn and Lead'
The Child Listener™- A Voice for Kids
www.The-Child-Listener.com
Developing quality partnerships to ensure that EVERY Aussie 7 year old is reading with confidence.
www.ReadAustralia.com / www.facebook.com/ReadAustralia
Managed by Footprint Solutions ABN 94 542 903 967 - Ph 07 5510 9960

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We are HIGHLY disappointed in the QLD Education Department. This is the worst state in Australia for reading scores and we have not even been invited to come and give advice as to how to ensure that every child is reading by 6 (and 7 at the latest) This is the latest letter - where they have 'closed' correspondence. They have NOT given answers and are NOT meeting the needs of our Australian children. You only have to look at our appalling NAPLAN results to see evidence. They get an 'F' for their report card this year!

Please join Reading By Six- a campaign led by reading experts to bring about positive changes regarding the teaching of reading and spelling in Australia. These campaigners are a group a professionals, early childhood and literacy researchers, reading scientists, educational psychologists etc who are committed to helping every child in Australia learn to read and spell EARLY - with or without the support of the Education Department. WE will not continue to sit around and let our children fail - united we can bring about change.

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Response to letter from Department of Education and Training- QLD-and to Hon Cameron Dick - in which they assure me that they are committed to ensuring that every child has the literacy and numeracy (skills?) needed in the 21st Century. Im glad their intentions are good- but they arent DOING it. Nor do they now HOW to do it. Who suffers? Our children.
I can be committed to winning the lottery- and thats not likely to happen either, without first knowing what numbers to choose.

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Read Australia™
PO Box 976 Sanctuary Cove
Gold Coast
Queensland 4212
Australia

info@ReadAustralia.com

August 19 2011

Developing Quality Partnerships to Ensure That Every Child Is Reading With Confidence by the End of Year 1.

Changing The Way We Approach Early Reading Development.

Summary of Letter:

Read Australia™ would like to put forward a proposal that we aim to ensure that every child in every school across Australia s reading to at least their expected level for their chronological age by the end of Year 1 - therefore entering Year 2 reading with confidence. Research has shown that of the children struggling
with reading in year 1, 88% will still be struggling in year 3, and their chances of then succeeding in primary schools (across the curriculum) becomes slim.
For Australia to ensure that every child is reading by the end of Year 1 much needs to change and it needs to be tackled more proactively and aggressively in many ways.
At present there is much resistant to change from teachers (and Head Teachers) in addition to those within the Education Department itself who do not 'believe' in using phonics as the primary method in Prep, Year 1 and 2. So even if we give great training and resources they are unlikely to embrace this within their classroom, behind closed doors. This resistance is very real and must be acknowledged as a major hurdle that will be difficult to overcome.
Teaching in Prep and Year 1 is also possibly the hardest job within the primary school to do well as children are coming in at very different levels of ability within all aspects of development- emotionally, socially, cognitively and physically. It is very difficult to therefore expect these teachers to be everything to 25- 30 children- and also teach them to read, especially as 20 - 30% of those children will have poor auditory discrimination. There are very few teachers who could help children develop in all areas, learn through play, and ALSO learn to read, write and spell before the end of Prep. We should stop expecting them to be super human (and be ok with a relatively low wage in exchange for this dedication and effort) and be more realistic about early years classrooms. It is also often the newly qualified teachers who are placed in these year levels, rather than experienced practitioners who understand how to differentiate with their teaching, for all the different elements.
Read Australia™ propose therefore that fully trained synthetic phonics Reading Coaches be employed within Prep and Year 1 with the specific role of ensuring that every child enters Year 2 reading. They will work for the most part independently of the classroom teachers, for 20 minutes per day per group. Each child will receive at least 20 minutes of systematic, direct and explicit phonics teaching every day. This coach will also work with parents and carers to support this work at home and will also report results and progress to our central database, which is available to Head Teachers and the Education Department.. Coaches will be highly skilled not only in the specific role of teaching reading (and spelling) but also with regards to the psychology of engaging parents, even the ones least likely to want to be involved, and who are themselves lacking in confidence regarding reading and spelling. We would propose to do this by working in collaboration with reading specialists, and ask for support and guidance from those qualified to offer this. For example several of the staff team at Macquarie University.
Read Australia™ propose that parents and carers be given free specific training in how to develop phonological awareness, and the most basic principles of decoding words rather than a focus on 'literacy' in general ie sharing books, reading to children. It is important that parents understand that reading is not a 'natural process'.
We propose that the above be implemented as soon as possible, so that children in Prep and Year 1 in the immediate future can succeed, while teachers and schools are also receiving quality training in the teaching of reading and spelling. This should be seen as separate to 'literacy' and the foundation for a new way of educating our nation. When children can decode, and effectively 'read' and 'spell' words based on our alphabetic code, they can begin to comprehend, be creative...they can start reading to learn. However to start doing this they first need to learn how to actually read words rather than have to memorise or guess.
We also propose that teachers in training undertake our course in Synthetic Phonics, where they are able to choose one module in which to focus on one particular programme eg Jolly Phonics, MiniLit, Read, Write Inc, Phonics International etc. At present it is currently possible for Australia’s future teachers to complete a Bachelor of Education course in Australia with less than two per cent of total credit points devoted to instruction in the teaching of reading. This is not acceptable.
We must start being very clear about 'reading' and 'spelling' being something we must directly, explicitly and systematically teach using phonics- and that 'literacy' is much broader. Our focus at Read Australia™ is this specific part of a child's literacy development, which is fundamental to their success in life.

Dear Prime Minister

I read your comment with optimism, and hope that this message is going to start to filter down to the Education Department and to schools.

'The reading wars are over, with a proper emphasis on PHONICS.' - Julia Gillard

As you will know All government reports relating to literacy in English speaking countries clearly identify what is needed in Prep Year 1 and 2 classrooms. For example (taken from the Executive Summary of the (AU) Teaching Reading Report) recommends (2) that;

Teachers provide systematic, direct and explicit phonics instruction so that children master 'the essential alphabetic code-breaking skills required for foundational reading proficiency'

The recommendations made in the Executive Summary were in line with those offered within the Rose Report (UK), with systematic, direct and explicit teaching in phonics also recommended as the foundation of the Reading First component of the No Child Left Behind Act. by the US Reading Panel.

Ofsted (UK) claims that primary schools should be able to teach 'virtually every child to read'. 'Reading by Six' highlights the best practice of 12 outstanding schools in England, and claims that all schools can follow suit by sticking to a consistent and rigorous phonics-based approach. It is now mandatory in the UK that all primary teachers been trained in synthetic phonics. (Please note that 'synthetic phonics' or 'systematic phonics' are terms used to describe systematic, direct and explicit phonics teaching that start from the ground up- ie from sounds, rather than from the whole word ie analytical).

Recent research presented at the British Psychological Society's annual conference in York has underpinned changes being made in UK classrooms, stating that boys can actually outshine girls (in reading) if taught using synthetic phonics. We should be listening to this, especially when we look at the poor literacy success of so many of our Australian boys.

As of 2012 all six year olds in the UK will be phonics tested so that any falling through the cracks are picked up early. Every school is receiving funding to ensure that all teachers are fully trained. This testing will also identify which teachers are not doing as they should be doing in the classroom- it will make them more accountable. You will understand that many teachers are resistant to change regardless of the facts presented to them, and this is why we are looking to you to be far more proactive in ensuring that all teachers do what is best for the greatest number of children.

According to the National Institute of Child Health Human Development: only 5% of children learn to read effortlessly, 20 - 30% of children learn to read relatively easily once exposed to formal instruction, and for the remaining 60% of children, learning to read represents a considerable challenge. For at least 20 - 30%, learning to read is one of the most difficult tasks they will ever encounter during their school years. 74% of the children who have reading problems in the 3rd grade, continue with the problems into the 9th grade.

According to National Assessment of Educational Progress, approximately one-third of all poor performers in fourth grade have college-educated parents. Fortunately, 90% - 95% of poor readers can greatly increase reading skills through prevention and early intervention programs that focus predominantly on teaching children about the alphabet code using synthetic phonics. We must teach these children explicitly and directly using (synthetic) phonics if we are to help them before they completely 'switch off'. The problem is that many don't recognise who these children are until already failing- with 'phonics' being used as some type of remedial program. This is still what seems to be happening within Australia and especially my home state, Queensland. Queensland also has the worst reading scores according to NAPLAN testing for Year 3 and 5. Hardly surprising.

It is imperative that we ensure that ALL children are reading by seven (and ideally six) because the chances of them 'catching up' steadily decrease, and because of the impact poor literacy achievement has on the child's self confidence and ability to cope with the rest of the curriculum. Some US prisons will predict future intake due to Year 3 and 4 reading scores as the correlation between delinquency and poor literacy achievement is so strong. We must prevent this, and teach children to read early. In Australia they spend far too long learning to read which stops them being able to start reading to learn. If you really believe what you said then you need to start aggressively and proactively bringing about change. That message is certainly not filtering down to the school level where the majority still seem to be using a 'whole language' approach, despite this being discredited for over a decade, and very few teachers appear to be comprehensively (or at a basic level) trained in synthetic phonics instruction. My concern is that it would take far too long to train all teachers, at the same time as expecting them to be exceptional early years practitioners.

I have actually contacted several universities about undertaking a PhD in early reading development and have spoken to two Professors (Griffith University, University of Canberra). Both are involved in research and/ or the creation of an early years curriculum, specifically literacy. Both were adamantly opposed to phonics! if professors of literacy can still believe this to be true then how can we hope that classroom practitioners will receive the useful information or effective training in the teaching of reading?

Associate Professor Kaye Lowe who is the Director of the National Centre for Literacy Research (Language and Literacy Faculty of Education, University of Canberra) openly states that ' synthetic phonics is definitely not something we would endorse when there are so many other more effective approaches'.

I of course asked her what these 'more effective approaches' were as this isn't what leading evidence based research (or government reports) recommend and am still waiting for a response. This is someone the government is funding- and who is blatantly ignoring what we know about why so many children struggle to read, and what we can do about it. This is the same for children with learning difficulties and special needs eg Dyslexia. According to Dyslexia specialist such as Professor Maggie Snowling of York University (UK) 'As far as I can see, the only effective treatment for dyslexia in children is a structure phonics program in a one-to-one situation backed by confidence building'

And yet thousands of tax payers money is going into Associate Professor Lowe's 'projects' that are not actually teaching children to read, and are giving the general public as well as teachers the wrong message about where to focus in the early years.

Fortunately I have since been in touch with staff at Macquarie University who are willing to let me research early reading development from a more up to date perspective. I am looking forward to learning a great deal from my supervisors and aim to contribute to literacy achievement in Australia.

On the basis of its literature review, the Australian Inquiry reached the conclusion that the Whole Language approach to the teaching of reading is currently the most widely used approach to the teaching of reading in Australian schools even though it is not in the best interests of students, especially those students who are having difficulty learning to read. The Inquiry concluded that the evidence is very clear as to what is essential for an effective program for the teaching of reading: much research has shown that, for any reading program
to be effective, it must include throughout its first two or three years extensive systematic explicit instruction in synthetic phonics.

For this to happen not only do we need to dramatically change the way in which schools are teaching reading, but also how we are training teachers.
In addition to its Literature Review, the Australian inquiry into the teaching of reading surveyed all the 4-year Bachelor of Education courses around Australia. This survey’s findings included the following:
(a) in almost all such courses, less than 10 per cent of course time was devoted to preparing student teachers to teach reading; in about half of these courses this percentage was less than 5 per cent.
(b) many students undertaking BEd courses have poor literacy skills themselves and lack knowledge of such concepts as phonemic awareness, phonics and the alphabetic principle; yet these are just the kinds of concepts that they will need to teach children if their teaching of reading is to be effective
(c) on the whole, beginning primary teachers are not confident about teaching some specific aspects of literacy, namely spelling and grammar, as well as phonics.
(d) barely a third of senior staff in schools think that beginning teachers are adequately prepared to teach children to read. And,
(e) new teachers are graduating without sufficient specific strategies to improve literacy standards.
So the results of this survey suggest that, as far as the teaching of reading is concerned, the situation in teacher training courses in Australia is grave; which means that the classroom situation in Australia will also be grave.

And if we speak to, or read about success stories worldwide we can also see that those who have successfully taught a WHOLE class of 6 year olds to read confidently know that the ONLY way to do this (for all children) is through direct, explicit, systematic teaching of phonics, using a multisensory, fun approach. Yes, this is combined with the development of verbal intelligence- an approach embraced and supported by the school as a whole and with effective assessments and monitoring strategies. They are also aware of how important it is to work in partnership with parents and carers and effectively utilize classroom support staff. And it is important to turn also to those teacher who have actually 'done' what we are trying to achieve ie ensure that all children in a classroom are reading by 6. These exceptional teachers who are able to meet the needs of all children not only with regards to reading but the rest of the curriculum is never realistically going to be the 'norm'. We expect far too much of them, don't pay them enough- and often put newly qualified teachers into early years classroom- when the most experienced should be working in these important year groups!

The UK government is taking onboard advice from specialists who have actually achieved what we would all like to see happening eg exceptional class teachers and Head Teachers such as Debbie Hepplewhite and Ruth Miskin. They are not Professors or researchers- they are people who have figured out what works even for children who speak English as a second language, and in very low socio economic areas. We know their methods 'work' as we can see the reading scores of those children. But - again, how realistic is it to expect the majority of teachers to have that ability or drive?

UK professionals such as Debbie Hepplewhite and Ruth Miskin are also now supporting and advising Read Australia™ as she agrees that there must be drastic changes within Australia in order for us to get the Nation reading. Debbie advised the British government through its parliamentary enquiry 'Teaching Children to Read' (2005) and Sir Jim Rose's national review and is a consultant for Oxford School Improvement and the creates phonics books and resources for Oxford Reading Tree. The majority of the schools outlined in the UK Government document 'Reading by Six' are using the Ruth Miskin method Read, Write Inc

'Synthetic phonics' is not new- we have known for over 20 years about the huge impact (short and long term) quality phonics teaching has in the early years, as a result of a study of a school in Scotland. They stopped using the 'whole method' approach and instead used Jolly Phonics (a well known synthetic phonics programme) Their staggering results led in part to the Rose Report, as the government recognised that the teaching of reading needed to be reviewed. A commercial programme is simply a vehicle- it is based on the underlying principles of synthetic phonics and offers teachers ready made resources and the opportunity to develop a whole school approach. This is turn creates continuity and consistency and is easier for parents to understand and embrace.

When I mentioned to the Professor I met with at Griffith University that I am the ONLY accredited Jolly Phonics trainer in Queensland she tried to encourage me to stop using and promoting the programme in schools. She couldn't understand why I was on the one hand telling her that I believe in play based / child focused learning and on the other teaching children using a phonics based 'programme', based on systematic and direct teaching. It is no wonder that our newly qualified teachers are entering the profession thinking that children are all inherently active, self-regulating learners who construct knowledge for themselves with teachers needing to give little or no explicit coding instruction. We KNOW that this isn't the case for a huge percentage of children. And rather than waiting to see who they are (it becomes more and more apparently towards the end of Year 1 when memory and guessing no longer gets them through) and then offering phonics instruction, why not just teach all children quickly and prevent reading (and spelling) difficulties in the first place? We are making hard work of it in Australia, and our children are suffering. They think it is their fault that they are not learning to read quickly- and yet it is simply that they are not being taught in ways that are advised by reading scientists and successful practitioners.

In 2012 the Australian Curriculum with be implemented in QLD schools. English F-10 contains content specifically related to the teaching of phonics which is a good step in the right direction.

However the Education Department states that they 'do not mandate, endorse or approve individual training courses or resources. This is a decision that is made at the school level. Individual schools select programs for their school in consultation with the wider community. This ensures that programs meet the specific needs of their students.

With respect to the Department however, this puts schools in a difficult position. It would be similar to telling me to service my car myself, offering a handbook and then expecting me to work it out myself. It would take a long time before my car was serviced! And we know that current programmes are not meeting the specific needs of their students. Head Teachers only know what they know- and need more direct and specific guidance from the Education Department, and to be held more accountable. However the QLD Education Department does not seem clear with regards to the teaching of phonics either, or perhaps are just choosing to remain vague about it to me:-)

I also asked about a new initiative in QLD called the 'Ready Readers' programme created supposedly so that parents can better help their children. Again, there is not one mention in this programme of phonics and, again, I was told that the purpose of the initiative was not to promote any one programme or method but, rather, to help children become confident readers. How they can become confident readers before learning to read is baffling to me.

I was told that there actually was a resource created and supplied to QLD schools called 'Focus In Phonics'. After repeatedly asking for a copy, to see what guidance schools are being given, I was told that it is no longer in print .

I have written to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations concerning the development of an early literacy program. The response was impressive;

“ The Australian Government is providing $2.59 billion nationally to the states and territories under the three Smarter Schools National Partnerships. These National Partnerships are supporting reforms that are contributing to raising overall educational levels so that all Australian school students acquire the skills and knowledge needed to participate effectively in society. General information around the three partnerships is available at http://smarterschools.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx.

Through the Literacy and Numeracy National Partnership, support is being provided to our teachers and schools in the key areas of quality teaching, leadership and through the use of performance data to improve the literacy and numeracy outcomes of students.”

I looked at the links to find out about 'Literacy Coaching' to read '

Coaches work for teachers, with teachers, from the classroom outwards.

Again - sounds great ! However I of course wanted to find out if these 'Literacy Coaches' are to be trained in synthetic phonics, or by people who are guided by supposed 'specialists' such as Professor Kaye Lowe. And how much time they will get in each classroom, especially in Prep and Year 1. I will be interested to see how this works in practice, especially if the coach who is 'working for (the) teacher' doesn't agree with the teaching of synthetic phonics.

If these coaches (http://education.qld.gov.au/nationalpartnerships/pdf/factsheet-literacy-and-numeracy-coaches.pdf ) aren't being given extensive training in synthetic phonics it will be yet more money spent on something that won't bring about change.
(I am still waiting for a response from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations about who is training these coaches, and how.)

These coaches - if responsible specifically for raise reading levels MUST learn how to identify (in Prep) the 20 – 30% of child who will struggle, and how to prevent this. It has nothing to do with intelligence, where they live, parental involvement etc. It is mainly due to poor auditory discrimination. They then need to know how to ensure that all children are taught using synthetic phonics, ideally in small groups that allow for children of differing abilities to work together, and how to monitor and record their progress. Also how to create a partnership with parents and carers to allow for quality learning experiences at home. We would not want to see these coaches being used to focus on remedial teaching from Year 2 and upwards when children are already failing.

If however these coaches are infact 'literacy' coaches then one would presume that their role is wider than simply to ensure that all children are reading and spelling with confidence. And again this is where I see problems- again there is no-one focusing purely on the teaching of reading achievement. and as I see it, this should be our primary focus.

I am a former UK Government Inspector of Childcare & Early Years Education with a Masters Degree in Special Educational Needs and created 'Read Australia™ to offer schools (and parents/ carers) the information they need in order to ensure that all Australian children are reading by 7 (and ideally 6). The idea of 'Read Australia™' is similar to the UK Reading Reform and aims to bring together those who understand reading development, so that we can share ideas and resources even if we have varying approaches. Our underlying belief however is that synthetic phonics is the very heart of reading (and spelling) success and our most powerful weapon in the fight against illiteracy. Our 'vehicle's may be different but we are all starting at the same place and heading in the same direction. We are based in Queensland.

As a group of independent consultants, researchers, teachers etc we know how to ensure that every Australian child can be reading by 7 (and ideally 6) and can help the government achieve this.

There are many individuals and organisations who are committed to this across the country. For example SPELD (SA), MultiLit (NSW) Understanding Words- from Understanding Minds (Clinical psychologists with specialism in Dyslexia) QLD Jolly Discoveries (NSW) with many specialists in the UK willing to offer 'Read Australia™' support and guidance- eg Debbie Hepplewhite, who is an advisor for Oxford (www.syntheticphonics.com )

To ensure that every child in Australia is reading by the end of Year 1 teachers would need to not only be able to manage and teach all other aspect of the curriculum but to understand how to test every child for for phonological awareness- knowledge of code, ability to manipulate phonemes, to segment and blend them etc. And how to meet the individual needs of all, offering various levels within the same classroom. Is this realistic?Is it achievable for the majority? I think not - why are we expecting so much from teachers who have the responsibility of 25 - 30 children- who, at 5 and 6 are all very different. Many not even ready for school or able to sit still on a carpet! The Head teacher should be involved and implement a whole school approach, ensuring that there is a specific time each day when children can read in ability groupings. This can mean a 10 year old reading with a 7 year old- however it will enable all children to actually be reading and progressing. the head can help to co-ordinate activities, however is unlikely to be a synthetic phonics specialist and therefore needs guidance from someone who is, on a day to day basis.

As classroom teaching is so 'busy' I would propose a dramatic change in the way we approach early years teaching ie Prep, Year 1 and 2. I would suggest that the only way we can realistically ensure that all children are reading by the end of year 1- especially in Australia- is to put Reading Coaches into these year levels. Not 'Literacy coaches' (these can help throughout the school with literacy generally) but 'Reading Coaches', who will have the sole purpose of ensuring that all children 'crack the code' by the end of Year 1. Read Australia™ ,along with independent consultants, would be given funding to train these 'coaches' in synthetic phonics, to work in Prep and Year 1. This Reading Coach can work independently of the teacher taking small groups of 4-6 children throughout the day, seeing every child for 20 minutes and working with parents and carers to reinforce this work at home. The teacher does not need to be involved, which can also overcome teacher reluctance to embrace change. It is likely that when they see results however they will also start to incorporate activities into their whole class teaching activities.

These certified Read Australia™ 'Reading Coaches' will report to us online, on a fortnightly basis, and all results recorded confidentially within our central database, using numbers to identify individual children confidentially. We will support and train them every step of the way, purely focusing on reading and spelling development. Without the teacher needing to do any more work, all children will be fully assessed and tested at the middle and end of each term so that the Head Teacher (and Education Department) can see progress and results. This is similar to the Response to Intervention model used in the US ie their Tier 2 intervention. It is a proactive and 'aggressive' way to ensure that all children are reading by 6 and only takes around 20 minutes per group per day. Ideally each school needs a minimum of one coach for each year group. The coach does not necessarily need to be a qualified teacher.

We offer a range of related services, however this could be your answer to raising standards quickly across Australia. Once children are able to read they will fly ! And we can do this in spite of teacher reluctance to change. Imagine how much more teachers could do with children if all entered Year 2 reading to at least their expected level for their cholerically age. No more remedial work- instead we would have confident children who are able to focus on reading for understanding. They cannot do that without first learning to decode words- and at least 20 - 30% of ALL children need this specialist help to do so.

At Read Australia™ we offer generic training in synthetic phonics and also show schools how to use commercial programmes such as Jolly Phonics which is highly multi sensory and the children in Prep and Year 1 love! Other trusted programmes are also available in Australia such as MultiLit, THRASS or Phonics International, the Ruth Miskin Approach etc. We do not promote any one programme- this can be up to the school and we will support all quality training providers to offer specific training in their programme.

The Certification course (in Synthetic Phonics) we are developing can be undertaken online and includes 13 compulsory module plus one compulsory module within which the teacher choose a specific programme to focus on. This would be a programme that the school wishes to implement eg Jolly Phonics. There are approximately 200 hours involved in the training and students must pass each module and a final exam and practical in order to gain 'Reading Coach' status, and be listed in the Read Australia™ directory as a Reading Coach in good standing. The aim is that these coaches can work independently of the teacher in Prep and Year 1 and not disrupt them. This can take the pressure off classroom teachers in Prep and Year 1 who are not superhuman, and yet expected to be so. To teach all children to read quickly the specialist needs to be able to focus only on that- with small groups and individuals. This is not something teachers can realistically do, and also cover everything else! Any teacher will tell you how difficult it is to fit in 'hearing readers' and yet this should be happening every day, and the choice of 'reader' is something the specialist can monitor. The majority of 'readers' I see children being given are not appropriate and will only reinforce the idea that reading means guessing or memorising.

We are also putting our most popular 2.5 hour professional development workshop ('Using Synthetic Phonics to Prevent Reading Difficulties') onto DVD for public sale. The content of this DVD will enable parents and carers to help in the classroom more effectively, and is especially useful for those working within childcare. It gives an over view of synthetic phonics and where to start, using an initial sound group s.t.n.i.p and t

At the end of 16 weeks (20 minute per day) the aim is that all children will (using the initial sound group) be.

* 'hearing' sounds in words - beginning, middle end

* recognising letter sounds in print - and knowing what (oral) sound they correspond with.

* forming letters correctly (this is arguably less as important as the other concepts, before Prep)

* blending sounds orally into words- and as they sound words on paper (knowing they do this from left to right)

* 'reading' words by decoding from left to right- and blending the sounds into words- also exploring what the word means and how we use it in our language.

* 'spelling words by listening for sounds in order - and (the next step) knowing how to order / blend them on paper (using letters and also by forming the letters themselves - can use a pencil and also keyboard with lower case letters)

* 'reading' the words and then comprehending the meaning of the word and sentence if the words are written within a sentence (and in this case knowing that we read the words from left to right)

* learning some 'tricky' words

For example they will be able to read, write and spell words such as sat, it, at, in, pin, tin, sit, pat, nip, spin, tan etc

They will also be able to read sentences - using decodable readers such as those recently released from SPELD- that are in line with the sounds groups from Jolly Phonics.

http://www.speld-sa.org.au/index.php?option=com_flippingbook&book_id=4

If ready they can be moved on to digraphs - learning that 2 or more sounds can make a new sound (s, h and sh- 3 sounds)

We use a lot of bolded text- to show children where the 'chunks' are in words- or 'pictures of sounds'. So shop would be shop (bold 'sh) so that early on we are teaching children that this word has 3 sounds.

After the first sound group children will earn that sounds in our spoken language can be represented in several ways ( f could be ff as in gruff, ph as in phone etc)

And that some sounds on paper can represent more than one sound in our language- ow- as in cow or as in tow.

Parents and carers (as well as educators) will soon be able to register to use our support forum – where questions specifically relating to the teaching phonics are addressed for all.

The online course, DVD and support forum are all launching in December 2011 to coincide with the new curriculum and offer help and guidance regarding phonics.

I urge you to at least consider initially contracting with Read Australia™ to train 2 reading coaches in Queensland, who will work in a school with poor literacy achievement. Let us show you what one person working with the Prep year level, and another in Year 1 can do for that school if their focus is solely on the teaching of reading. We will offer to train these initial two teachers at a heavily subsidized rate, with the school funding their teaching salary for a minimum of 12 months. We will ensure that ALL children enter year 2 reading to their expected level if not above which is something that is not currently happening in Queensland. If this 'works' it could be further developed to reach every state school – it would be an initiative which could bring about the most dramatic change to education of any government to date. Rather than teachers going outside of school for further training (often reluctantly- and then not actually incorporating this new learning into the classroom) specialists will be brought into the classroom, and be supported every step of the way by synthetic phonics specialists. Again please note that to offer this we would ask for the support and collaboration of phonics specialists around the country.

Read Australia™ also offer a range of free services, including our new facebook page which is used as an interactive newsletter – www.facebook.com/ReadAustralia and we are creating the Parents Aboard programme where parents can get free advice- specifically about phonics as well as free resources eg decodable readers and alphabet code charts.

Please do let us know how we can support the government and help you ensure that EVERY child is reading by 7 (and ideally 6). This is achievable, and most of our team and independent consultants have actually done this in a classroom as full-time teachers. Working with schools we can set new standards, however schools can only do this with not only exceptional training but also on-going support that also involves working with parents and carers. We are experienced in engaging even the most reluctant of parents and carers! Reading (and spelling) is something we can actually test, and you can actually see for your self how successful these interventions could be, and this will of course be reflected in NAPLAN results and visible to all. Following training we work with schools for free to keep costs down regarding resources (much of what we can offer in this regard is free) and our partnerships will also save the costs associated with remedial work, and will improve standards of behaviour. And as we will ensure that children learn to read more quickly and confidently they can then achieve far more within the rest of the curriculum.

We are currently creating a range of online programmes so that teachers can study online wherever they live, and liaise with our central database to store results. Everyone who trains with us gets ongoing free support and guidance- and we can see which coaches are being the most effective when we review phonics testing results. Every Read Australia™ Reading Coach will be required to submit test results fortnightly. This phonics testing is part of sessions and children do not know that this is what is happening- testing takes around 3 minutes.

You are the only one who can really bring about change. But to do so you need to listen to those who understand why so many children struggle to learn to read and spell, and what we can do to prevent this. You could start by watching the documentary mini-series called Last Chance Kids, part of Channel 4’s four-day campaign against illiteracy, called The Fight to Help Kids Read.

The Last Chance Kids films are about a deprived school in Dagenham, east London, called Monteagle, where a quarter of the six to 11-year-olds could not read at all in 2006 and 50% of them were far behind their chronological reading age. As a result, many of them were destined to go on to secondary school unable to learn anything, the flotsam and jetsam of society.

Lynna Thompson, their head teacher, decided to use Miskin’s very rigorous literacy programme throughout her school, to get every child to become a reader by the end of the school year. And they all did. Some of them cracked it in just a few weeks.

The dawning of happiness and pride on the face of an angry, humiliated, excluded nine-year-old boy, when he first proves to camera he can really, truly, read, all by himself - after only a few weeks of synthetic phonics - is very moving to watch. Some of the parents were weeping. Miskin herself was obviously deeply moved. “I always am,” she tells me. “It’s always amazing. It feels like a miracle. But it’s simple really.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article2701376.ece

And it is Julia. It really is.

I am reminded of this story.

A giant ship engine failed. The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine. Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom. Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do.

After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away.

The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars. "What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!" So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."

The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer $ 2.00

Knowing where to tap $9,998.00

Let us help you know where to tap!

The good news is that you do have many reading scientists and specialists around the country, and if you enlist their help you could actually change our society- which means more votes!
If you play closer attention to the National surveys of reading and the teaching of reading in classrooms you will soon learn who should be ignored (and funding pulled) and who can actually bring about change.

Current report card? " Could do better Julia.'

Emma

*Emma Hartnell-Baker
Founder of Read Australia™

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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