- New mandatory year 8 reading test to boost attainment in core
skills
- Test forms central part of the forthcoming Schools White
Paper – delivering on the government's plan for national renewal
by unlocking opportunities for young people
- Education Secretary sets new ambition for 90% of pupils to
reach expected standard in phonics screening check
A national focus on reading at the start of secondary school will
drive up standards to ensure every young person can achieve and
thrive, as the government announces a mandatory reading test for
all children at age 13.
The Education Secretary will tell a major
schools conference today that for millions of young people,
reading is “the passport to the rest of their lives,” with too
many currently held back from the rest of their education – and
the wider world – by an inability to read.
All pupils will take the test in year 8 – marking a significant
step forward in driving up standards in core literacy skills
which will help young people to unlock everything else school has
to offer.
This new measure will set clear expectations to support parents,
teachers and pupils alike – identifying gaps early and targeting
help for those who need it, while enabling the most able to go
further.
Speaking at the Confederation of School Trusts conference today,
the Education Secretary will set out the core tenets of the
government's forthcoming schools white paper, which will lay the
path for national renewal to take schools into the 2030s.
Education Secretary, ,
said:
“There is one barrier in particular I worry is locking young
people out. Because before a child can even begin to engage
in everything their school has to offer, they must first be able
to read.
“When they can't, the sense of dejection sets
in. Engagement seeps away. Attendance follows.
“Reading holds the key to so much. There is no foundation
more important.
…
“So we will introduce a statutory assessment in year 8 to
assess reading fluency and comprehension.
“We'll test progress at this key point when too many children
either spin their wheels or fall further behind.
“Invaluable data for schools to make sure no child's need for
more, for a helping hand, can slip through the cracks.”
Children's reading journey begins in the earliest years, and the
government will build on the success of the phonics programme,
setting a new ambition for 90% of children to be meeting the
expected standard in the Phonics Screening Check.
The government is expanding its support in reception year through
the English Hubs programme, putting a laser-focus on the children
that struggle the most, alongside reforms to boost the quality of
education in the early years, and wider family support through
Best Start Family Hubs.
Chief Executive, Lift Schools, Rebecca Boomer-Clark,
said:
"Reading is the key that unlocks everything learning and
engagement. Having a national ambition for 90% of children
passing the phonics check and the introduction of reading tests
at Year 8 are both very positive steps forward.
“We set ourselves a network 90% goal for primary phonics in 2021
and have been testing reading ability across our mainstream
schools from Year 1 - Year 10 for the last few years. This has
provided us with invaluable information and insight on how to get
children back on track - it has driven significant leaps forward
in how our children and young people read and as a result how
they can engage fully in their learning. This work is critically
important for all children, but especially so those from more
disadvantaged backgrounds."
Data from the new statutory assessment will be made available to
Ofsted and government, but individual schools' results will not
be published – as with the phonics check. Schools will make
children's results available to parents.
The test will provide a snapshot in time and the government's
expectation is that it is not an assessment children need to
revise for.
The plans build on the Government's National Year of Reading,
which will unite parents, schools, libraries and businesses to
get people reading and help reverse the decline in reading for
pleasure among young people.
The government is already supporting an improvement in reading
and writing skills, including through new training for teachers
in secondary school to support young people to read, and a
£1million fund to support schools with the greatest need to
purchase reading programmes and other resources to support
struggling readers.
ENDS
Notes to editors
- The government will provide further information on the format
of the reading assessment in due course.
- The government's intention is for the test to be introduced
by the end of this Parliament.
