Commenting as the Secretary of State for Education confirms that
phonics checks will be going ahead for primary schools in the
Autumn term, in a speech at the Festival of Education today, Paul
Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:
“Asking schools to administer a phonics test in the Autumn term
for every child in Year 2 is a completely unnecessary
bureaucratic burden at a challenging time and for zero academic
value.
“Teachers will already be assessing all children, identifying
their wellbeing and academic needs, including in phonics, and
providing the support that those children need. An additional
test and formal data collection exercise is wrong.
“We have suggested to government that teacher assessment is
sufficient to gather the information which is needed, but their
lack of trust in the profession is getting in the way of sensible
solutions.
“This is the last thing schools need next term when they want to
be able to focus on supporting those children who have missed out
on schooling this year as a result of the pandemic. What schools
need right now is to know on what basis to plan for the return of
pupils in the new academic year and when and how they will access
recovery funding, not news of new bureaucratic burdens that will
only get in the way of teaching and learning.”
