Publishers plan to develop new phonics schemes

Last week, Education & Skills secretary Ruth Kelly announced an independent review of the role of synthetic phonics in primary schools. It will be overseen by Jim Rose, a former Ofsted director of inspection.
But Sue Horner, head of English, Languages & Arts at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, said the research would need to be balanced against the views of early years providers. The QCA is currently hosting a debate, English 21, about how English should be taught over the next decade.
Horner said: "English 21 will presumably col- lect a lot of views from early years people and those teaching at Key Stage One, and I am not sure how these points will compare with Jim Rose’s work."
Rose is due to provide an interim report in November and final recommendations by January 2006. Some early years providers are concerned that they will be forced to teach phonics in a particular way. Currently the National Literacy Strategy recommends a number of teaching strategies, including synthetic phonics.
Publishers such as Jolly Learning have benefited from the wider debate about the use of synthetic phonics. The Jolly Phonics Workbooks, which teach synthetic phonics, took six of the top 20 positions in school textbook sales over the past year, and the company’s trade sales now exceed school sales.
Ladybird will be launching a new reading series next summer with a strong phonics component. Publishing director Stephanie Barton said: "Parents have always related to teaching phonics and most teachers are already using both synthetic and analytical phonics. I am not sure you can polarise the debate like this."