The Conservatives have set out plans which they say will ensure children can read by the age of six.
The Conservatives have set out plans which they say will ensure children can read by the age of six.
Shadow schools secretary Michael Gove said the Key Stage 1 exam in English for six and seven-year-olds should be replaced with a standard reading test.
Shadow schools secretary Michael Gove said the Key Stage 1 exam in English for six and seven-year-olds should be replaced with a standard reading test.
Other measures are also due to be outlined in an attempt to narrow the attainment gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children in England.
Other measures are also due to be outlined in an attempt to narrow the attainment gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children in England.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls said the plans were "hastily cobbled together".
Schools Secretary Ed Balls said the plans were "hastily cobbled together".
Phonics
Phonics
He said the opposition was either calling for measures the government are already pursuing or was looking to turn back the clock.
He said the opposition was either calling for measures the government are already pursuing or was looking to turn back the clock.
A key factor in the Tory plans involves extending the use of "synthetic phonics", which focuses on teaching the sounds which make up words.
A key factor in the Tory plans involves extending the use of "synthetic phonics", which focuses on teaching the sounds which make up words.
It is only once children have learnt to read that they can then go on to read to learn Michael Gove
It is only once children have learnt to read that they can then go on to read to learn Michael Gove
In an article in the Sunday Times, Mr Gove said: "At the age of six, a child should have learned to read."
Mr Gove said the party wants to scrap tests for younger children and replace them with a reading assessment.
He added that "eradicating the plague of reading failure" would be the bedrock of further improvements in educational achievement.
He said the move would help give teachers more control over their classrooms, adding there was an "epidemic" of reading failure in the country.
"Nowhere has the educational establishment's influence been more damaging than in teaching reading," he said.
He told the BBC's Andrew Marr programme: "We think by the time a child has been through two years of primary school, reception year and year one, they should be able to decode effortlessly, they should have mastered the building blocks of reading.
"It is only once children have learnt to read that they can then go on to read to learn.
"Unless they learn to read properly they won't be able to read to learn subsequently, and this is the key foundation stone on which the rest of learning is built.
"But every year, thousands of children leave primary school without the ability to read properly.
"We want to introduce a simple test which means at the end of two years of primary school we know whether or not children have mastered the skills they need to read.
"And these are the young people who, because they cannot benefit from even the best teaching in secondary schools, go on to become disruptive and ill-disciplined and, all too often, drop out of the system."
"Once children have got that skill, then teachers are free to inspire them, and children are free to read and explore on their own."
Mr Gove added that, currently, 20% of children leaving primary school are incapable of reading, rising to 40% of children from poorer backgrounds.
He added: "These are the children who will go onto truant, who will go on to be disruptive potentially, who will miss out themselves, and will also undermine learning for others.
"Unless we deal with this issue early on, then we are condemning these children to a life without effective education, and I'm afraid that's just not good enough."
'Increase burdens'
'Increase burdens'
Mr Balls said the government was already clear that phonics should be the "prime approach" in teaching young children to read.
Mr Balls said the government was already clear that phonics should be the "prime approach" in teaching young children to read.
"Today 100,000 more 11 year olds are reaching the required standard in literacy than 10 years ago, but I know there is more to do. That is why we are rolling out nationally our successful Every Child a Reader programme.
"Today 100,000 more 11 year olds are reaching the required standard in literacy than 10 years ago, but I know there is more to do. That is why we are rolling out nationally our successful Every Child a Reader programme.
"By introducing a new externally administered test, the Tories would in fact turn the clock back and increase burdens and bureaucracy for every primary school."
"By introducing a new externally administered test, the Tories would in fact turn the clock back and increase burdens and bureaucracy for every primary school."
Tory leader David Cameron will spell out the party's education policy with the publication of a paper on Tuesday.
Tory leader David Cameron will spell out the party's education policy with the publication of a paper on Tuesday.
Are you a parent? What do you think of these plans? Should "synthetic phonics" be more widely used? How do you help your child learn to read? Send us your comments using the form below:
Are you a parent? What do you think of these plans? Should "synthetic phonics" be more widely used? How do you help your child learn to read? Send us your comments using the form below:
