Oh my goodness! Is this a step in the right direction? See this short piece in 'The Australian' [my emphasis in red below] : Reading tests for Year 1, but no exam Six-year-olds won't find themselves facing exams to test their reading and maths skills any time soon. Instead, the federal government de...

The comment below made by Molly de Lemos via the DDOLL network reflects the view of IFERI: Unfortunately we don't have a Nick Gibb in Australia, although I think that there is now a move to try to push the idea of a phonics check in Australia further. My view is that this is the one single thing tha...

I've been reminded about this speech by Nick Gibb with reference to the improvements in teaching phonics, year on year, made by schools since the advent of the statutory Year One Phonics Screening Check in England: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/nick-gibb-the-importance-of-phonics But to add...

Dr Jennifer Buckingham, director of the 'Five from Five' project in Australia, and a member of IFERI's advisory group, has written a piece about the potential of using a 'universal' phonics screening check: http://www.afr.com/leadership/innovation/teaching-phonics-to-kids-is-cheap-but-has-a-big-payo...

I didn't know what 'title' to give this topic as it is quite multi-faceted. This is a message provided by a parent via a private forum but I believe it is so important, and reflects such a common state of affairs in far too many schools in English-speaking countries, that I asked permission to copy ...

Nick Gibb speaks about: The importance of the curriculum Nick Gibb addresses the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) event 'Taking ownership of your curriculum: a national summit'. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-importance-of-the-curriculum Due to the increased challenge of ...

David Didau writes a post of the article published in 'Teach Secondary': http://www.learningspy.co.uk/reading/every-teacher-needs-know-students-leave-secondary-school-unable-read/ What every teacher needs to know about… students who leave secondary school unable to read If a student leaves secondary...

And here's a posting describing the danger of schools responding inappropriately to the level of pressure and high-stakes testing and accountability. I, too, have had experience of this skewed time-table for Year 6 children having had four children of my own! But I want to add this: When I was prima...

Greg invites a parent to write a post via his blog - I'm flagging this up because it seems to be at the heart of both worrries and educational/political battles played out via the internet: https://gregashman.wordpress.com/2016/04/23/an-aussie-parent-writes/ An Aussie parent writes April 23, 2016 [G...

Interesting - I've just checked out the youtube link on my first message above - and the video is no longer visible for the public! Good - it was not good.