Following new revelations from ITV News highlighting confusion and potential bias within Estyn, the Welsh Conservatives have called for urgent action to ensure that reading in Welsh schools is taught using evidence-based methods.
The investigation found that Estyn officials appeared to defend discredited “cueing” techniques, where children guess words from pictures or context, despite decades of international research showing that systematic phonics is the most effective approach to teaching children to read.
It also emerged that Estyn invited a critic of phonics, Professor Dominic Wyse, to address inspectors, while initially rejecting a request from phonics expert Elizabeth Nonweiler, whose subsequent resignation from the Welsh Government’s literacy panel has further deepened concerns about political interference and mixed messaging in the Labour Welsh Government’s literacy strategy.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education, Natasha Asghar MS, said:
“These revelations are deeply concerning. It appears that the body responsible for upholding educational standards in Wales may be promoting flawed and damaging teaching methods.
“The evidence is crystal clear, systematic phonics works, the Welsh Government and Estyn must now ensure that all teaching in Welsh schools is based on proven, evidence-led methods rather than ideology.
“The Welsh Conservatives are the only party committed to banning cueing and following the science by introducing phonics as part of our credible plan to improve education and deliver a better future for Wales.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- After government scrutiny, questions turn to Estyn’s role in Wales’ reading debate
