The Welsh Conservatives have slammed the Welsh Labour Government after a key member of its expert literacy panel resigned, accusing ministers of embedding “mixed messages” into a new £8.2 million scheme to improve literacy.
It has also been highlighted that the Expert Literacy Panel has failed to publish any findings after nearly a year of work.
Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education, Natasha Asghar MS, has long criticised the Welsh Government’s refusal to ban the discredited “cueing” method of teaching children to read, a method that encourages pupils to guess words from pictures or context, or memorise them by sight.
Ms Asghar has repeatedly called for the “cueing” method to be scrapped in Welsh schools and replaced with “phonics”, the evidence-based approach that teaches children the sounds letters represent and how to blend them into words. This method is backed by decades of research and has been credited with helping England rise sharply in international literacy rankings since 2010.
The schools’ watchdog Estyn has estimated that up to 30% of children leave primary schools unable to use basic reading skills well.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education, Natasha Asghar MS, said:
“This is a damning indictment of Labour’s stubbornness, inability to listen to experts, follow evidence and their overall record on education in Wales.
“By refusing to ban cueing and teach the expert backed method of phonics, the Labour Government is continuing to fail our children.
“The Welsh Conservatives are the only party committed to banning cueing and introducing phonics as part of our credible plan to improve education and deliver a better future for Wales.”
ENDS
Note to editors:
• Welsh Government reading expert quits, warning new £8.2m literacy plan 'not fit for purpose'
