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reading standards need urgent action

Parents and schools need to take urgent action to tackle children’s poor reading habits, says a new report by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).

As children continue to turn their backs on reading for pleasure standards across the country are being marred by an increasing gulf between those schools that successfully tackle weaknesses in reading and those that do not.

The new report from the Ofsted, Reading for purpose and pleasure - an evaluation of reading in primary schools, highlights the variation in performance between schools in similar socio-economic circumstances even though reading standards have risen significantly since the introduction of the National Literacy Strategy (NLS). It calls for urgent action from local and central government.

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools, David Bell, said: ‘Today's findings are unacceptable. Although standards in reading are rising, we have yet to ensure that all our pupils are competent and confident readers by the time they leave primary school. A stubborn core of pupils at the bottom end of the scale are being let down by the system.

'bad habits seldom tackled by schools'

'However, I am pleased to note that there is some fantastic work going on in some schools as highlighted by the case studies in this report. Schools who are not giving children the best possible chance to learn and enjoy reading stand out starkly as a result.'

Inspectors found that many children don't read for pleasure even when they are strong readers and found that this reluctance to read was seldom being tackled by schools.

Many schoolteachers' inconsistent knowledge of the broad use of reading strategies was found to be a major barrier to success. The report calls for an even more robust intervention policy for schools where standards continue to remain low.

The report notes the strong link between headteachers who play an active role in teaching reading, and who put reading at the heart of the school's work, and success in raising attainment.

The teaching of phonics in the successful schools was rigorous and well focused on those pupils who needed it most. However, in such schools, phonics were successfully taught alongside a broader range of reading strategies which encouraged pupils to read for meaning and understanding as well as for accuracy.

Parental support is vital to ensuring children progress in their reading. The best schools have programmes that specifically involve parents in reading with their children and make every effort to support those parents who are unable to read with their children through setting up after school programmes and involving the local business community.

Inspectors found that the most effective schools were honest about their problems. Ineffective schools tended to blame others for their problems, including parents and the intake of children in their catchment area.

David Bell continued: 'Reading is the cornerstone for learning across the curriculum. There are so many excellent tools available to teachers to help them engage and inspire children but the lacklustre approach we have found in ineffective schools is very worrying.'

The report recommends that, in order to raise standards, reduce the tail of underachievement and develop positive attitudes to reading, those with national responsibility for developing policy and guidance for schools should identify pupils with reading difficulties early, intervene effectively and monitor the impact of support through assessing pupils' progress. School should involve parents actively in supporting their children's reading and programmes need to be introduced to support headteachers in developing positive reading strategies.