UK schools sign up for phonics funding
Date posted: 26 Jan 2012
Phonics funding is available for schools across the UK and it is aimed at helping to raise reading standards.
Published by Alison Gamble
Thousands of schools across the UK have signed up to receive funding for new phonics equipment that is aimed at helping to improve standards of reading.
In total, £7.7 million of public money has been made available for the initiative, with some 3,211 schools across the country already signed up to benefit from the scheme.
So far, these establishment have spent £1.66 million of the allocated funds on teaching resources including books, software and games, as well as phonics training for teachers.
The phonics programme is internationally proven to help improve the uptake of reading skills, especially among young children, as it uses a combination of sounds and pictures to help children better understand the alphabet and how it is put together to form words and sentences.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb commented: "This is a chance for schools to gain extra funding to improve reading standards so I am naturally concerned at the number of areas where few schools have not yet taken the opportunity to do so."
Local authorities in Thurrock, Rochdale, Walsall, Lincolnshire, Windsor, Maidenhead, Plymouth and Sutton are so far leading the way in the uptake of funding, although there remains plenty of time for schools to apply.
Mr Gibbs added: "The money is available until March next year, so there is still time to claim it."
Earlier this month, the Department for Education (DfE) announced the introduction of a number of new rules aimed at improving the standard of teaching across the country.
Set to come into effect from September this year, the measures will include new methods for the appraisal of teachers and headteachers across the UK, as well as a reduction in red tape that the DfE claims has made the disciplinary process for those who are under-performing extremely convoluted in the past.
Furthermore, more than 50 pages of unnecessary guidance for teachers are to be scrapped.
Please contact Christine Berry, Head of Education for further information or call 01223 225281
Click here to email or call on 01223 225281.
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