Meanwhile, Policy changes in education continue to roll out in line with manifesto commitments, with the latest announcement being the introduction of a national testing mandate.
Much of the detail is still to be worked out on the logistics, but based on what we know so far, this will align with the bi-annual standardised testing that we already use here at school (with some changes at Year 3 level). This will also include phonics checks in the Junior School, which will link with the Better Start Literacy approach that I have shared information on previously during our trial phase (information sessions will be available early next term for Y1-3 Parents if you would like to know more about the approach).
There are a few key points I would make in light of the testing announcement, with the first being to re-emphasise that phonics (letter/sound) instruction is actually nothing new at our school, so there is no fundamental change for us other than continuing to roll out the specific methodology used in the 'Better Start Literacy' approach.
It's also particularly important to note that building phonological awareness is just one key component of reading and language acquisition, which involves the kind of rich, comprehensive programmes we implement over time as children develop a wide range of inter-related skills and comprehension strategies.
Above all, it's worth stating the obvious that formal testing is actually a relatively small 'snapshot' method of assessment at a given point in time, and nothing more. Testing alone does not tell the whole story (or improve achievement in itself), and time focused on testing is time not focused on actual teaching and learning, which is important to keep in perspective.
