New teachers are not being trained to identify children who are struggling with reading, and some lack skills in teaching spelling, the education watchdog warns today. A survey by Ofsted also reveals that many teachers fail to teach young pupils to write well and do not understand how to identify when a child is falling behind.
Schools have been compelled to teach young children to read and write using phonics classes since last September, requiring new skills from teachers.
Ofsted investigated the 20 best teacher training courses in the country and concluded that some are not identifying the link between reading and writing, and perform poorly in the teaching of phonics for spelling. Despite showing "good knowledge and understanding" of teaching reading and writing, some training courses "failed to highlight the links between early reading and writing effectively".
The chief inspector, Christine Gilbert, said: "More can be done to ensure pupils' phonic skills are accurately assessed. Courses also need to do more to highlight the link between early reading and writing."