Written question asked by Priti Patel (Conservative) on Thursday, 19 April 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 23 April 2012. It was answered by Nick Gibb (Conservative) on Monday, 30 April 2012 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Literacy

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to improve literacy in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Answer: The Government is determined to raise standards of literacy in schools in order to equip all children with the skills they need to succeed.We are promoting the teaching of reading through systematic synthetic phonics by making available match-funding of up to £3,000 to all state-funded schools with key stage one pupils so that they can purchase approved systematic synthetic phonics products and training; and are introducing a phonics screening check for pupils at the end of Year One. The new Ofsted inspection framework for schools includes a strong focus on reading and the draft Ofsted inspection framework for Initial Teacher Education reflects an increased emphasis on the quality of understanding and competence in developing pupils' literacy skills.We are reviewing the national curriculum to make sure it is rigorous and focuses on the body of essential knowledge in key subjects that all children need to learn.Finally, our reform of GCSEs will restore confidence that they are valued, robust qualifications comparable to the best in the world. As part of this, we are introducing an assessment of spelling, punctuation and grammar. This will secure rigour and give a real incentive to teach students to write with purpose, accuracy and clarity.

Secondary information