Written question asked by Mark Hoban (Conservative) on Monday, 29 March 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 19 April 2004. It was answered by Stephen Twigg (Labour) on Monday, 19 April 2004 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what role phonics play in the Literacy Strategy at Key Stages (a) 1 and (b) 2.

Answer: Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what role phonics play in the Literacy Strategy at Key Stages (a) 1 and (b) 2. [165291] Mr. Stephen Twigg: The National Literacy Strategy puts phonics--both analytic and synthetic--at the heart of literacy teaching in Key Stages 1 and 2. It advocates a strong emphasis on word level work (particularly phonics) and guided reading in the early years, with a gradual shift to place more emphasis on sentence level work (particularly composition in writing) in Key Stage 2.

Secondary information