[senco-forum] [SENco-forum] reading recovery

Hi Sharon,

The Government as been forced to realise that no single teaching program
works for all, and in line with the Bercow Interim Report, they have
recognised that they need provide the correct form of teaching and support
regardless of cost. This will require the new Status Teachers to be able to
adapt their teach methods, and use a range of teaching programs that best
suite the learning needs of the pupils.
Unfortunately the Rose Review only considered one type of teaching program,
synthetic phonics, and based all its recommendations on the false assumption
that all are able to improve their listening skills. 
This approach conflicts with the Disability Discrimination Acts Disability
Equality Duty (DED) policies which all Primary Schools are now putting in
place. 
This meant that the Government and OFSTED had two conflicting policies.
(Following the Rose Review or DED) By following the recommendations of Rose
Review schools would be discriminating against those who have Auditory
Processing Disorder, 10% of the population according to the Medical Research
Council, and many others who may have different underlying causes of their
dyslexic symptoms.
Hopefully this will be the end of one size fits all teaching methods, and
support programs, and the beginning to provision of the teaching methods,
and support programs that each child may require. As outlined in the Bercow
Report. 
Hopefully this will be extended to a more detailed definition of dyslexia as
a Social Construct. While identifying and defining all of the underlying
causes of the dyslexic symptoms.  Especially the underlying causes which can
be clinically diagnosed. 
This will bring Dyslexia into line with current Medical Research and into
the twenty first century. 
Identifying the underlying causes of dyslexic symptoms will also enable
classification of the remedial and support programs in line with the
underlying causes so that programs can be targeted at the specific groups of
dyslexics that each program was designed to help.

Best wishes

dolfrog

-----Original Message-----
From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
[mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk] On Behalf Of
SEN at tringham.net
Sent: 19 May 2008 19:07
To: Becta Senco
Subject: Re: [senco-forum] [SENco-forum] reading recovery

While this RR maybe pose problem for tutors with the amount of unlearning it
creates, the problem does not just originate with RR.

 Well meaning teachers, reading buddies, parents and family are equally
likely to promote a whole mish mash of approaches to reading and often, with
children with undiagnosed dyslexia, purely in desperation to try and get the
child to connect to text. 

In an attempt to get the phonetics or whole word across can be heard to say
'What does it start with? 'c' -so it must be cat because there is a cat in
the picture'.  This then prompts the child to scan pictures in vain for
other clues etc etc. Similarly running a finger under words and so good for
normal early readers can be a real problem for auditory dyslexia or APD
where they process sound slowly and are hearing the sound for one word while
the finger is pointing g to the next word already!  Great!

I was told off for teaching phonics to my child and then using a phonetic
way of reading. She could read -ergo it hadn't worked & therefore she must
be a whole word reader. During our 7 years together I had run the whole
gamut of reading strategies - starting with lovely clean phonics before
reading was ever attempted and all in vain.  She was as unable to cope with
phonics and then blending as she was ill equipped to deal with whole words.
The tutor, a great one as it turned out in the end, at least had the grace
to apologise when she realised the extent of the difficulty.  ICT helped to
make the best inroads to reading with TextHELP being used to type and this
improved spelling no end.

Time spent reading with children with no SEN works.  They seem quite immune
to how we choose to teach them and just learn to read.  A US study found
merit in both whole word and phonics and said that a mixture of both works
best.  So spending time with slower, or GLD learners via RR or anything else
with 1:1 input ( or ICT using Eddie's Electronic library) will work. 

Where the system always breaks down is for the unlucky 20-25% where dealing
with phonics/blending/consonant clusters 'str' or 'tion', or, abstract whole
words - 'was/are' is difficult and where context in dictation sentences has
to be used to learn and then these broken back down to individual words in
isolation. 

Not sure how this scheme got to be pushed to the fore by government.

Sharon

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