I N ARK PRIORY PRIMARY ACADEMY a class of four- and five-year-olds sit in immaculate rows, enraptured by their teacher. As part of the daily routine at the state primary school in Acton, west London, Ms Beshirian holds up cards printed with basic sounds—“qu”, “k”, “w”—and the children chant them back to her in unison. Later they practise reading sentences made up of sounds they have previously rehearsed. That is a lot of fish, runs an example.

This is phonics, a way of learning to read in which children are taught to decode words. Teachers have long argued about whether this approach is better than the previously favoured one, in which children learned to recognise whole words, typically while someone read to them. To critics there is something Gradgrindian about phonics, which they argue fails to transmit the joy of reading. Nevertheless, over the past decade or so schools in England have adopted the method. When Nick Gibb, a minister, declared the “debate is over” earlier this year, disagreement was muted.

The shift reflects both persuasive evidence and political pressure. In 2005 a study in Scotland found that children who were taught using phonics were, by the end of the programme, seven months ahead of their expected reading and spelling ability. Other work has supported the results. Rebecca Allen of the University of Oxford notes that few teaching methods are backed by such strong evidence.

Labour began to promote phonics after it came to power in 1997. Mr Gibb, who became schools minister under the Tory-Lib Dem coalition in 2010, then upped the emphasis. The curriculum was tweaked, funding set aside for textbooks and training, and a new screening test introduced for six-year-olds, to check teachers were doing as told. Mr Gibb is now advising Australia on how to do the same.

The impact is becoming apparent. England’s performance improved in the latest Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, a cross-country comparison. Last year research by academics at the LSE ’s Centre for Economic Performance found that phonics improved children’s reading. Sandra McNally, one of the authors, notes that, whereas the boost faded with time for better-off children, who would have eventually learned to read well anyway, it persisted for poor readers and those without English as a first language. “Other approaches rely on existing child vocabulary and life experiences,” says Lydia Cuddy-Gibbs, head of early years at Ark, a charity which runs 38 state schools. “Phonics helps to put children on a level playing field.”

Nor must phonics kill fun. In Acton the children often play teacher, and phonics is their favourite class to re-enact. Some applaud their friends with teacherly compliments, says Sarah Charlton, who works at the school. “They’ll walk in and say, ‘Maria did amazing reading today’,” she laughs. A well-stocked library introduces children to reading for pleasure.

One remaining task is to work out how to help pupils who struggle even when taught with phonics. According to the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), a charity, no intervention consistently improves results for these children. Another job is to make sure phonics is taught across the system. Although there has been a sharp rise in the proportion of children passing the screening test, a bunching of results just above the pass mark suggests that it is partly down to teachers gaming the system. The government last year provided £26m ($32m) for 34 schools to become “English hubs” to spread the gospel.

Arguments continue over the best way to teach phonics, and questions such as when whole words should be introduced. As part of a crusade against what it sees as the over-examination of children, Labour has plans to review the phonics screening test. But whether or not the test stays, phonics seems firmly embedded in English schools. “It’s very rare that you get a piece of education practice that you stick with and push over a number of years,” says Sir Kevan Collins of the EEF. “That’s to be admired, that’s unusual.” ■

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