Sunday Times October 12, 2014 by Samantha Maiden (National Political Editor)
“A major review of Australia’s national curriculum, to be released today, calls for a ‘back to basics’ focus in English using phonics, or sounding out words, to help children learn to read.”
“Fiona Mueller, another reviewer of the English curriculum, said teachers were struggling.”
” ‘The English curriculum mistakenly adopts a model made up of, ‘a little bit of phonics and a little bit of whole language’, and the curriculum is not explicit or systematic’, the report states. ‘While there is no doubt that the English curriculum deals with phonic and phonemic awareness in a more detailed way there is room for improvement.’
Early childhood should be treated differently and focus on a back-to-basics approach of literacy and numeracy.”