HC Deb 17 July 1969 vol 787 c146W
53. Mr. Dudley Smith

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is satisfied with the present standards of the teaching of reading and writing in primary schools; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Edward Short

One can never be satisfied with standards, and I do not think teachers would claim to be satisfied. But standards are improving, and at the same time the development of new approaches to primary education are giving children much wider experiences in other directions than when the greatest emphasis was on the three Rs.