§ Lord Simon of Glaisdaleasked Her Majesty's Government:
In view of the statement of the Minister of State, Department of Education and Science, on 28th January 1981 (Lords Hansard, Column 797) that "The initial teaching alphabet has been successful in introducing many children to reading,"
- 1. what proportion of the present school population was introduced to reading by the initial teaching alphabet; and
- 2. what steps they are taking to further the use of the initial teaching alphabet in introducing children to reading.
§ The Minister of State, Department of Education and Science (Baroness Young)1. Figures are not available of the numbers of pupils who are, or have been, introduced to reading through the medium of the initial teaching alphabet, but a survey undertaken for the Bullock Committee in 1973 indicated that about 10 per cent. of the sampled schools containing infants made use of it.
2. It is for schools and teachers themselves to make professional judgments on the effectiveness of different methods of teaching reading, and to decide which to use in their own classrooms.
House adjourned at twenty-seven minutes past seven o'clock.