§ Mr. ButlerTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what response his Department intends to make to recent findings by Her Majesty's inspectors of schools relating to the standard of grammar, spelling and punctuation in primary schools.
§ Mrs. RumboldHMI's recent report on "The Teaching and Learning of Language and Literacy" concludes that most primary schools devote sufficient time to the teaching of grammar, punctuation and spelling to enable the majority of their pupils to reach adequate standards in these aspects of language but that only a small proportion—under one fifth—perform really well. The Government have already set about raising standards in these aspects of English. The national curriculum attainment targets and programmes of study, which are being introduced progressively from September 1989, reinforce the practices of the most successful schools in teaching grammar, punctuation and spelling. In addition, substantial funding is being provided, through education support grants, for a three-year English language training programme for all primary teachers and other teachers of English.