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When 'c' isn't just for 'cat'
May 11 2006
Sally Williams,
Western Mail Newspaper, Wales
A GROUP of Welsh parents has
undertaken the first training in Wales for the synthetic phonics
system of reading and writing.
Windsor Clive Infant school, in the heart of one of Cardiff's most
deprived areas, has been using the synthetic phonics system since
1996 and has been internationally recognised for its work.
Synthetic phonics teaches letter sounds very rapidly and children
are explicitly shown how to blend the sounds together to pronounce
unfamiliar words.
Vicky Meadows, head teacher at Windsor Clive Infant School, has a
passion for the Thrass method of phonics and she says she is
thrilled that the pupils' parents are also taking the learning
system on board, in a bid to help their children's education.
She said, "All our teachers are trained to an advanced level, with
funds paid out of our own budget, in the Teaching, Handwriting,
Reading and Spelling Skills - Thrass - system.
"The reason this system is better is because it teaches children
that there are multiple spelling choices.
"It doesn't teach them that the letter 'c' is for cat. It teaches
them that the letter 'c' can go out on a playing field and can take
up different positions - it can also sound like 'ss' as in ice and
city."
Claire Hartland, the school's literacy co-ordinator, said, "Parents
attended a weekly session for a period of six weeks.
"These sessions further informed our parents of the 44 phonemes
(sounds) and 120 key graphemes (spelling choices) in the English
language.
"Many parents were using the artificial and restrictive letter
sounds of old phonics at home.
"But weekly practical sessions allowed them to work alongside their
children and develop skills to reinforce literacy at home."
Education Minister Jane Davidson has visited the school, which has
already hosted advanced training courses in phonics for teachers and
has attracted international visitors who are also keen to see how
successful the scheme can be.
The latest advice from Estyn is that most schools in Wales use a
phonics programme as one element of their overall approach to the
development of literacy skills.
A film crew from Thrass recorded 30 minutes of footage at the
school, which has now been placed on the internet at
www.thrass.co.uk
Ms Meadows said, "This means that parents and educationalists
worldwide can view the teaching of phonics from the three to seven
age phase, together with interviews with staff and myself.
"The emphasis is on what the teachers say about teaching phonics."
Ms Meadows is going to South Africa during half-term to speak to
international delegates about phonic teaching. And on June 26 and 27
visitors from South Africa will pay a return visit to Windsor Clive
Infant School.
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