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One of the phonics programmes to
be investigated by the British Government in the Rose Review,
recently instigated by Ruth Kelly, Minister of Education, is
to trial a unique phonics course for parents. The course, for
parents of primary-aged children in England, Scotland and
Wales, uses animations, downloadable software and streamed
video on a new groundbreaking website, along with hands-on
training in schools, to give parents a better understanding of
how they can help with reading and spelling at home.
From Monday, 12
September, schools using the THRASS (Teaching Handwriting
Reading And Spelling Skills) programme will be directing their
parents to www.phonics4parents.co.uk
This new website has: cutting edge 3D animations (stunning
computer graphics, music and sound effects); FLASH animation
software (including speaking human lips that are believed to
herald a revolution in the teaching of many languages
worldwide); streamed Windows Media Video (including features,
interviews, demonstration lessons and a video diary, following
teachers and parents, this school year, as they implement
THRASS in a brand new school in Milton Keynes) and information
about the four-hour school-based hands-on training – all of
which help parents gain a better understanding of the 44
sounds of English and their main spelling choices.
British educational
psychologist Alan Davies, Director of THRASS UK and pioneer of
THRASS, said, "Ruth Kelly has the wrong focus. THRASS UK
has been training teachers and assistants for over a decade
and there are thousands of evaluations on our website, from
hundreds of courses. After eight years of the National
Literacy Strategy, Ruth Kelly should now be turning attention
towards helping parents, not experimenting with yet another
‘patch-up’ resource with the teachers, such as the new ‘Playing
with Sounds’ initiative. This, anyway, has been written
mindful of the guide TEACHING THRASS, as is clearly stated in
the Government produced CD-ROM."
The new website focuses on
the Tony Blair’s definition of English Phonics, given at the
OFSTED Literacy Conference in December 1998, as "The
skilled process of teaching children how the 44 sounds in the
English Language are represented by a letter or group of
letters". The website content is likely to be of
considerable interest to Conservative Party Leader candidates
Kenneth Clarke and David Cameron. In 1992, Kenneth Clarke,
then Minister of Education, was sent a copy of THRASS by
Chester MP Gyles Brandreth and David Cameron is a strong
supporter of synthetic phonics. THRASS is British pioneered
and is now the preferred phonics programme in thousands of
schools worldwide, because it is "The natural approach to
synthetic phonics".
For example, in South African schools and universities, the
THRASS courses and resources are already highly regarded. In
October, Alan Davies has a meeting with the Minister of
Education for South Africa, in Pretoria, to discuss the impact
of the THRASS programme in South African educational
institutions. It is believed that there is to be some
discussion about using the downloadable THRASS PHONEME MACHINE
software (see ‘speaking human lips’ above) to improve the
literacy rates for the various national languages in South
Africa.
Adverts for the new website
will be appearing in most British national daily newspapers,
as of Monday, 12 Sept.
###
Further
information
UK:
Mike Meade, Media Director, THRASS UK 01829 741413 Mob: 07970
151 738 mikemeade@thrass.co.uk
INTERNATIONAL:
Chris Griffiths, International Development, THRASS UK +30 266
203 1207 chrisgriffiths@thrass.co.uk
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