Editor's View

With the Government currently having a bumpy ride, Conservative leader David Cameron has not been slow to spot an opportune moment to release a Daily Mail-pleasing 'policy'. Hence last weekend's announcement that under Tory rule, every child should be reading by the age of six, and would be given a national reading test to assess their progress. Central to this would be synthetic phonics, rigorously applied, with the promise of a more 'creative' approach to follow once reception and Year One children had learned their lessons. Leaving aside...