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Why we must say no

Letter of the week wins 30 worth of children's books How right Linda Pound is when she states that the time has come to say 'enuf is enuf' and stop accommodating ever- sillier policy requirements ('In my view', 30 March).

How right Linda Pound is when she states that the time has come to say 'enuf is enuf' and stop accommodating ever- sillier policy requirements ('In my view', 30 March).

It is the judgement of the majority of early years educators, based on sound research and pedagogical experience, that the formal teaching of synthetic phonics to very young children is unnecessary or counter- productive.

I am tired of returning to battles that belong in the late 19th century, when 'synthetic' phonics were forced on children in the early primary years and failed masses of my parents' and grandparents' generations. Do phonics fanatics not read history? Do they not learn anything from the illiteracy figures uncovered by WWI recruitment? Or from genealogy research?

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