Government to invest over £24m in phonics and literacy
Katy Morton
Monday, October 10, 2022
The Government has announced it is to invest more than £24m in ‘high-quality’ phonics and expert literacy teaching, as part of its work to help school pupils recover from the pandemic.
The investment, announced as Dyslexic Awareness Week came to a close, will be used to fund targeted literacy support to help pupils with dyslexia develop reading and writing skills, as well as boost the Department for Education’s (DfE) English Hubs Programme.
Currently there are 34 English Hubs across the country. The aim of the new funding will be to support the continuation and growth of the Hubs which offer support to local schools, academies and free schools to improve the teaching of phonics, early language and reading in Reception and Year 1.
English Hubs were first announced by the Government in 2017, with each hub chosen for its track record in excellent phonics and reading teaching.
The Government has also confirmed that some of the new funding will be used to build on the DfE’s Accelerator Fund, which helps schools access specialist programmes of support for pupils, boosting existing programmes in schools to support children learning to read.
The new investment by the Government forms part of its commitment to make sure every young person leaves school with a strong grasp of literacy and maths.
Education Secretary Kit Malthouse said, ‘If any child leaves schools without the ability to read and write properly, we have failed them.
‘It is imperative that we support schools and pupils following the disruption of the pandemic. This funding will help us do that, but also help to instil a love of reading in young people that can last throughout their education and beyond.’
