ALL Victorian state schools are set to introduce structure phonics next year, but not everyone is happy about the mandate.
The State Government announced last week that the updated Victorian Teaching and Learning Model, which will be implemented in all state schools from 2025, will feature explicit teaching at its core.
All Prep to Grade 2 students will be taught using a systematic synthetic phonics approach as part of reading programs, which includes at least 25 minutes daily of direct teaching of phonics and phonemic awareness.
Minister for Education Ben Carroll said the mandate came after evidence from Victorian schools and reviews demonstrated this style of teaching worked best for the largest number of students.
“The evidence shows that explicit teaching and the use of systemic synthetic phonics instructions gets results,” Mr Carroll said.
“While we already lead the nation in NAPLAN results, we’re always looking to improve, especially in relation to lifting outcomes for disadvantaged students.
“The reforms and the rollout of the lesson plans will reduce teachers’ workload and equip them with high quality, best-practice materials so they can spend more time with their students and less time planning.”
However, the Australian Education Union’s primary and secondary councils ordered teachers across the state to ignore the order from the government, saying in a statement some members were “deeply concerned” that the change was announced “without proper consultation”.
“The minister’s announcement of this major change … without any consultation demonstrates his lack of respect for the teaching profession, who must be at the centre of any decisions around teaching and learning,” the AEU said in a statement.
“No other profession would be treated with the breathtaking disregard the minister has shown.
“The Education Minister’s focus should be on ensuring that Victorian public schools are fully funded, rather than making uniform announcements that will add to the burdens currently experienced by schools.”
Mr Carroll told The Age that he expected some pushback from the announcement.
“The reading wars aren’t quite over … I’m stepping on potentially a hand grenade, but I believe this is so important,” he said.
Principal of St Mary’s Primary School Kate Quin said they had welcomed Mr Carrol’s changes as the school had already been teaching phonics for the past 10 years.
“We are delighted to share that the teaching of phonics is not new news at St Mary’s,” Ms Quin said.
Ms Quin said St Mary’s implemented a “systematic synthetic phonics approach” in junior years called Get Reading Right.
“It attributes our consistently high literacy results in high-stakes tests such as NAPLAN,” she said.
“It is very rewarding to see the Foundation children embrace learning phonemes, build up a bank of high-frequency words they know automatically, and quickly apply this knowledge to assist them in learning to decode and enjoy stories.”
