In April 2005, Ofsted judged that the pupils at Brooklands School in Greenwich had made 'outstanding progress' in English. The school attributes much of this success to its systematic teaching of phonics. It currently follows the Jolly Phonics programme, and each day the pupils are taught letter sounds in a dedicated twenty minute session. When a new phonic is introduced, the children are given opportunities to practice and reinforce their learning in all areas of the curriculum. The teachers are particularly impressed by the way in which this multi-sensory approach, currently focused on games and role-play on the subject of pirates, has made a huge impact on pupils--particularly on boys. Gloria Hunt, the headteacher, believes that the school's current practice matches the key recommendations of The Rose Report. Brooklands plans to use the report and related local authority training to refine its practice further.

Video Series: KS1/2 English
Release Date 2006