In a recent article in The Age, Professor Pamela Snow, co-director of the SOLAR Lab at La Trobe University, shared her insights on the Victorian Government’s new mandate for Synthetic Systematic Phonics in primary schools. This significant policy change aims to enhance literacy skills among young learners by providing a structured approach to reading instruction.
Professor Snow emphasized the importance of the mandate, given that research consistently supports phonics as a vital component of effective reading education. By focusing on the systematic teaching of letter sounds and their combinations, the new policy aims to address the literacy challenges many students face in their early years.
Snow applauded the announcement from Education Minister Ben Carroll, but emphasised that it was the “beginning of the journey”.
Snow explained how it would be critical to monitor the strategy’s implementation to ensure high quality and low variance, given the historical autonomy provided to schools in respect to reading instruction.
“That’s the big risk here, that we go in with a bang and then schools are allowed to default back to some sort of mishmash of approaches,” she said.
“If it’s followed through and implemented carefully, we are going to see a significant uplift in Victoria.”
Snow’s quotes stress that the success of this initiative will depend significantly on the quality of teacher training and ongoing professional development, highlighting that educators must be well-equipped to implement phonics instruction effectively.