00:00If you have to go back to 2012, because that's the most recent data, at that time it showed
00:07that 20% of children were illiterate in the transfer from primary school to secondary
00:12schools.
00:13One of the issues of course is about how you teach reading and there has been a discussion
00:20about how the best way to do that is. I think it's important we follow evidence and if we
00:27follow evidence, my understanding is that there should be more concentration on phonics.
00:32My understanding is that that's the guidance that the Education Minister may be giving
00:37out soon, just to make sure that there's firmer guidance.
00:42Illiteracy is an issue that needs to be tackled, and clearly more so in Wales than elsewhere.
00:47But it's not just the young people themselves affected by not being able to read. As Plaid
00:51Cymru leader Rhiannap Yorwerth says, the improving reading ability in children across Wales will
00:56have a dramatic knock-on effect, including improving the economy down the line, giving
01:01a more solid backbone for Wales in the future.
01:04Illiteracy is devastating. People who can't read are more likely to have mental health
01:09problems, to go to prison, to die younger even. A report by ITV last week raised fundamental
01:16questions about the way children are taught to read in Wales. Experts discredited the
01:22government's literacy guidance as, and I quote, not based on any empirical evidence
01:26of how children learn to read. It's just a wish list.
01:30I think in terms of ensuring that we get the fundamentals right in terms of growing the
01:36economy, I do think that education is a central piece when it comes to that. We've got to
01:42focus on the fundamentals. Reading is a part of that fundamental. I can assure you that
01:51the Education Secretary is absolutely focused on this issue and very concerned about the
01:57situation.
Comments