Clause 1 - Duties in relation to high standards and the fulfilment of potential
Education and Inspections Bill
4:30 pm
David Chaytor (Bury North, Labour)
That is correct. It relates to the point made towards the end of the response of the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton about the bottom 25 per cent. being able to decode language. It is important that children should be able to decode. He is overlooking the fact that many children in what he describes as the bottom 25 per cent. of the ability range will have specific learning disabilities that will prevent them from ever decoding in a way that most of us would find necessary for everyday life. It is not possible to make sweeping statements about particular forms of teaching of reading, given the enormous diversity and range of ability and learning disabilities that our children experience.