The Reading Reform Foundation (UK) Announces Date and Venue for its 2007 Annual Conference

Following last years successful event, Birkbeck College in London has been chosen once again to host the conference.

London, UK (PRWEB) September 13, 2007 -- The Reading Reform Foundation's Annual Conference takes place this year on Friday 9th November 2007 at the Clore Management Centre, Birkbeck College, 25-27 Torrington Square, London WC1. Speakers will include; Phil Beadle, Gertrude Niles, Chris Jolly, Debbie Hepplewhite, Sue Lloyd, Diane McGuinness, Ruth Miskin and Fiona Nevola.

"Every parent wants their child to get the best possible start in life and have the best chance to do well in school," says Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families. But what it the best way to help children - and adults - who struggle with reading? £10 million is being spent on Every Child A Reader (ECAR), an initiative to help 300,000 under-performing pupils in English. The government has given £4.5 million. It sounds good, but is the money well spent?

The government has rightly accepted all the recommendations of the final report of the Rose Review of the Teaching of Early Reading. Its full implementation will improve the chances of children just entering education. At this year's conference we look at the implications for the millions who have already failed to learn to read and what can be done to help, from early years to adult.

Guest Speakers

- Phil Beadle, columnist and award-winning teacher who took part in the controversial Channel 4 programme 'The Unteachables' and is soon to star in a series about adult literacy

- Gertrude Niles, Education Officer for Carriacou and Petite Martinique in the Caribbean

- Chris Jolly, publisher of Jolly Phonics

Who should attend?

Anyone who is concerned about education and literacy, i.e. teachers from all sectors of education, parents, carers, teaching assistants, headteachers, local authority advisors, teaching consultants, journalists, publishers, members of parliament, policy advisors, academics, those working in the prison service ...

Conference Topics

Holding government and local authorities to account

Debbie Hepplewhite begins the conference by challenging the government's position on intervention for children who need extra help learning to read. She claims that these most vulnerable children are being let down. The programmes promoted by government and by many local authorities are not the best; there are cheaper and far more effective ones already in use.

Teaching Reading in Carriacou and Petite Martinique This is an inspiring story, told by Gertrude Niles, of how the frustration of having children begin secondary school unable to read, and the determination of everyone involved to do something about it, has led to a revolution in the way reading is taught on two small Caribbean islands. This revolution is now spreading to other parts of the Caribbean.

Government Initiatives - Helpful or Harmful?

Sue Lloyd asks if the government helps or hinders the education or our children when it employs armies of advisors and inspectors to tell schools how to teach? Chris Jolly tells how governments of other countries organise education.

100 years of 'sight word' methods in the classroom - how education practice continues to promote reading failure

Diane McGuinness makes it clear that there is not a single research study in the world to support the use of the methods now being promoted to help poor readers. A handout gives extra details of evidence to show what does work.

Do the weakest readers need something different?

In some quarters it is being claimed that older children who cannot read need to be taught differently from children learning for the first time. Ruth Miskin will tell you differently.

Turning Round the Lives of Young Offenders

If young people cannot read, their prospects are grim and they may turn to crime. What can be done about it and why are the best results so often ignored?

Discussion Groups

In the afternoon there will be a choice of discussion groups to attend, focusing on intervention at all stages, from Early Years to Adult. These will allow conference participants to exchange ideas and information on effective practice and resources for helping struggling readers.

The day will end with an appeal for transparency and honesty, without spin, in the debate about how best to eradicate the scourge of illiteracy in England and the English speaking world.

Disclaimer: It is beyond the remit of the RRF to endorse any programme. To avoid any appearance of endorsement the committee has decided that, as for last year's conference, there will be no commercial presence at the conference.

Cost -includes buffet lunch - £75

To book a place go to www.phonicsproducts.com/ShowCategory.php?CategoryID=14

(Copy/Paste into your browser, or, go to www.PhonicsProducts.com and follow the links to the Reading Reform Foundation Conference from the menu on the left side of the home page)

Important notice: Tickets are being sold from the PhonicsProducts site simply to take advantage of the online payment and invoicing facilities. There are NO VAT or shipping costs.

100% of ticket sales will go to the RRF to cover the cost of venue, catering, advertising, newsletter production and general RRF running costs.

For maps to help you find your way to the conference, go to www.bbk.ac.uk/bbk/maps.html

Notes

About the Reading Reform Foundation (RRF)

The Reading Reform Foundation is a non-profit-making organisation. It was founded by educators and researchers who were concerned about the high functional illiteracy rates among children and adults in the United Kingdom and in the English-speaking world. It was set up in 1989 to promote the teaching of the alphabetic code in a research-based way, and this remains its main aim.

The RRF, Reading Recovery and Catch-Up

Last year, partly because of the efforts of members of the RRF, our government endorsed the use of synthetic phonics for the initial teaching of reading in England. In contrast, for the children who have not learned to read, the government is promoting and supporting Every Child a Reader (ECAR), which uses Reading Recovery (RR), a programme based on flawed methods and utterly contradictory to synthetic phonics. There is ample evidence to show that it is not the cure for illiteracy that its proponents claim; it is also much more expensive than other interventions. The Oxford Brookes Catch-Up programme is less expensive, but otherwise similar to RR; it is being promoted widely by local authorities in England.

For more about Reading Recovery and Oxford Brookes University Catch Up, see RRF Newsletter no. 60 at www.rrf.org.uk .

RRF Speakers include:

• Debbie Hepplewhite, tireless campaigner for children's right to be taught to read effectively

• Sue Lloyd, co-author of Jolly Phonics

• Diane McGuinness, author of the influential book, 'Why Our Children Can't Read'

• Ruth Miskin, former headteacher and author of 'Read Write Inc', whose methods were put to the test by Newsnight

• Fiona Nevola, co-author of 'Oxford Sound Reading' for children and adults who cannot read

Media Participation and Interviews

A limited number of places is available for the media at the RRF Conference. In addition a reception will be held for Gertrude Niles at the House of Lords on Thursday 8th November 2007 at 6 p.m. A few journalists will be invited to this event, where there may be opportunities to interview Gertrude or guests . If you would like to attend either event, or to book an interview for another time, please contact admin(at)rrf.org.uk or telephone: 01635 524911.

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