Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government plans to take to increase (a) childhood and (b) adult literacy rates in (i) Copeland constituency and (ii) Cumbria.

The government is committed to improving standards of literacy in both children and adults. Good literacy is the foundation for all achievement in education and critical for work and everyday life. We have set a clear expectation that achieving a good level of English should be the norm.

The reformed national curriculum for English introduced last year puts a much greater emphasis on reading, ensuring that children study a range of books, poems and plays and encouraging them to read widely for pleasure, in school and at home. In years 1 and 2 the curriculum places a renewed focus on the requirement for children to learn to read through systematic phonics, as evidence shows this is the most effective approach to teaching early reading to all children. To boost the quality of phonics teaching, £23.7 million in match funding was provided during the last Parliament to over 14,000 primary schools, enabling them to buy systematic synthetic phonics products and training. A phonics screening check has also been introduced to help teachers identify children who may need extra support to develop their phonic knowledge. The proportion of 6-year-olds achieving the expected standards in the phonics screening check has risen from 58% to 74% between 2012 and 2014. That is equivalent to 102,000 more children reading more effectively than in 2012.

Key stage 2 results are also improving and the percentage of pupils reaching or exceeding the expected standard in reading at the end of primary school increased by three percentage points from 2013, to 89%.

For pupils who do not reach the expected level in reading by the end of primary school, we have introduced the Year 7 literacy and numeracy Catch-up Premium. This funding – £500 per pupil – enables secondary schools to deliver additional support for those pupils that most need it.

We believe these measures are the best way to tackle low levels of childhood literacy in all parts of the country including Cumbria and Copeland.

Qualifications have also been reformed and the new English language GCSE, which will be taught from September, has more emphasis on those skills demanded by employers. 20% of marks are now given for accurate and fluent use of spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Young people who do not achieve grade C or above in their English GCSE by the age of 16 are now required to continue to study those subjects. From August 2015, all 16-19 full-time students who have a grade D in their English GCSE will be expected to retake the exam as part of their college course.

The government’s traineeships programme for young people also puts English at its core, alongside work preparation and work experience. All apprentices without a good GCSE or equivalent in English are now required to work towards one as part of the programme.

This government also fully funds all adults to achieve an English GCSE if they have not yet achieved this qualification.