Training teachers for phonics and early reading: Developing research-informed practice

Background: In England, instruction in systematic synthetic phonics is the first approach to teaching children to read words. There is little research exploring what makes successful training for phonics teaching despite evidence teachers' subject knowledge is limited. There is a persisting problem of underachievement in reading in some regions of England, mirrored in the United States and Australia. In 2017-2018, the Department for Education (DfE) addressed poor reading outcomes in these regions by funding 1-day training events. We report on one training model, developed and delivered by a team of academics, addressing issues specific to an English context, but contributing internationally relevant insights into phonics teacher training. Methods: Research-informed 'phonics roadshows' for training phonics teaching for early reading were devised for 14 regions of England with weak performance on the Year 1 phonics screening check. Five hundred eighty-four practitioners attended from 379 schools. Participants provided feedback in on-the-day written evaluations and by survey 1-year-on (100 responses). Local authority officials who attended were interviewed about impacts of the roadshow 1-year-on (9 of 14). Qualitative data were analysed using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Results: Quantitative data indicated positive responses to the events. Teachers found the day interesting, helpful and likely to impact their practice. Qualitative analysis revealed the need for consistent school-wide approaches to phonics teaching; follow-up training to develop teacher subject knowledge for teaching reading; and developing teachers' ability to assess children's progress in developing phonic knowledge and to provide targeted interventions to tackle under-attainment. Local authority officials concurred with teachers' perceptions, with some differences between them and between regions. Conclusions: Research-informed in-service training for phonics teaching can have beneficial impact, but must be closely partnered with local needs, and calibrated to teachers' existing subject knowledge, to ensure professionals feel empowered to make sustainable changes and improvements to practice.