Theory of naturalphonicsteaching method from the initialattempts made to, tobecomethe internationalmainstreamEnglish languageteaching method, hasitsuniquecharm.
Phonicsteaching is an important component of the teaching of reading, but not all words in English are phonically regular (the linguist David Crystal estimates 80% are, but the other 20% contains many of the most common words in English).
Most ominously, both Mr Gove and the Tories' leader, David Cameron, are fond of party-pleasing prescriptions, including policies for which proof of effectiveness is non-existent (school uniforms) or limited (insisting on synthetic phonics for teaching reading).
Teaching unions and head teachers have said phonics is a good way of teaching children to read but say it is not a magic formula and different children may require different approaches.