Debbie Hepplewhite's SyntheticPhonics.com

[Debbie Hepplewhite]

I hope that everyone has had a good summer holiday. Although I have a stack of work that I need to attack with some speed and rigour, nevertheless I am really pleased to say that I attempted some 'work/life balance' for once. It certainly works wonders for morale!

For a few weeks I have cut back on my appearance on various message boards knowing full well that once this school autumn term started it would be all systems go.

I have a love/hate relationship with my computer finding it at once both very stimulating but frighteningly time-consuming. Life is too short to stay transfixed to the screen for long periods day after day (and 'night' in my case as many of you have commented!).

I find it wondrous, however, that a machine in my home-office links me to friends and contacts across the world and enables me to take part in discussions and debates and enables me to help spread invaluable information for the teaching of reading.

These next few months, I believe, are going to be extremely exciting for English schools as we all follow Jim Rose's national review of beginning reading instruction with reports due in November 2005 and January 2006.

Please contact me if you would like to notify Jim Rose of improvements in results from changing to a synthetic phonics programme in your school. Jim Rose is actively looking for such schools to investigate their practice and compare it with schools following National Literacy Strategy programmes.

He is also charged with investigating parents' views and experiences and so I would encourage any parents with pertinent information to get in touch with me - or contact Jim Rose direct.

Now is the time....!