Children to be given 'reading MOT'

December 21 2010

School pupils will be tested at the age of six to make sure that they can read properly, those looking for teaching jobs in the UK have been told.

Education secretary Michael Gove announced the plans, saying that education was pointless if children left primary school unable to read.

"We also want to ensure that there is a basic check on children's ability to read at the age of six, an MOT to ensure children are reading properly, both that they are decoding the English language, in other words, they understand the individual letters, how they go together and how a word is made up," he said.

Mr Gove explained that pupils who were found to be below the required level would be given additional support.

It comes after research from the Department for Education revealed that the proportion of youngsters achieving level 4 in English had risen from 49 per cent to 81 per cent in the last 15 years.

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