Many teachers and child psychologists will report that the "rot" has set in well before a child even attends school. Fewer parents spend (or have) time to actually talk to their children giving them little experience of spoken interraction - it's NOT suffcient to stick them in front of the TV!

One recent plea has even been for parents to buy the kind of pushchair/buggy that faces the parent to encourage the child's exposure to the sound of words! The programme last night emphazised the need for early vocabulary but did also criticise the adoption of "trendy" ideas in reading methods.

I know there are lots of primary school teachers out there - it would be interesting to hear your views.