I saw a documentary about Synthetic Phonics and its effectiveness in teaching kids to read regardless of background and other inhibiting factors.

I would like to know if there are any teachers here who have experience of it and what advice they can give a parent of a 4 year old who would like to try giving it a whirl at home.

And is it a fair assessment of it to say that the education dept are insane not to be investing in it across the country despite its apparent wide ranging success and low cost?