With one fifth of 11-year-olds unable to read properly, ministers have asked Jim Rose, a former director of inspection at Ofsted, to examine how more traditional reading methods may help to raise standards in the classroom. The inquiry comes after the success of the “synthetic phonics” approach in Scotland, which teaches children to blend the sound and shapes of individual letters for the first four months of schooling, instead of recognising whole words.

Ruth Kelly, the Education Secretary, insisted yesterday that the six-month review into the role of phonics was not a U-turn, but an evolution, which would build on good practice. She added that synthetic phonics already made up part of the literacy hour and the question now was whether that should be increased.

She said: “The debate now centres not on whether to teach phonics, but how. Synthetic phonics, properly taught, can and does play an important part in teaching reading skills.”

For decades, the teaching of reading has been polarised between the advocates of children reading a word by their shape, also known as “whole language” learning and those advocating traditional phonics or learning how to blend the 44 sounds of the alphabet into words. Since the 1960s the whole language method has predominated in most English primary schools.

With the introduction of the literacy hour in 1997, the Government said that the percentage of 11-year-olds achieving their expected level in reading has risen by 15 per cent to 78 per cent in 2004. But the latest announcement indicates an urgent need to raise standards among the bottom 22 per cent.

Earlier this year, the results of a seven-year pilot study of children in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, showed that by the age of 11 those pupils taught throughout primary school to read with synthetic phonics were three years ahead of their peers. In April, the Education Select Committee concluded that the poor reading ability of pupils starting secondary school was unacceptably high and urged a national trial of the synthetic phonics scheme.

By calling on Mr Rose, a former teacher and an acknowledged expert in primary education, the Government hopes to avoid accusations of politicians rushing to impose their views on the teaching profession.

David Cameron, the Shadow Education Secretary, was among the first to welcome the inquiry, which the Conservatives consider “a far more effective teaching method than the combination of methods currently advocated”.

He said: “The biggest problem facing education today is the fact that one in five 11-year-olds leave primary schools unable to read properly. That group never recovers and their secondary education is blighted as a consequence.”

Steve Sinnott, the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, also welcomed the review. He said: “The decision to appoint someone of Jim Rose’s experience and expertise is very welcome. I would expect him not to be influenced by attempts to politicise the debate on reading but to concentrate on what works, to consult teachers and respect their professionalism.”

Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Secretary, said: “This announcement would be more convincing if the minister was less complacent about the current standards of reading in some of our schools. Not being a confident reader can disadvantage a person for life.”

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