Phone apps ‘could help children learn how to read’

MOBILE PHONE apps could be made available free to children from poorer backgrounds to help develop their communication and reading skills, the Education Secretary has said.

Damian Hinds said work will be undertaken by the Department for Education to identify “high quality” apps which offer “imaginative” ideas and tips to assist a child’s early development.

Mr Hinds also spoke about his love of To Kill A Mockingbird, which deals with a rape trial in the racially-divided deep south of the US, when asked to recommend a classic text for youngsters to read.

His comments were part of a broader exploration of social mobility and concerns over new research which suggests 28 per cent of four and five-year-olds starting primary school lack basic literacy skills.

Speaking at an event in London, Mr Hinds said: “It’s easy for kids and parents to spend a lot of our time looking at the screen, whether it’s our phones, our TVs, our laptops, and we can derive huge benefits from that.

“Life is much faster, more convenient, more entertaining.

“But, as we all know, there are also downsides if we downgrade the benefits of the real world and of human interaction.

“But are we also missing a trick? If our phones and apps can help us bank, shop, diet, exercise and figure out where we are, why not also help us with helping our children develop their communication and reading?

“There are applications out there with helpful tips and imaginative ideas for helping with children’s early development, but not all of these are widely known about, and parents won’t know which are the best. That is why the department will be launching a competition to identify high quality apps.”