I am the co-author of the Sound Foundations basic literacy materials, which are used in almost every local authority in Britain. Most primary schools in Suffolk, Gloucestershire and Southampton are regular customers. As a Research Fellow at the Centre for Policy Studies, I have published a number of reports on educational policy. I firmly believe that recent developments have reduced the profession to a "teach-by-numbers" charade. The money spent on DCSF initiatives would be put to much better use by school heads, and in building more (and better) long-term PRUs for seriously disruptive pupils.