Synthetic phonics is clearly not the only thing that matters in relation to developing good readers, but for children with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia it is the essential pathway to reading (“Read our lips, says Ofsted: phonics is not a panacea”, November 19).

We need to take a balanced approach to reading with synthetic phonics, but recognise, as Ofsted has, that the key to success for individual children is the quality of teaching and leadership.

It would be tragic if the important messages from the Ofsted report were masked by another argument about reading methodology.

Shirley Cramer, Chief executive officer, Dyslexia Action.