Across a carefully detailed argument, the shortcomings, inconsistencies and contradictions of the government's recent "Reading Framework" are made clear in the light of a substantial body of academic research on the nature of reading and the development of literacy. The dogmatic approach taken towards these issues by government and by Ofsted, not least in relation to initial teacher education and the place of phonics-teaching, is once again exposed. The article concludes by pointing readers towards recent writing which offers a better way forward for understanding and nurturing early literacy.