I do too (albeit they are in the private system not the state system). While mine are/were taught phonics, reading is taught separately to that, and we're lucky

I do too (albeit they are in the private system not the state system). While mine are/were taught phonics, reading is taught separately to that, and we're lucky enough to have teachers who recognised that they learned better with whole words. As others have said, it's about going with what works for the individual child, not one size fits all.