It's definitely not innate. While phonics test scores are pretty high, PISA and KS 2 reading scores are down. The DfA on reading in 2021 is like, _solely_ about phonics. The 2023 update adds tons more guidance beyond phonics. Comparable countries Canada and Ireland are doing better, they didn't go all in on phonics. So, depends on what you mean by disaster, but IMO in the policy world, this counts.