The phonics screening check is a short, light-touch assessment to confirm whether individual children have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate level. It will be used to also identify the children who need extra help so they are given support by the school to improve their reading skills.

This is a statutory check carried out in June every year, which EVERY Year 1 child must take part in.  It is carried out on a 1-1 basis with a teacher in a quiet place.  The check is made up of 40 words – 20 real and 20 ‘alien’ words and is intended to check each child’s ability to decode a range of phonemes including the modifying e.

If children do not reach the age-expected level in this check at the end of Year 1, decided upon on a yearly basis by the Department for Education, they will be supported in order to retake the check in Year 2.