Every year all of the children in Year One, and some children in year 2, will take part in the statutory 'Phonics Screening Check.' The phonics screening check is a way to check on your child's progress in phonics skills and ensure that they are on track to become confident, fluent readers.
What is phonics?
Phonics is used in the teaching of reading. Children are taught to read letters or groups of letters by saying the sounds that they represent. Children can then start to read words by blending the sounds together. When your child is learning to read there are two crucial things that they learn:
What is the phonics check?
The check will be taken by all of the children in Year 1 in June, and some children in Year 2 during the month of December. It is designed to give teachers, parents and carers information about how children are progressing in phonics. For the check, children are expected to read 40 words which assess their skills and knowledge of phonics learnt so far. The check should take about ten minutes.
What will it check?
It will check that your child can:
What are non-words and why are they included?
These are words that are phonically decodable not real words with meaning e.g blim, queeb, snorb. Non-words are included in the check specifically to assess whether your child can decode using their phonics skills, not their memory.
Is there a pass mark?
The check is not about passing or failing but instead checks if appropriate progress is being made. If your child does not reach the required standard, then we will ensure we continue to support their early reading development. It is important to remember that all children learn at different speeds so not reaching the threshold score does not necessarily mean there is a serious problem. Children who do not meet the threshold score will have another opportunity to do so.
What can I do to help my child?
Check with your child’s teacher if there are any particular areas that you could focus on at home so that we are working together to help and support your child. We would also recommend that you visit the 'Phonics made easy!' section on the Oxford Owl website for further hints and tips to help you. Here you will find out more about phonics, hear the letter sounds and find out more ways to help your child in the most effective way.
Lots of parents and carers worry about their child’s reading. When you hear the playground chat about how well another child is doing with their reading, it’s easy to feel that your child might be getting left behind. However, it’s important to remember that reading isn’t a race. Being a good reader might be the finishing line, but children get there in many different ways and at different speeds.