The Year 1 phonics screening check explained

What it is

Phonics screening check

A short reading check that schools in England must give, with a few exceptions, to children who reach the age of 6 by the end of the school year. For most children, that means Year 1.

Decoding

Working out how to say a written word by saying the sound for each letter or group of letters, then blending the sounds together. This is the skill the check looks at.

Pseudo-word

A made-up word that can be sounded out but has no meaning. Your child may hear them called nonsense words.

Expected standard

The number of words a child needs to read correctly to show they have reached the standard expected for their age. The Department for Education (DfE) sets it each year.

The check has 40 words in two sections of 20. Half are real words and half are pseudo-words. Each pseudo-word comes with a picture of an imaginary creature, and the teacher explains that these words are the creatures' names. That way your child knows not to look for a word they already know.

Pseudo-words are there for a good reason. Your child can't have learned them by sight, so reading one shows they can really use their phonics. The check doesn't use made-up words that sound like real ones.

Your child sits one-to-one with a teacher or another trained adult, in a quiet room, and reads the words aloud one at a time. The check isn't timed, but most children take between 4 and 9 minutes. Your child can sound out a word first, as long as they then blend the sounds into the whole word.

• When: in June. The DfE sets a check week each year, with extra time for children who were away that week.
• Breaks: children who need a rest can have one, and a teacher can stop the check if a child is finding it upsetting.
• Accents: your child's accent counts. A word read correctly in any regional pronunciation is marked as right.
• No feedback during the check: the teacher won't say whether a word was right, but they can encourage your child.

How it's taught at school

The check sits on top of the phonics your child has learned since starting Reception. Your child's school uses its own phonics programme, and many organise the sounds into phases. By Year 1, the national curriculum expects children to say the right sound quickly for every grapheme they've been taught, across all 40 or more sounds in English. A grapheme is a letter or group of letters that stands for one sound, like sh or igh.

1. Look at the word from left to right.
2. Say the sound for each grapheme, such as sh, ee, p.
3. Blend the sounds together to say the whole word: sheep.

c - a - t   cat
sh - ee - p  sheep

The teacher marks the word as correct only when your child blends it. Saying the separate sounds without putting them together doesn't count, so blending is the part to practise most.

Before the check, the teacher can use a practice sheet with 4 real words and 4 pseudo-words, so your child knows what to expect. Schools are told not to drill children on lots of pseudo-words. Reading plenty of real words, in books matched to the sounds your child knows, is the best preparation.

Common mistakes (and how to help)

Reading each letter separately in a word like chip

Some children say c-h-i-p instead of ch-i-p. Point to the letters that work together and say the sound they make as one, then blend again. The more familiar these letter groups become, the quicker your child will read them.

Adding an uh to each sound, so cat becomes cuh-a-tuh

Extra uh sounds make blending much harder. Say the sounds as short and clean as you can when you help, such as c rather than cuh, and your child will copy you.

Turning a made-up word into a real one

It's natural for a child to want a word to make sense. When you read together, praise your child for reading exactly what's on the page, even if it isn't what they expected.

Guessing from the picture or the first letter

Gently cover the picture and ask your child to sound out the whole word from left to right. Talk about the picture afterwards, once the word is read.

Three quick activities at home

Questions parents ask

Sources

1. Standards and Testing Agency: Phonics screening check: information for parents
2. Standards and Testing Agency: 2026 phonics screening check: administration guidance
3. Standards and Testing Agency: 2026 phonics screening check: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA)
4. Department for Education: The reading framework
5. Department for Education: National curriculum in England: English programmes of study