The Phonics Screening Check: What Every Year 1 Teacher Should Know

The Phonics Screening Check is a statutory assessment taken by all Year 1 pupils in England every June. Children who don't reach the expected threshold retake it in Year 2. Here's what every Year 1 teacher should understand.

What the check involves

The check consists of 40 words: 20 real words and 20 pseudo-words (nonsense words like 'strom' or 'flib'). Pseudo-words are included specifically because they can only be decoded phonetically — you can't recognise a non-word from memory. This tests the application of phonics knowledge rather than word recognition.

Children read the words one-to-one with their teacher, not in a group. It takes around 5-7 minutes per child. The teacher records which words are read correctly.

The expected threshold score is 32 out of 40 (adjusted slightly each year based on national data).

What the check does and doesn't tell you

The check tells you: whether a child has a secure phonics foundation for that set of words. A child scoring 35+ has demonstrated good phonemic decoding.

The check doesn't tell you: whether a child is a good reader. Fluency, comprehension, inference, vocabulary, and reading for pleasure are not measured. Some good readers score below the threshold (they over-rely on word recognition); some poor readers score above it (they decode but don't comprehend).

Preparing children without over-preparing them

The best preparation for the phonics screening check is a well-delivered phonics programme throughout the year. There is no substitute for this.

For specific preparation: introduce children to pseudo-words early. If they've never encountered them, the alien words on the check (which come with a picture to indicate they're not real words) can be confusing. Practising with nonsense words as a regular activity removes the novelty.

For anxious children: normalise the one-to-one reading format by practising it across the year. Regular one-to-one reading records mean the check format isn't novel.

Handling results that worry you

A child scoring significantly below the threshold in Year 1 needs phonics support, not a different approach. The evidence for systematic synthetic phonics is strong. A child who cannot decode reliably at the end of Year 1 has a specific phonics gap, not a learning problem — and a targeted phonics intervention addresses it.

For children with speech and language difficulties, hearing impairments, or EAL pupils in the early stages of English acquisition: scores should be interpreted alongside other evidence. A below-threshold score for a child who has been learning English for three months is not the same as a below-threshold score for a monolingual English speaker.