WHAT IS THE Y1 PHONICS SCREENING CHECK?

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2 WHAT IS THE Y1 PHONICS SCREENING CHECK? The Phonics Screening Check is meant to show how well your child can use the phonics skills they ve learned up to the end of Year 1, and to identify students who need extra phonics help.

3 WHAT S ON IT? The checks consist of 40 words and non-words that your child will be asked to read one-on-one with a teacher. Non-words (or nonsense words, or pseudo words) are a collection of letters that will follow phonics rules your child has been taught, but don t mean anything your child will need to read these with the correct sounds to show that they understand the phonics rules behind them. The 40 words and non-words are divided into two sections one with simple word structures of three or four letters, and one with more complex word structures of five or six letters. The teacher administering the check with your child will give them a few practice words to read first including some non-words so they understand more about what they have to do. Each of the non-words is presented with a picture of a monster / alien, as if the word were their name (and so your child doesn't think the word is a mistake because it doesn't make sense!).

4 WHEN DOES THE Y1 PHONICS SCREENING CHECK TAKE PLACE IN 2016? Schools will administer the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check the week beginning 13 June 2016.

5 WHAT WILL MY CHILD S SCORE MEAN? Your child will be scored against a national standard, and the main result will be whether or not they fall below, within or above this standard. In 2013, 2014 and 2015 the "pass threshold" was 32, which means children had to read at least 32 words out of 40 correctly. The threshold mark is communicated to schools at the end of June, after the test has been taken, so that teachers can mark the Check. You will be told how your child did, but schools results will not be published. If your child s score falls below the standard, they will be given extra phonics help and can re-take the Phonics screening check in Year 2.

6 HOW CAN I HELP MY CHILD PREPARE? Firstly it s important to talk.it can be a good idea to tell your child that there s going to be a little test at school, just so they don t feel anxious when the time comes. Make sure they know that the Check is nothing to worry about, it s just so the teacher can see how they re doing and it doesn t matter if they get stuck (we all do from time to time!).

7 HOW CAN I HELP MY CHILD TO SUCCEED? 1. Check their progress How is your child doing with their phonics? Working through reading books with them will have given you a good idea, or ask your teacher for a list of sounds your child finds difficult. The test will include: - CVC (consonant vowel consonant) words e.g. bin - CCVC (consonant consonant vowel consonant) words e.g. thin - CVVC (consonant vowel vowel consonant) words e.g. boat - split digraphs e.g. made or like - tricky words e.g. friend - longer words e.g. words with ing endings. Write down some words and simply ask them to read them out to you. You may notice a pattern of where they re getting stuck.

8 PLAY SOUND GAMES. Play Sound of the Day Each day pick a different sound and write it on a Post-it note. Ask your child to stick the note onto an item which contains that sound.

9 TALK ABOUT WORDS WITH YOUR CHILD. Tackle tricky words. English is a complicated language and it s vital that you discuss this with your child so that they know it s hard for everyone not just them! Look at some tricky words together and point out the part that makes them particularly difficult. For example, school is tricky because it s spelt /s/ ch/ /oo/ /l/, but we say the /ch/ as /c/.

10 PLAY I SPY Adapt I spy. All children love playing I spy, so just extend the game a little by asking them to spy things that begin with a particular sound (/ch/ or /sh/, for example) or pick words with a certain sound in the middle or end.

11 DO ANY PHONICS HOMEWORK WHICH IS SET. Some children have extra phonics lessons if they find phonics difficult.it is really important to ensure that any extra homework is completed. It s also important to make sure phonics isn t forgotten during the holidays. Spend ten minutes a day reading and spelling the words in the little yellow phonics book. You can also download the Department for Education's official Year 1 Phonics screening check past paper from 2012, 2013 and 2014 to get an idea of what your child will be asked to do. If you do practise the words don t be upset if your child finds it difficult. Look at the sounds he found difficult and practise reading words which contain those sounds. Test scores are not published. Nobody else will know your child s score and you will just be told if your child has passed or failed.