Downshall Primary School 7th March 2017 Welcome to our information talk on the Year 1 phonics screening check

What is the Phonics screening check? The Phonics screening check is a statutory assessment for all children in Year 1. The phonics screening check will take place week commencing 12th June 2017. The check is designed to confirm whether individual children have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate standard.

What is phonics? Phonics is a way of teaching children to read quickly and skilfully. They are taught how to: recognise the sounds that each individual letter makes; identify the sounds that different combinations of letters make - such as ‘sh’ or ‘oo’; and blend these sounds together from left to right to make a word. Children can then use this knowledge to ‘de-code’ new words that they hear or see. This is the first important step in learning to read. Children use phonics to decode ‘green words’ e.g. words which can be sounded out. ‘Red words’ are more difficult to sound out and are read as sight words e.g. could, said, because, the. Red words are not assessed in the screening check.

What will the phonics screening check look like? There will be practice words to start. The check will include a ten page booklet with four words on each page. The check contains 40 words divided into two sections of 20 words. Each page will contain either four nonsense words or four real words. Children will be asked to try each word and sound out if they need to.

The two sections Section 1 • simple CVC words; beg, sum, vim, tog. • single letters and digraphs (2 letters one sound, also called special friends ) such as ch, th and ar e.g. poth, shan, flarm. Section 2 • Consonant digraphs ph, wh • Vowel digraphs aw, ea, oy and trigraphs air, ear e.g. quigh, strabe (split sound) • More complex word structures e.g. blank, strap. • Two syllable words e.g tantrum, panic, reaching.

Nonsense words and real words Nonsense words are ‘made up’ words. Children are familiar with nonsense words from daily phonics teaching. Each nonsense word will be accompanied by a picture of an imaginary creature/alien. The picture is used to provide a context for the word they are being asked to decode.

Why are nonsense words are used? Using nonsense words allows the assessment to focus purely on decoding using phonics. As nonsense words are new to all children, they do not favour children with a good vocabulary knowledge or large visual memory of words.

Nonsense words

Real Words

Multi-syllabic words Words made up of more than one syllable. Han/dy = handy Pen/cil = pencil Trum/pet = trumpet Sur/prise = surprise Encourage your child to clap out the syllables and then put them together.

How long will the check take? There is no time limit for the check. Last year we found it took about 10 minutes per child. In a quiet place. For those children who cannot concentrate for long periods, the check can be broken up into short periods and administered over a period of time, such as a day.

Scoring the check The child will work one-to-one with a familiar teacher. The child will work through each word in order. The teacher will record whether the child has said the word correctly or not. A score is awarded (out of 40) and compared against the national benchmark score to see if the child has met the required standard or not. Last year pass mark was 32, may change this year. Parents will be informed of this as part of the end of year report they receive. Some children may not take the test.

My child has not met the required standard If your child has not met the expected standard by the end of Year 1 then they may retake the test in the June of Year 2 (2018). The phonics check in year 2 is the same format as year 1 and administered in exactly the same way (for those children who did not meet the required standard in year 1). Regular monitoring/support & assessment. More fluent readers may do worse than expected due to nonsense words therefore we encourage children to sound out the words.

What happens to the results? The school is required to report the results to the local authority. Children identified as not having met the required standard will be highlighted for phonics support work. Last year 81% of pupils in year 1 passed. National expectations were 81%.

How you can help? Helping your child with phonics Phonics works best when children are given plenty of encouragement and learn to enjoy reading and books. Parents play a very important part in helping with this. Some simple steps to help your child learn to read through phonics: At Downshall we currently follow the RWI phonic programme. Every week your child brings home a reading book made up of the letters & sounds your child has learnt. Your child will be able to work out new words from their letters and sounds, rather than just guessing. Reading regularly & discussing the book. Nonsense words sent home on a weekly basis.

With all books, encourage your child to ‘sound out’ unfamiliar words and then blend the sounds together from left to right rather than looking at the pictures to guess. Once your child has read an unfamiliar word you can talk about what it means and help him or her to follow the story. Word games like ‘I-spy’ can also be an enjoyable way of teaching children about sounds and letters. You can also encourage your child to read words from your shopping list or road signs to practise phonics.

Resources to support at home Weekly phonics homework Phonics support pack www.ruthmiskin.com - Has a section for parents, sound pronunciation clips and tutorials. U-tube – Mr. Thorne does phonics. Episode 1 to 7. A collection of videos to support the teaching of nonsense words. U-tube – RWI phonics screening check; Parent information The phonics Screening Check. www.phonicsplay.co.uk Has a variety of free phonics resources for your child to play. These games include both pseudo and real words. www.ictgames.com - The Literacy section has games for all different levels of ability