Year 1 5th April 2017

Phonics Screening Check are we here? Phonics Screening Check 5 years ago the DfE introduced a new level of statutory assessment for schools. Year 1 children must now complete a statutory screening check which looks at their ability to use phonics for decoding and blending. The results are reported to the DfE via the Local Authority and to parents with their child’s annual report.

Week beginning 12th June In school, individually Miss Sutton

The Screening Material The material to use with the children will arrive in school around the beginning of June. It has to be locked away securely until needed. We may not open it until 12 June. We may be subject to a Local Authority visit to see that we are administering the screening check correctly.

20 real words 20 nonsense words 40 words in total All words can be decoded using the phonics skills the children have been taught.

We will be given a threshold mark which will indicate the required standard for successfully completing the phonics screening after the check is complete (a few weeks later). Therefore we don’t know what it will be yet but for the past three years it has been 32/40. We will not report individual marks to the Local Authority, only whether or not each child has reached the required standard. Those not reaching the required standard will have the chance to do the screening check again at the end of Year 2.

Keep the whole event low key – we shall! Don’t worry about it! Support your children at home as you do now with reading. Ensure your child blends the word they sound out accurately (not leaving any sounds out or adding any sounds in). Play phonic/word games with your children. Make sure you use the pure sound when practising phonics. Don’t go on holiday in the weeks leading up to 12th June, apart from half term!

www.phonicsplay.co.uk