Dear Parents,
Schools will administer the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check the week beginning 10th June 2019.
The Phonics Screening Check is intended 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.
The checks consist of 40 words and non-words that your child will be asked to read one-to-one with a teacher. Non-words (aka nonsense words, or pseudo words) are a collection of letters that will follow the 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!).
If you want to see examples of phonics test answers, there is phonics screening check training video for teachers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPJ_ZEBh1Bk
This is another very useful site to practise for the phonics screening check. It will generate tests so that your child can practise sounding out and reading the words.
http://www.oxfordphonicschecksupport.co.uk/
If you have any further questions about supporting your child, please let me know.
Jessica Harwood
jharwood@burghfield.w-berks.sch.uk