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Phonics Screening Check

What is the Year 1 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. The Department for Education defines the checks as “short, light-touch assessments” that take about four to nine minutes to complete.  

In order to help your child prepare for the Phonics Screening Check, here are some suggestions for activities that could easily be done at home (taken from our English Page):

*  Fred Games

* Online games:

  1. Woodlands Literacy offers a wide range of Literacy games.
  2. Teach Your Monster to Read is a free website that supports learning to read at home.  The website requires registration, but is free to use.
  3. Phonics Play has some games that are free to play online.  Children have to sound out and blend words and decide whether they are alien words or real words.

For more information and suggestions, visit

* Helping at home  taken from our English Page

TheSchoolRun for suggestions on helping and supporting your child at home.

Past Papers:

* 2012

* 2013

* 2014

* 2015

* 2016

* 2017

* 2018

Unsure of the sounds?  Click on the document below (taken from our English Page):