All Year 1 children will take part in the national Phonics Screening Check during the week beginning Monday 8 June 2026. This is a statutory assessment that helps schools understand how well pupils are progressing with their early reading skills.

The check contains 40 words in total. Each child will sit one-to-one with a teacher and read each word aloud. The assessment usually takes around 10 minutes, although this varies from child to child, as pupils are encouraged to work at their own pace.

The word list is made up of 20 real words and 20 pseudo‑words (nonsense words). Pseudo‑words are shown alongside a picture of an alien to help children recognise that these are not real words and should be decoded using phonics. These invented words are included because they are unfamiliar to all pupils, ensuring the check assesses phonics skills rather than vocabulary knowledge or word recall.

If you have any questions or would like support with phonics activities at home, please speak to Miss Court.