Parent Hub | The Phonics Screening Check

Find information, tips and the best workbooks to prepare your children for the phonics screening check.

What you need to know

What is it?

A 40-word check of a child’s phonic skills and knowledge. It lasts around 5-10 minutes.

Which year group?

Year 1 (ages 5-6)

When is it?

June

What does it assess?

  • Sounding out and blending letters and sounds to read simple words.
  • Reading decodable one-syllable and two-syllable words
  • Reading non-regular or “alien” words


What is ‘phonics’? What is the check?

  • Phonics is a way of teaching children how to read and write.
  • It focuses on the different sounds in words, rather than needing to recognise whole words.
  • In England, we use Systematic Synthetic Phonics. This means children learn sounds in a particular order.
  • Children start by breaking down words into their sounds (for example, ‘c-a-t’ or ’s-t-r-ee-t’) and then blend the sounds back together again.
  • The phonics screening check contains 40 words, which children will sound out. The check contain a mixture of real words and pseudo-words (made-up words).
  • All the pseudo-words are accompanied by a picture of an imaginary creature. This provides a context for the child (naming the type of imaginary creature) to ensure that they are not trying to match the pseudo-word to a real word that they already know.


Phonics Book Bag Readers

Support your child from the start of their reading journey with Phonics Book Bag Readers, our new series of phonic stories matched to Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised used by thousands of UK primary schools.

Each reader includes fun illustrations and supportive guidance notes for parents to help reading at home.

Find out more

Phonics Starter Packs

See more Phonics Starter Packs

Look inside!

A Big Bug (Set 3)
A Big Bug
Title 3 (Set 5)
Up at Night
Title 4 (Set 12)
The World’s Worst Dancer


More phonics books

See more More phonics books
Back to Parent Hub
Download image
Download image

Delivery restrictions information

For delivery to United States,
please visit the Scholastic World shop

Go to the Scholastic World shop Continue on the Scholastic UK shop

See our delivery and payment information for more details