It is very important that children have the opportunity to practice their phonics skills and knowledge regularly. The phonics screening check is taken individually by all children in Year 1 in England, and is usually taken in June. It is designed to give teachers and parents information on how their child is progressing in phonics. It will help to identify whether your child needs additional support at this stage so that they do not fall behind in this vital early reading skill.

It checks that your child can:

• Sound out and blend graphemes in order to read simple words.
• Read phonically decodable one-syllable and two-syllable words, e.g. cat, sand, windmill.
• Read a selection of nonsense words which are referred to as pseudo words.

Below are some real and nonsense words that you might like to practice at home with your child. We also encourage you to check with your child's teacher if there are any particular areas or sounds that your child requires further practice with at home.

Parent/Carer Video: The Phonics Screening Check