Year 1 Phonics Screening Check: A Parent's Guide

Children in Year 1 in England take the phonics screening check, usually in June. It's a short, one-to-one activity with a teacher, designed to see how well a child can use phonics to decode words — not a written exam, and not something that needs weeks of preparation at home.

What Is the Phonics Screening Check?

The check contains 40 words split into two sections of 20. Your child reads each word aloud to their teacher, one at a time. Some of the words are real; others are invented "pseudo-words" that aren't real English words at all. Children who don't yet meet the expected standard get another opportunity to take the check again in Year 2.

For exact details such as timing, administration or how results are used, your child's school or current official GOV.UK guidance is the right place to check, since these specifics are set nationally and can be updated from year to year.

Why Are There Alien / Pseudo-Words?

The made-up words — often called "alien words" in the classroom — are there for a good reason. A real word can sometimes be read correctly from memory, without any actual decoding taking place. A word that doesn't exist can only be read by genuinely sounding it out, so it gives a clearer picture of whether a child can apply phonics to something entirely unfamiliar. Each pseudo-word is usually shown alongside a picture of an imaginary creature, so children know from the start not to expect it to mean anything.

What Skills Help?

The check draws on a handful of core phonics skills your child will have been building since starting school:

• Recognising graphemes — knowing the letter or letter-group that makes a particular sound, like sh, ai or oa.
• Blending — joining individual sounds together smoothly to say a whole word.
• Reading unfamiliar words — applying phonics knowledge to a word that hasn't been seen or memorised before.
• Staying calm with unfamiliar combinations — having a go, rather than freezing, when a word or sound pattern looks unusual.

How Can I Help at Home?

What If My Child Finds Phonics Difficult?

Plenty of children find some part of phonics tricky at some point — certain sound combinations in particular can take longer to become secure. This on its own doesn't necessarily mean anything beyond normal variation in how children learn to read. That said, your child's teacher is best placed to say whether extra support would help, since they can see your child's reading day to day. If you have ongoing concerns, it's always worth raising them directly with the school rather than guessing from general information online.

Common Questions

Does my child need to pass the check to move up to Year 2?

The check is used to identify children who may benefit from extra phonics support — it isn't a barrier to moving into Year 2. Children who don't meet the expected standard usually receive further support and take the check again in Year 2.

Can I see the actual words used in the check?

The official check materials aren't published for parents to practise from directly, which is part of why the check uses unfamiliar words. Practising the same type of skill with different original words, like our free KS1 tools below, is a sensible alternative.

My child is nervous about the check — what can I do?

Keeping the tone relaxed at home makes a real difference. Many children don't fully realise it's any different from normal reading practice with their teacher unless it's made to feel like a big event beforehand.