Phonics Check (Year 1 and Year 2)

Phonics Check and Past Materials from 2000 onwards – all free to download.

Year	Download Zipped Pack	Download Individual Files	Other
2024	2024 Phonics Check Zipped Pack	Answer Sheet Pupil Materials Practice Sheets Scoring Guidance	*Practice Materials and Phonics Check Analysis* Threshold Information Modified Materials Pack
2023	2023 Phonics Check Zipped Pack	Answer Sheet Pupil Materials Practice Sheets Scoring Guidance	*Practice Materials and Phonics Check Analysis* Threshold Information Modified Materials Pack
2022	2022 Phonics Check Zipped Pack	Answer Sheet Pupil Materials Practice Sheets Scoring Guidance	*Practice Materials and Phonics Check Analysis* Threshold Information
2019	2019 Phonics Check Zipped Pack	Answer Sheet Pupil Materials Practice Sheets Scoring Guidance	*Practice Materials and Phonics Check Analysis* PowerPoint Version┊PDF Version Threshold Information
2018	2018 Phonics Check Zipped Pack	Answer Sheet Pupil Materials Practice Sheets Scoring Guidance	*Practice Materials and Phonics Check Analysis* Threshold Information
2017	2017 Phonics Check Zipped Pack	Answer Sheet Pupil Materials Practice Sheets Scoring Guidance	*Practice Materials and Phonics Check Analysis* Threshold Information
2016	2016 Phonics Check Zipped Pack	Answer Sheet Pupil Materials Practice Sheets Scoring Guidance	Threshold Information *Practice Materials*
2015	2015 Phonics Check Zipped Pack	Answer Sheet Pupil Materials Practice Sheets Scoring Guidance	Threshold Information *Practice Materials*
2014	2014 Phonics Check Zipped Pack	Answer Sheet Pupil Materials Practice Sheets Scoring Guidance	Threshold Mark: 32 *Practice Materials*
2013	2013 Phonics Check Zipped Pack	Answer Sheet Pupil Materials Practice Sheets Scoring Guidance	Threshold Mark: 32 *Practice Materials*
2012	2012 Phonics Check Zipped Pack	Answer Sheet Pupil Materials Practice Sheets Scoring Guidance	Threshold Mark: 32 *Practice Materials*

What is the Year 1 Phonics Check?

The Phonics Check occurs in June every year for all Year 1 children. Children read 40 real and pseudo (made up) words to test their phonics decoding ability. The pass mark is usually 32 and results should be reported to parents. If a pupil does not meet this ‘expected standard’, they are tested again in Year 2.

Children who struggle to take the Phonics Check

Some children may not be able to access the tests due to profound needs. A school should inform you if your child will not be taking the check.

Reporting Phonics Check Results to Parents

Schools should report the results to parents with the score or the reason they were unable to take the check.

How are the results used?

The results of the tests are used in two main ways:

The results are used to inform future teaching. If the child did not meet the expected standard, they are expected to receive further support in order to achieve it, including beyond Year 2.
The government compares the outcomes for pupils against other schools. These are commonly known as League Tables. This gives an indication of which schools perform the best. The League Tables are very controversial as schools vary in terms of their children’s needs. Some schools may have a high proportion of Special Needs, or have high levels of deprivation. Some schools may have an advantage as they benefit from having low number of Special Needs children, or have many families who can afford tutors and dedicate more time to their children’s learning.

Other Statutory Assessments

As well as the KS1 and KS2 Tests at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 there are a number of other Statutory Assessments in Primary Schools. Statutory means that schools have to do them.

Reception Baseline Assessment

This is new from 2021. A pupil is expected to take a short assessment within the first 6 weeks of them entering Reception. This is a short assessment on speaking & listening, early reading and mathematics. The results are not reported to parents and there is no pass mark. The results will be used by the government to measure progress of pupils from their entry into Reception to when they leave Year 6. This means that the KS1 SATs tests will be phased out soon.

Multiplication Check

2022 is due to be the first year that this is statutory due to delays caused by Covid-19. It happens towards the end of Year 4. Children use a computer to answer a range of multiplication questions up to 12×12 and have 6 seconds to answer each question.

Other Year Groups

Schools can choose whether they do tests in other year groups. There is no requirement to do so and no requirement to report test results to parents. However schools do have to write a report for each child annually. For the previous National Curriculum (pre 2014), the government did produce Year 3 to 5 Tests and KS3 Tests tests.

When are Phonics Check Materials Published?

These are normally published publicly later in June of the year in which they taken.