The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check: A Parent's Guide

Published 2026-05-21

If your child is in Year 1, they'll take the phonics screening check in June. Here's exactly what it is, what the pass mark means, and how to help — without turning it into a stressful ordeal.

What Is the Phonics Screening Check?

The phonics screening check is a short, statutory assessment taken by all Year 1 children in England. A teacher asks the child to read 40 words aloud one-to-one. Twenty are real words; twenty are "nonsense" or "alien" words (like vap or glimp) designed to test pure phonics decoding rather than memory.

What Is the Pass Mark?

The expected standard is usually 32 out of 40, though it's officially confirmed each year. Children who don't meet it in Year 1 retake it in Year 2. Importantly, this isn't a test children "fail" — it simply flags who needs more phonics support.

Why the Nonsense Words?

Alien words stop children relying on having memorised a word's shape. To read splog, a child must actually decode the sounds — which is exactly the skill the check measures. Practising with nonsense words at home is genuinely useful.

How to Help Your Child Prepare

Practise sounding out, letter by letter

Encourage your child to break words into sounds and blend them: c-a-t, cat. This is the core skill.

Play with alien words

Make up silly non-words and have your child decode them. It's fun and it's exactly what the check involves.

Keep going with common exception words

Some words can't be sounded out and must be learned by sight. Our KS1 phonics and common exception words guide covers these in detail.

Keep It Low-Pressure

Year 1 children pick up on stress. Short, playful practice works far better than drilling — and if practice ever brings tears, our advice on homework upset applies here too.

Turn practice into pocket money

The Pocket Money Game covers spelling, times tables and reading across the KS1 and KS2 curriculum — and your child earns real pocket money for every correct answer.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Year 1 phonics screening check?

It's a short statutory assessment where a teacher asks a Year 1 child to read 40 words aloud — 20 real words and 20 nonsense words — to test their phonics decoding skills.

What is the phonics screening check pass mark?

The expected standard is usually 32 out of 40, confirmed each year. Children who don't meet it in Year 1 retake the check in Year 2.

Why does the phonics check use nonsense words?

Nonsense or 'alien' words ensure children are genuinely decoding sounds rather than recognising memorised words, which is the skill the check is designed to measure.

How can I help my child prepare for the phonics check?

Practise sounding out and blending words letter by letter, play with made-up alien words, and keep learning common exception words. Keep sessions short and playful.