What the check is
The Phonics Screening Check is a statutory assessment set by the Department for Education. It exists for one reason: to find out whether each child has a secure grasp of decoding, meaning they can turn written letters into sounds and blend them into words.
It is not a reading comprehension test, a reading speed test, or a general ability test. It only checks one thing, and it checks it briefly.
When it happens
The 2026 Phonics Screening Check takes place in the week commencing Monday 8 June 2026. Schools have the following week (15 to 19 June) to catch up with any child who was absent. Most children sit the check on one of those ten days.
The threshold mark, the score needed to meet the expected standard, is published by the government on Monday 22 June 2026. Schools will then share each child's score with parents before the end of the summer term.
How it works
Your child sits one-to-one with their class teacher in a quiet space. They are given a small booklet and asked to read 40 words aloud. The check is untimed; most children finish in about five minutes.
The 40 words are split into two sections of 20. The first section contains shorter, simpler words. The second section is longer and more complex, including some two-syllable words.
What the words look like
Twenty of the 40 words are real English words. They might be familiar ones like 'sell' or 'shin', or less familiar ones like 'statue' or 'dolphin'. The point is not to test vocabulary. The point is to test decoding.
/s/ /p/ /l/ /or/ /p/ five phonemes, the separate sounds your child blends together
Consonant blend · three letters, three separate sounds said quickly together.
Digraph · two letters that make one sound.
The other 20 words are pseudo-words, often called alien words. They follow real phonics rules but are not real English words, so a child cannot rely on recognising them. Every pseudo-word on the check appears next to a picture of an imaginary creature. Children are taught that when they see the creature, the word is an alien name, not a real word.
If your child has not met pseudo-words before the check, it is worth practising with a few at home in the weeks beforehand. Ask your child's teacher if they can share a practice set, or write a handful yourself from letter patterns your child knows.
What the threshold means
The threshold has been 32 out of 40 every year since the check began in 2012, and the government confirms it on 22 June. Thirty-two is not a 'pass' in the exam sense: it is a working standard that separates children with secure decoding from those who would benefit from more phonics practice in Year 2. A score of 31 does not mean a child has failed. It means one specific skill needs a little more time.
Source: GOV.UK Assessment and Reporting Arrangements 2026
What happens if your child does not meet the threshold
In a typical year about one in five children do not meet it in Year 1, and most are comfortably above it by the end of Year 2. A child who does not meet it gets additional phonics support through Year 2 and retakes the check that June: same format, same length, same relaxed one-to-one with a familiar teacher.
Source: DfE Phonics Screening Check national results 2024
If the score has just come home
Schools share each child's score with parents before the end of the summer term. If it has just arrived, here is how to read it.
A score at or above the threshold means decoding is secure for now. Keep reading together; nothing extra is needed.
A score just below the threshold is common and rarely cause for alarm. It means one specific skill needs more time, and your child's school will plan extra phonics support through Year 2, with the retake next June.
The most useful thing you can do over the summer is find out which sounds, specifically, are not yet secure, and practise those, little and often. The score alone cannot tell you this; it is one number across forty words. Ask the teacher, or use a free assessment that shows you sound by sound.
Why younger children in the year often score lower
If your child is one of the youngest in the class, this matters more than people tend to say. Government figures show a clear pattern: in 2024, 86% of September-born children met the standard, compared with 73% of those born in August, a 13-point gap based on age alone. It does not mean a summer-born child is behind in any lasting way. It means they have had less time, and the check falls at the same point for everyone. Read your child's result with their age in mind. (Boys also tend to score a little lower than girls, about seven points in recent years, for similar developmental reasons.)
Source: DfE Phonics Screening Check national results 2024
How to support at home without making it a thing
The best thing you can do is make phonics practice feel normal and low-key.
Read every day, using the decodable book the school sends home. Let your child sound out unfamiliar words rather than jumping in. If they get stuck, model one sound at a time, then blend.
Practise a few alien words from time to time in the weeks before June. Not every night. Not as homework. As a short game.
Practise sounds your child finds tricky, not sounds they already know. If you are not sure which are which, ask the teacher, or use a free phonics assessment to find out.
Do not describe the check to your child as a test. At home, it helps to treat it as another reading session with the teacher.