If your child is in Year 1 at a state school in England, they'll take the phonics screening check in June. The name sounds formal, but the reality is gentle: a short, one-to-one reading exercise with a teacher your child already knows. Here's what it involves, what the scores mean, and how to help at home without turning reading into a chore.
It's a quick check of how well children can use phonics — the method of reading taught in English primary schools, where children sound out words letter-group by letter-group and blend them together. Your child sits with their teacher and reads 40 words aloud, one at a time. There's no time limit, no writing, and most children finish in five to ten minutes.
Half the words are real (like "sand" or "chip") and half are pseudo-words — made-up words like "vap" or "quorb", usually shown next to a little alien picture, which is why teachers call them alien words. Alien words are included on purpose: because they can't be recognised from memory, the only way to read them is to sound them out. That's exactly the skill being checked.
Don't worry if your child reads an alien word as a similar real word — practising with made-up words at home (your child can invent their own!) makes this feel like a game rather than a test.
Each word is worth one mark, out of 40. There's a threshold score — the "expected standard" — which is confirmed each year after the check has been taken. It has typically sat around 32 out of 40 in recent years (it was 31 in 2026). Children who don't reach the threshold simply get extra phonics support in Year 2 and take the check again the following June. It is not a pass/fail exam that follows them anywhere — it's a way of spotting who needs a bit more help, early.
The best preparation for check week is a normal one: usual bedtime, usual breakfast, no mention of tests. Most children come home having quite enjoyed reading alien words to their teacher. If you have any concerns afterwards, your child's teacher will share the result with you at the end of the summer term along with what happens next.