Year 1 Phonics Screening Check Past Papers
The Phonics Screening Check is a short reading test for children in Year 1. Download every year's past papers below, free.
Phonics Screening Test Downloads by Year
Below are all the Phonics Screening Test past papers. Use these example phonics screening check past papers to help prepare your child for their phonics test. Make sure you click on the year of each paper to obtain full access to word lists and PowerPoint presentations.
Use past Key Stage 1 Phonics Test words as practice words to help prepare your child for their KS1 phonics test.
| Year | Practice Materials | Assessment Materials | Answer Sheet | Scoring Guidance | Spelling Materials | PowerPoint | Complete ZIP File ⓘZip file with all standard resources bundled together | Premium Downloads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2025 Phonics Practice Materialsⓘ 2025 Phonics Screening Test Practice MaterialsThis practice sheet provides example real words and pseudo-words to familiarise a child with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. The real words include in, at, beg and sum. The pseudo-words include ot, vap, osk and ect. It allows children to practise decoding before taking the statutory assessment. Questions: 8 | 2025 Phonics Assessment Materialsⓘ 2025 Phonics Screening Test Assessment MaterialsThis is the official pupils' materials booklet for the 2025 Phonics Screening Check. It contains the 40 words that children read aloud during the assessment, split equally between Section 1 and Section 2. Each section includes 10 real words (such as sell, quiz, shark, pie, shake) and 10 pseudo-words (such as gox, loip, quog, virp, saunt) to assess decoding skills. Questions: 40 | 2025 Phonics Answer Sheetⓘ 2025 Phonics Screening Test Answer SheetThis is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2025 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a record grid to mark each of the 40 words as correct or incorrect, divided into Section 1 and Section 2. Each section lists 20 words (a mix of real words and pseudo-words) with tick boxes and an optional comment field, plus a total score box. Questions: 40 | 2025 Phonics Scoring Guidanceⓘ 2025 Phonics Screening Test Scoring GuidanceThis scoring guidance document provides teachers with the acceptable pronunciations for all twenty pseudo-words in the 2025 Phonics Screening Check. Each entry includes phonemic representations and example rhymes to ensure consistent marking. The guidance clarifies that when decoding pseudo-words, all plausible alternative and regional pronunciations are acceptable, unlike real words where only the correct phoneme applies. | ||||
| 2024 | 2024 Phonics Practice Materialsⓘ 2024 Phonics Screening Test Practice MaterialsThis 2024 practice sheet helps familiarise Year 1 children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check before the statutory assessment. It provides example real words (in, at, beg, sum) and pseudo-words (ot, vap, osk, ect) for practice. Teachers can use these sheets to introduce pupils to the task of decoding both familiar and unfamiliar words aloud. Questions: 8 | 2024 Phonics Assessment Materialsⓘ 2024 Phonics Screening Test Assessment MaterialsThe official 2024 Phonics Screening Check pupils' materials containing the 40 words a Year 1 child reads aloud to their teacher. The check is divided into Section 1 and Section 2, each containing a mix of real words (such as sort, chill, stripe, dolphin) and pseudo-words (such as zeg, sheb, brop, clune) to assess decoding skills. Questions: 40 | 2024 Phonics Answer Sheetⓘ 2024 Phonics Screening Test Answer SheetThis is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2024 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a grid to record each child's responses across Section 1 and Section 2, with tick-boxes to mark each of the 40 words as correct or incorrect. The sheet includes both real words (such as shin, sort, sneak, dolphin) and pseudo-words (such as nop, yim, bew, clune), with space for optional comments and a total score. Questions: 40 | 2024 Phonics Scoring Guidanceⓘ 2024 Phonics Screening Test Scoring GuidanceThis is the official scoring guidance for teachers administering the 2024 Phonics Screening Check. It lists the acceptable pronunciations for each of the 20 pseudo-words across Section 1 and Section 2, including phonemic representations and rhyming examples. The guidance clarifies that all plausible alternative and regional pronunciations are acceptable when a child is decoding pseudo-words. | ||||
| 2023 | 2023 Phonics Practice Materialsⓘ 2023 Phonics Screening Test Practice MaterialsThis practice sheet provides examples of both real words and pseudo-words to familiarise children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. The real words shown include in, at, beg, and sum. The pseudo-words include ot, vap, osk, and ect. These sample words allow children to practise decoding before the statutory assessment. Questions: 8 | 2023 Phonics Assessment Materialsⓘ 2023 Phonics Screening Test Assessment MaterialsOfficial pupils' materials for the 2023 Year 1 Phonics Screening Check. Contains the 40 words children read aloud during the statutory assessment: 20 real words (such as hill, jars, chip, shack, boy, foam, white) and 20 pseudo-words (such as ult, zat, fod, bep, farn, shob) split across Section 1 and Section 2. Each word is presented individually for one-to-one administration by the teacher. Questions: 40 | 2023 Phonics Answer Sheetⓘ 2023 Phonics Screening Test Answer SheetThis is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2023 Year 1 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a tick-box grid to record whether each of the 40 words is read correctly or incorrectly by the child. The sheet is divided into Section 1 and Section 2, each containing ten pseudo-words (such as fod, glork, teap) and ten real words (such as chip, boy, scoop), with space for optional comments and a final total. Questions: 40 | 2023 Phonics Scoring Guidanceⓘ 2023 Phonics Screening Test Scoring GuidanceOfficial scoring guidance for teachers administering the 2023 Phonics Screening Check. Lists acceptable pronunciations for each pseudo-word in Section 1 and Section 2, including phonemic representations and rhyming examples (e.g. 'fod' rhymes with 'nod', 'drave' rhymes with 'shave'). Clarifies that regional pronunciations and plausible alternatives are acceptable when decoding pseudo-words. | ||||
| 2022 | 2022 Phonics Practice Materialsⓘ 2022 Phonics Screening Test Practice MaterialsThis practice sheet provides examples of both real words and pseudo-words used to familiarise Year 1 children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. The real words sheet includes examples such as in, at, beg, and sum. The pseudo-words sheet contains nonsense words like ot, vap, osk, and ect to check decoding skills. | 2022 Phonics Assessment Materialsⓘ 2022 Phonics Screening Test Assessment MaterialsThe official pupils' materials from the 2022 Phonics Screening Check, containing all 40 words the child reads aloud. Organised into Section 1 and Section 2, the check includes real words (such as coin, shell, globe, trapeze) and pseudo-words (such as kig, dax, besh, cloat) to assess phonics decoding skills. Each word is presented individually for one-to-one assessment. Questions: 40 | 2022 Phonics Answer Sheetⓘ 2022 Phonics Screening Test Answer SheetThis is the answer sheet used by teachers to record a child's performance in the 2022 Phonics Screening Check. It provides tick-boxes to mark each of the 40 words as correct or incorrect across Section 1 and Section 2, with an optional comment field and a total score box. Teachers use this form to assess whether the child meets the expected standard. Questions: 40 | 2022 Phonics Scoring Guidanceⓘ 2022 Phonics Screening Test Scoring GuidanceOfficial scoring guidance for the 2022 Year 1 Phonics Screening Check. Lists acceptable pronunciations for each pseudo-word in Section 1 and Section 2 to ensure consistent marking by teachers. Includes guidance on regional accent variations and alternative pronunciations for vowel digraphs, particularly those ending in 'r'. Examples include bem, quab, vair and flards. Questions: 20 | ||||
| 2019 | 2019 Phonics Practice Materialsⓘ 2019 Phonics Screening Test Practice MaterialsPractice sheet providing example real words and pseudo-words to familiarise children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. The real words include examples such as in, at, beg, and sum. The pseudo-words include examples such as ot, ect, osk, and vap, which test decoding skills rather than memorised vocabulary. Questions: 8 | 2019 Phonics Assessment Materialsⓘ 2019 Phonics Screening Test Assessment MaterialsThis is the official Phonics Screening Check pupils' materials from 2019, containing the 40 words children read aloud during the assessment. It is divided into Section 1 and Section 2, each presenting a mix of real words (such as shop, peel, sweep) and pseudo-words (such as joil, meck, zome) to assess decoding skills. Questions: 40 | 2019 Phonics Answer Sheetⓘ 2019 Phonics Screening Test Answer SheetThis is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2019 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a record sheet for marking each of the 40 words as correct or incorrect. The sheet is divided into Section 1 and Section 2, each containing 20 words, and includes space for optional comments and a total score. Questions: 40 | 2019 Phonics Scoring Guidanceⓘ 2019 Phonics Screening Test Scoring GuidanceThis scoring guidance document for the 2019 Phonics Screening Check lists the acceptable pronunciations for each pseudo-word in both Section 1 and Section 2. It includes phonemic representations and notes on regional accent variations, helping teachers mark consistently. Examples include sut, chort, vaw and throst, with guidance on which phonemes are acceptable for scoring. | ||||
| 2018 | 2018 Phonics Practice Materialsⓘ 2018 Phonics Screening Test Practice MaterialsThis practice sheet provides example real words and pseudo-words to familiarise children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. The real words include 'in', 'at', 'beg' and 'sum'. The pseudo-words include 'ot', 'ect', 'osk' and 'vap'. It allows children to practise decoding both word types before taking the statutory assessment. Questions: 8 | 2018 Phonics Assessment Materialsⓘ 2018 Phonics Screening Test Assessment MaterialsThe official pupils' materials from the 2018 Phonics Screening Check. Contains the 40 words children read aloud during the assessment, divided into Section 1 and Section 2. Includes 20 real words (such as sing, dart, chop, shock, gift, flat, turn, twice) and 20 pseudo-words (such as jub, reb, eps, wup, vuss, zook) to assess phonics decoding skills. Questions: 40 | 2018 Phonics Answer Sheetⓘ 2018 Phonics Screening Test Answer SheetThis is the answer sheet used by teachers to record a child's responses during the 2018 Phonics Screening Check. It lists all 40 words split across Section 1 and Section 2, with tick-boxes to mark each word as correct or incorrect. The teacher totals the score at the end to determine whether the child has met the expected standard. Questions: 40 | 2018 Phonics Scoring Guidanceⓘ 2018 Phonics Screening Test Scoring GuidanceThis scoring guidance document from the 2018 Phonics Screening Check lists the acceptable pronunciations for each pseudo-word in both sections. It provides phonemic representations and explains which regional variations are acceptable when teachers mark responses. Examples include reb, wup, blorn, slirt and splote. The guidance ensures consistent marking across different accents. | ||||
| 2017 | 2017 Phonics Practice Materialsⓘ 2017 Phonics Screening Test Practice MaterialsPractice material providing example word sheets to familiarise children with the Phonics Screening Check format. Includes a real words sheet with examples such as 'in', 'at', 'beg', and 'sum', and a pseudo-words sheet with examples including 'ot', 'ect', 'osk', and 'vap'. Used to help children understand the structure before taking the statutory assessment. Questions: 8 | 2017 Phonics Assessment Materialsⓘ 2017 Phonics Screening Test Assessment MaterialsThe official pupils' materials from the 2017 Phonics Screening Check. Contains the 40 words a Year 1 child reads aloud, split across Section 1 and Section 2. Each section includes real words (such as reef, kick, short, feast, shape, trunk) and pseudo-words (such as rin, cag, jash, quib, tay, meve) that test decoding skills. Questions: 40 | 2017 Phonics Answer Sheetⓘ 2017 Phonics Screening Test Answer SheetThis is the answer sheet used by teachers to record a child's responses during the 2017 Phonics Screening Check. It lists all 40 words across Section 1 and Section 2, with tick boxes to mark each word as correct or incorrect. The sheet includes space for optional comments and a total score calculation at the end. Questions: 40 | 2017 Phonics Scoring Guidanceⓘ 2017 Phonics Screening Test Scoring GuidanceOfficial scoring guidance for teachers marking the 2017 Phonics Screening Check. Lists all acceptable pronunciations for each pseudo-word in Section 1 and Section 2, with phonemic representations and rhyming examples. Includes notes on regional dialect variations (such as voiced 'r' sounds) to ensure consistent and fair marking across different accents. Questions: 20 | ||||
| 2016 | 2016 Phonics Practice Materialsⓘ 2016 Phonics Screening Test Practice MaterialsThis practice sheet provides examples of real words and pseudo-words used to familiarise children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. The real words include in, at, beg, and sum. The pseudo-words include ot, ect, osk, and vap. These sheets help children understand how the assessment works before taking the statutory check. Questions: 8 | 2016 Phonics Assessment Materialsⓘ 2016 Phonics Screening Test Assessment MaterialsThe official pupils' materials from the 2016 Phonics Screening Check. This booklet contains the 40 words children read aloud during the assessment, divided into Section 1 and Section 2. Each section includes a mix of real words (such as chin, queen, forest) and pseudo-words (such as gax, charb, phope) to assess decoding skills. Questions: 40 | 2016 Phonics Answer Sheetⓘ 2016 Phonics Screening Test Answer SheetThis is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2016 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a grid to record whether each of the 40 words (20 real words and 20 pseudo-words) was read correctly or incorrectly by the child. The sheet is divided into Section 1 and Section 2, with space for optional comments and a final total. Questions: 40 | 2016 Phonics Scoring Guidanceⓘ 2016 Phonics Screening Test Scoring GuidanceOfficial scoring guidance for the 2016 Phonics Screening Check. Lists all 20 pseudo-words from Section 1 and Section 2 with acceptable pronunciations and phonemic representations. Includes guidance on regional dialects and alternative pronunciations for graphemes such as 'ow', 'oo' and vowel digraphs ending in 'r'. Enables teachers to mark the check consistently. Questions: 20 | ||||
| 2015 | 2015 Phonics Practice Materialsⓘ 2015 Phonics Screening Test Practice MaterialsThis practice material provides example sheets to familiarise Year 1 children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. It includes a real words sheet featuring words such as 'in', 'at', 'beg', and 'sum', and a pseudo-words sheet with nonsense words including 'ect', 'osk', 'ot', and 'vap'. These practice sheets help children become comfortable with decoding both word types before the statutory assessment. | 2015 Phonics Assessment Materialsⓘ 2015 Phonics Screening Test Assessment MaterialsThis document contains the pupils' materials for the June 2015 Phonics screening check. It presents the 40 words a Year 1 child reads aloud to demonstrate decoding skills. Section 1 includes words such as fip, hab, soil, long, and chart. Section 2 includes words such as yair, keam, rice, zoom, and midnight. The materials contain both real words and pseudo-words. Questions: 40 | 2015 Phonics Answer Sheetⓘ 2015 Phonics Screening Test Answer SheetThis is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2015 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a record sheet for marking each of the 40 words as correct or incorrect across Section 1 and Section 2. The teacher ticks the appropriate box for each word and can add optional comments, then totals the score to determine whether the child has met the expected standard. Questions: 40 | 2015 Phonics Scoring Guidanceⓘ 2015 Phonics Screening Test Scoring GuidanceThis document provides scoring guidance for teachers marking the 2015 phonics screening check. It lists all pseudo-words from both Section 1 and Section 2, giving acceptable pronunciations and phonemic representations for each. Guidance covers regional dialect variations and alternative pronunciations where graphemes represent multiple phonemes, ensuring consistent marking across different accents. | ||||
| 2014 | 2014 Phonics Practice Materialsⓘ 2014 Phonics Screening Test Practice MaterialsThis practice material from 2014 provides example word lists to familiarise Year 1 children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. It includes a real words practice sheet (with examples such as 'in', 'at', 'beg', and 'sum') and a pseudo-words practice sheet (with examples such as 'ot', 'ect', 'osk', and 'vap') to help children understand they will decode both real and nonsense words during the assessment. | 2014 Phonics Assessment Materialsⓘ 2014 Phonics Screening Test Assessment MaterialsThis document contains the children's materials for the 2014 Phonics Screening Check. It presents the 40 words a child reads aloud, divided into Section 1 and Section 2. Each section includes real words (such as quiz, back, short, doom, rude, main, brown) and pseudo-words (such as jat, teg, foid, shog, tabe, clain, yewn) to assess decoding skills. Questions: 40 | 2014 Phonics Answer Sheetⓘ 2014 Phonics Screening Test Answer SheetThis is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2014 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a grid to record each child's response as correct or incorrect for all 40 words across Section 1 and Section 2. The sheet includes space for optional comments and a field to total the number of correct responses for determining whether the child has met the expected standard. Questions: 40 | 2014 Phonics Scoring Guidanceⓘ 2014 Phonics Screening Test Scoring GuidanceThis document is the scoring guidance for the 2014 phonics screening check. It lists all twenty pseudo-words from Section 1 and Section 2, providing teachers with the acceptable pronunciations for each nonsense word (such as 'vol', 'teg', 'jat', 'cloin' and 'scroy') alongside phonemic representations. The guidance explains how to mark plausible alternative decodings and regional dialect variations consistently. | ||||
| 2013 | 2013 Phonics Practice Materialsⓘ 2013 Phonics Screening Test Practice MaterialsThis practice sheet from 2013 provides example real words and pseudo-words used to familiarise children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. The real words include examples such as in, at, beg, and sum. The pseudo-words include ot, ect, osk, and vap, which test decoding skills rather than word recognition. Questions: 8 | 2013 Phonics Assessment Materialsⓘ 2013 Phonics Screening Test Assessment MaterialsThis document is the children's materials for the 2013 Phonics Screening Check. It contains the 40 words that Year 1 pupils read aloud during the assessment, divided into Section 1 and Section 2. Each section includes real words (such as thin, cheek, milk, toy, spike) and pseudo-words (such as fot, keb, quorg, jorb, zale) to assess decoding skills. Questions: 40 | 2013 Phonics Answer Sheetⓘ 2013 Phonics Screening Test Answer SheetThis is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2013 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a grid for recording each of the 40 words as correct or incorrect, split across Section 1 and Section 2. The sheet includes tick boxes for each word and an optional comment field, with space to calculate the total correct score. Questions: 40 | 2013 Phonics Scoring Guidanceⓘ 2013 Phonics Screening Test Scoring GuidanceOfficial scoring guidance for the 2013 Phonics Screening Check. Sets the threshold mark at 32 out of 40 and explains that children scoring 31 or below must be considered for a re-take in Year 2. Lists all acceptable pronunciations for each pseudo-word in Section 1 and Section 2, including regional variations and alternative phoneme choices, to support consistent teacher marking. | ||||
| 2012 | 2012 Phonics Practice Materialsⓘ 2012 Phonics Screening Test Practice MaterialsThis is an official practice sheet from 2012 used to familiarise Year 1 children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check before taking the statutory assessment. It contains two sections: a real words sheet with examples such as in, at, beg, and sum, and a pseudo-words sheet with examples including ect, osk, and vap, enabling children to practise decoding both word types. | 2012 Phonics Assessment Materialsⓘ 2012 Phonics Screening Test Assessment MaterialsThis document contains the pupil materials for the 2012 Phonics Screening Check. It presents the 40 words that children read aloud during the assessment, divided into Section 1 and Section 2. Each section includes real words such as jazz, farm, goat, and flute, alongside pseudo-words like yop, queep, kigh, and strom to assess decoding skills. Questions: 40 | 2012 Phonics Answer Sheetⓘ 2012 Phonics Screening Test Answer SheetThis is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2012 Year 1 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a recording grid where the teacher marks each of the 40 words as correct or incorrect as the child reads them aloud. The sheet is divided into Section 1 and Section 2, each containing 20 words (a mix of real words and pseudo-words), with space for optional comments and a total score. Questions: 40 | 2012 Phonics Scoring Guidanceⓘ 2012 Phonics Screening Test Scoring GuidanceThis is the official scoring guidance for the 2012 Year 1 phonics screening check. It confirms the threshold mark of 32 out of 40 and provides teachers with the acceptable pronunciations for all twenty pseudo-words in the check. Each pseudo-word is listed with phonemic representation and example rhymes to ensure consistent marking across Section 1 and Section 2. | ||||
| Source: Standards and Testing Agency (STA) | Open Government Licence |
About these Year 1 Phonics papers
- KS1 Phonics 2025 Phonics Check Practice Materials
- This practice sheet provides example real words and pseudo-words to familiarise a child with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. The real words include in, at, beg and sum. The pseudo-words include ot, vap, osk and ect. It allows children to practise decoding before taking the statutory assessment.
- KS1 Phonics 2025 Phonics Check Assessment Materials
- This is the official pupils' materials booklet for the 2025 Phonics Screening Check. It contains the 40 words that children read aloud during the assessment, split equally between Section 1 and Section 2. Each section includes 10 real words (such as sell, quiz, shark, pie, shake) and 10 pseudo-words (such as gox, loip, quog, virp, saunt) to assess decoding skills.
- KS1 Phonics 2025 Phonics Check Answer Sheet
- This is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2025 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a record grid to mark each of the 40 words as correct or incorrect, divided into Section 1 and Section 2. Each section lists 20 words (a mix of real words and pseudo-words) with tick boxes and an optional comment field, plus a total score box.
- KS1 Phonics 2025 Phonics Check Scoring Guidance
- This scoring guidance document provides teachers with the acceptable pronunciations for all twenty pseudo-words in the 2025 Phonics Screening Check. Each entry includes phonemic representations and example rhymes to ensure consistent marking. The guidance clarifies that when decoding pseudo-words, all plausible alternative and regional pronunciations are acceptable, unlike real words where only the correct phoneme applies.
- KS1 Phonics 2024 Phonics Check Practice Materials
- This 2024 practice sheet helps familiarise Year 1 children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check before the statutory assessment. It provides example real words (in, at, beg, sum) and pseudo-words (ot, vap, osk, ect) for practice. Teachers can use these sheets to introduce pupils to the task of decoding both familiar and unfamiliar words aloud.
- KS1 Phonics 2024 Phonics Check Assessment Materials
- The official 2024 Phonics Screening Check pupils' materials containing the 40 words a Year 1 child reads aloud to their teacher. The check is divided into Section 1 and Section 2, each containing a mix of real words (such as sort, chill, stripe, dolphin) and pseudo-words (such as zeg, sheb, brop, clune) to assess decoding skills.
- KS1 Phonics 2024 Phonics Check Answer Sheet
- This is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2024 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a grid to record each child's responses across Section 1 and Section 2, with tick-boxes to mark each of the 40 words as correct or incorrect. The sheet includes both real words (such as shin, sort, sneak, dolphin) and pseudo-words (such as nop, yim, bew, clune), with space for optional comments and a total score.
- KS1 Phonics 2024 Phonics Check Scoring Guidance
- This is the official scoring guidance for teachers administering the 2024 Phonics Screening Check. It lists the acceptable pronunciations for each of the 20 pseudo-words across Section 1 and Section 2, including phonemic representations and rhyming examples. The guidance clarifies that all plausible alternative and regional pronunciations are acceptable when a child is decoding pseudo-words.
- KS1 Phonics 2023 Phonics Check Practice Materials
- This practice sheet provides examples of both real words and pseudo-words to familiarise children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. The real words shown include in, at, beg, and sum. The pseudo-words include ot, vap, osk, and ect. These sample words allow children to practise decoding before the statutory assessment.
- KS1 Phonics 2023 Phonics Check Assessment Materials
- Official pupils' materials for the 2023 Year 1 Phonics Screening Check. Contains the 40 words children read aloud during the statutory assessment: 20 real words (such as hill, jars, chip, shack, boy, foam, white) and 20 pseudo-words (such as ult, zat, fod, bep, farn, shob) split across Section 1 and Section 2. Each word is presented individually for one-to-one administration by the teacher.
- KS1 Phonics 2023 Phonics Check Answer Sheet
- This is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2023 Year 1 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a tick-box grid to record whether each of the 40 words is read correctly or incorrectly by the child. The sheet is divided into Section 1 and Section 2, each containing ten pseudo-words (such as fod, glork, teap) and ten real words (such as chip, boy, scoop), with space for optional comments and a final total.
- KS1 Phonics 2023 Phonics Check Scoring Guidance
- Official scoring guidance for teachers administering the 2023 Phonics Screening Check. Lists acceptable pronunciations for each pseudo-word in Section 1 and Section 2, including phonemic representations and rhyming examples (e.g. 'fod' rhymes with 'nod', 'drave' rhymes with 'shave'). Clarifies that regional pronunciations and plausible alternatives are acceptable when decoding pseudo-words.
- KS1 Phonics 2022 Phonics Check Practice Materials
- This practice sheet provides examples of both real words and pseudo-words used to familiarise Year 1 children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. The real words sheet includes examples such as in, at, beg, and sum. The pseudo-words sheet contains nonsense words like ot, vap, osk, and ect to check decoding skills.
- KS1 Phonics 2022 Phonics Check Assessment Materials
- The official pupils' materials from the 2022 Phonics Screening Check, containing all 40 words the child reads aloud. Organised into Section 1 and Section 2, the check includes real words (such as coin, shell, globe, trapeze) and pseudo-words (such as kig, dax, besh, cloat) to assess phonics decoding skills. Each word is presented individually for one-to-one assessment.
- KS1 Phonics 2022 Phonics Check Answer Sheet
- This is the answer sheet used by teachers to record a child's performance in the 2022 Phonics Screening Check. It provides tick-boxes to mark each of the 40 words as correct or incorrect across Section 1 and Section 2, with an optional comment field and a total score box. Teachers use this form to assess whether the child meets the expected standard.
- KS1 Phonics 2022 Phonics Check Scoring Guidance
- Official scoring guidance for the 2022 Year 1 Phonics Screening Check. Lists acceptable pronunciations for each pseudo-word in Section 1 and Section 2 to ensure consistent marking by teachers. Includes guidance on regional accent variations and alternative pronunciations for vowel digraphs, particularly those ending in 'r'. Examples include bem, quab, vair and flards.
- KS1 Phonics 2019 Phonics Check Practice Materials
- Practice sheet providing example real words and pseudo-words to familiarise children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. The real words include examples such as in, at, beg, and sum. The pseudo-words include examples such as ot, ect, osk, and vap, which test decoding skills rather than memorised vocabulary.
- KS1 Phonics 2019 Phonics Check Assessment Materials
- This is the official Phonics Screening Check pupils' materials from 2019, containing the 40 words children read aloud during the assessment. It is divided into Section 1 and Section 2, each presenting a mix of real words (such as shop, peel, sweep) and pseudo-words (such as joil, meck, zome) to assess decoding skills.
- KS1 Phonics 2019 Phonics Check Answer Sheet
- This is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2019 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a record sheet for marking each of the 40 words as correct or incorrect. The sheet is divided into Section 1 and Section 2, each containing 20 words, and includes space for optional comments and a total score.
- KS1 Phonics 2019 Phonics Check Scoring Guidance
- This scoring guidance document for the 2019 Phonics Screening Check lists the acceptable pronunciations for each pseudo-word in both Section 1 and Section 2. It includes phonemic representations and notes on regional accent variations, helping teachers mark consistently. Examples include sut, chort, vaw and throst, with guidance on which phonemes are acceptable for scoring.
- KS1 Phonics 2018 Phonics Check Practice Materials
- This practice sheet provides example real words and pseudo-words to familiarise children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. The real words include 'in', 'at', 'beg' and 'sum'. The pseudo-words include 'ot', 'ect', 'osk' and 'vap'. It allows children to practise decoding both word types before taking the statutory assessment.
- KS1 Phonics 2018 Phonics Check Assessment Materials
- The official pupils' materials from the 2018 Phonics Screening Check. Contains the 40 words children read aloud during the assessment, divided into Section 1 and Section 2. Includes 20 real words (such as sing, dart, chop, shock, gift, flat, turn, twice) and 20 pseudo-words (such as jub, reb, eps, wup, vuss, zook) to assess phonics decoding skills.
- KS1 Phonics 2018 Phonics Check Answer Sheet
- This is the answer sheet used by teachers to record a child's responses during the 2018 Phonics Screening Check. It lists all 40 words split across Section 1 and Section 2, with tick-boxes to mark each word as correct or incorrect. The teacher totals the score at the end to determine whether the child has met the expected standard.
- KS1 Phonics 2018 Phonics Check Scoring Guidance
- This scoring guidance document from the 2018 Phonics Screening Check lists the acceptable pronunciations for each pseudo-word in both sections. It provides phonemic representations and explains which regional variations are acceptable when teachers mark responses. Examples include reb, wup, blorn, slirt and splote. The guidance ensures consistent marking across different accents.
- KS1 Phonics 2017 Phonics Check Practice Materials
- Practice material providing example word sheets to familiarise children with the Phonics Screening Check format. Includes a real words sheet with examples such as 'in', 'at', 'beg', and 'sum', and a pseudo-words sheet with examples including 'ot', 'ect', 'osk', and 'vap'. Used to help children understand the structure before taking the statutory assessment.
- KS1 Phonics 2017 Phonics Check Assessment Materials
- The official pupils' materials from the 2017 Phonics Screening Check. Contains the 40 words a Year 1 child reads aloud, split across Section 1 and Section 2. Each section includes real words (such as reef, kick, short, feast, shape, trunk) and pseudo-words (such as rin, cag, jash, quib, tay, meve) that test decoding skills.
- KS1 Phonics 2017 Phonics Check Answer Sheet
- This is the answer sheet used by teachers to record a child's responses during the 2017 Phonics Screening Check. It lists all 40 words across Section 1 and Section 2, with tick boxes to mark each word as correct or incorrect. The sheet includes space for optional comments and a total score calculation at the end.
- KS1 Phonics 2017 Phonics Check Scoring Guidance
- Official scoring guidance for teachers marking the 2017 Phonics Screening Check. Lists all acceptable pronunciations for each pseudo-word in Section 1 and Section 2, with phonemic representations and rhyming examples. Includes notes on regional dialect variations (such as voiced 'r' sounds) to ensure consistent and fair marking across different accents.
- KS1 Phonics 2016 Phonics Check Practice Materials
- This practice sheet provides examples of real words and pseudo-words used to familiarise children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. The real words include in, at, beg, and sum. The pseudo-words include ot, ect, osk, and vap. These sheets help children understand how the assessment works before taking the statutory check.
- KS1 Phonics 2016 Phonics Check Assessment Materials
- The official pupils' materials from the 2016 Phonics Screening Check. This booklet contains the 40 words children read aloud during the assessment, divided into Section 1 and Section 2. Each section includes a mix of real words (such as chin, queen, forest) and pseudo-words (such as gax, charb, phope) to assess decoding skills.
- KS1 Phonics 2016 Phonics Check Answer Sheet
- This is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2016 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a grid to record whether each of the 40 words (20 real words and 20 pseudo-words) was read correctly or incorrectly by the child. The sheet is divided into Section 1 and Section 2, with space for optional comments and a final total.
- KS1 Phonics 2016 Phonics Check Scoring Guidance
- Official scoring guidance for the 2016 Phonics Screening Check. Lists all 20 pseudo-words from Section 1 and Section 2 with acceptable pronunciations and phonemic representations. Includes guidance on regional dialects and alternative pronunciations for graphemes such as 'ow', 'oo' and vowel digraphs ending in 'r'. Enables teachers to mark the check consistently.
- KS1 Phonics 2015 Phonics Check Practice Materials
- This practice material provides example sheets to familiarise Year 1 children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. It includes a real words sheet featuring words such as 'in', 'at', 'beg', and 'sum', and a pseudo-words sheet with nonsense words including 'ect', 'osk', 'ot', and 'vap'. These practice sheets help children become comfortable with decoding both word types before the statutory assessment.
- KS1 Phonics 2015 Phonics Check Assessment Materials
- This document contains the pupils' materials for the June 2015 Phonics screening check. It presents the 40 words a Year 1 child reads aloud to demonstrate decoding skills. Section 1 includes words such as fip, hab, soil, long, and chart. Section 2 includes words such as yair, keam, rice, zoom, and midnight. The materials contain both real words and pseudo-words.
- KS1 Phonics 2015 Phonics Check Answer Sheet
- This is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2015 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a record sheet for marking each of the 40 words as correct or incorrect across Section 1 and Section 2. The teacher ticks the appropriate box for each word and can add optional comments, then totals the score to determine whether the child has met the expected standard.
- KS1 Phonics 2015 Phonics Check Scoring Guidance
- This document provides scoring guidance for teachers marking the 2015 phonics screening check. It lists all pseudo-words from both Section 1 and Section 2, giving acceptable pronunciations and phonemic representations for each. Guidance covers regional dialect variations and alternative pronunciations where graphemes represent multiple phonemes, ensuring consistent marking across different accents.
- KS1 Phonics 2014 Phonics Check Practice Materials
- This practice material from 2014 provides example word lists to familiarise Year 1 children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. It includes a real words practice sheet (with examples such as 'in', 'at', 'beg', and 'sum') and a pseudo-words practice sheet (with examples such as 'ot', 'ect', 'osk', and 'vap') to help children understand they will decode both real and nonsense words during the assessment.
- KS1 Phonics 2014 Phonics Check Assessment Materials
- This document contains the children's materials for the 2014 Phonics Screening Check. It presents the 40 words a child reads aloud, divided into Section 1 and Section 2. Each section includes real words (such as quiz, back, short, doom, rude, main, brown) and pseudo-words (such as jat, teg, foid, shog, tabe, clain, yewn) to assess decoding skills.
- KS1 Phonics 2014 Phonics Check Answer Sheet
- This is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2014 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a grid to record each child's response as correct or incorrect for all 40 words across Section 1 and Section 2. The sheet includes space for optional comments and a field to total the number of correct responses for determining whether the child has met the expected standard.
- KS1 Phonics 2014 Phonics Check Scoring Guidance
- This document is the scoring guidance for the 2014 phonics screening check. It lists all twenty pseudo-words from Section 1 and Section 2, providing teachers with the acceptable pronunciations for each nonsense word (such as 'vol', 'teg', 'jat', 'cloin' and 'scroy') alongside phonemic representations. The guidance explains how to mark plausible alternative decodings and regional dialect variations consistently.
- KS1 Phonics 2013 Phonics Check Practice Materials
- This practice sheet from 2013 provides example real words and pseudo-words used to familiarise children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check. The real words include examples such as in, at, beg, and sum. The pseudo-words include ot, ect, osk, and vap, which test decoding skills rather than word recognition.
- KS1 Phonics 2013 Phonics Check Assessment Materials
- This document is the children's materials for the 2013 Phonics Screening Check. It contains the 40 words that Year 1 pupils read aloud during the assessment, divided into Section 1 and Section 2. Each section includes real words (such as thin, cheek, milk, toy, spike) and pseudo-words (such as fot, keb, quorg, jorb, zale) to assess decoding skills.
- KS1 Phonics 2013 Phonics Check Answer Sheet
- This is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2013 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a grid for recording each of the 40 words as correct or incorrect, split across Section 1 and Section 2. The sheet includes tick boxes for each word and an optional comment field, with space to calculate the total correct score.
- KS1 Phonics 2013 Phonics Check Scoring Guidance
- Official scoring guidance for the 2013 Phonics Screening Check. Sets the threshold mark at 32 out of 40 and explains that children scoring 31 or below must be considered for a re-take in Year 2. Lists all acceptable pronunciations for each pseudo-word in Section 1 and Section 2, including regional variations and alternative phoneme choices, to support consistent teacher marking.
- KS1 Phonics 2012 Phonics Check Practice Materials
- This is an official practice sheet from 2012 used to familiarise Year 1 children with the format of the Phonics Screening Check before taking the statutory assessment. It contains two sections: a real words sheet with examples such as in, at, beg, and sum, and a pseudo-words sheet with examples including ect, osk, and vap, enabling children to practise decoding both word types.
- KS1 Phonics 2012 Phonics Check Assessment Materials
- This document contains the pupil materials for the 2012 Phonics Screening Check. It presents the 40 words that children read aloud during the assessment, divided into Section 1 and Section 2. Each section includes real words such as jazz, farm, goat, and flute, alongside pseudo-words like yop, queep, kigh, and strom to assess decoding skills.
- KS1 Phonics 2012 Phonics Check Answer Sheet
- This is the teacher's answer sheet for the 2012 Year 1 Phonics Screening Check. It provides a recording grid where the teacher marks each of the 40 words as correct or incorrect as the child reads them aloud. The sheet is divided into Section 1 and Section 2, each containing 20 words (a mix of real words and pseudo-words), with space for optional comments and a total score.
- KS1 Phonics 2012 Phonics Check Scoring Guidance
- This is the official scoring guidance for the 2012 Year 1 phonics screening check. It confirms the threshold mark of 32 out of 40 and provides teachers with the acceptable pronunciations for all twenty pseudo-words in the check. Each pseudo-word is listed with phonemic representation and example rhymes to ensure consistent marking across Section 1 and Section 2.
Phonics Screening Check Word Bank
Every word from every Phonics Screening Check, gathered into one searchable word bank. Search for a specific word, or filter by year, word type (real or pseudo) and section. Section 1 holds the easier words (questions 1-20) and Section 2 the harder ones (questions 21-40). Click any column heading to sort.
| Word Bank |
|---|
| Phonics Screening Check Complete Word List |
480 words
| Year | Section | No. | Word | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 1 | dup | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 1 | 2 | hib | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 1 | 3 | gox | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 1 | 4 | ags | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 1 | 5 | yech | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 1 | 6 | quog | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 1 | 7 | loip | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 1 | 8 | chuss | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 1 | 9 | clen | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 1 | 10 | stizz | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 1 | 11 | pult | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 1 | 12 | heeft | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 1 | 13 | quiz | Real |
| 2025 | 1 | 14 | sell | Real |
| 2025 | 1 | 15 | form | Real |
| 2025 | 1 | 16 | shark | Real |
| 2025 | 1 | 17 | snip | Real |
| 2025 | 1 | 18 | clang | Real |
| 2025 | 1 | 19 | bunk | Real |
| 2025 | 1 | 20 | boils | Real |
| 2025 | 2 | 21 | jigh | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 2 | 22 | saunt | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 2 | 23 | virp | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 2 | 24 | phope | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 2 | 25 | sleft | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 2 | 26 | thresk | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 2 | 27 | spleg | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 2 | 28 | strume | Pseudo |
| 2025 | 2 | 29 | pie | Real |
| 2025 | 2 | 30 | found | Real |
| 2025 | 2 | 31 | boom | Real |
| 2025 | 2 | 32 | shake | Real |
| 2025 | 2 | 33 | spelt | Real |
| 2025 | 2 | 34 | floats | Real |
| 2025 | 2 | 35 | scrub | Real |
| 2025 | 2 | 36 | scribe | Real |
| 2025 | 2 | 37 | delay | Real |
| 2025 | 2 | 38 | statue | Real |
| 2025 | 2 | 39 | counter | Real |
| 2025 | 2 | 40 | grateful | Real |
| 2024 | 1 | 1 | nop | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 1 | 2 | yim | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 1 | 3 | zeg | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 1 | 4 | ild | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 1 | 5 | jick | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 1 | 6 | sheb | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 1 | 7 | deeg | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 1 | 8 | quish | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 1 | 9 | brop | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 1 | 10 | sleen | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 1 | 11 | sint | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 1 | 12 | doilt | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 1 | 13 | shin | Real |
| 2024 | 1 | 14 | fang | Real |
| 2024 | 1 | 15 | sort | Real |
| 2024 | 1 | 16 | chill | Real |
| 2024 | 1 | 17 | fled | Real |
| 2024 | 1 | 18 | speck | Real |
| 2024 | 1 | 19 | ramp | Real |
| 2024 | 1 | 20 | corns | Real |
| 2024 | 2 | 21 | bew | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 2 | 22 | clune | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 2 | 23 | baup | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 2 | 24 | cheve | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 2 | 25 | blenk | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 2 | 26 | froast | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 2 | 27 | scrup | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 2 | 28 | sprace | Pseudo |
| 2024 | 2 | 29 | bar | Real |
| 2024 | 2 | 30 | sneak | Real |
| 2024 | 2 | 31 | curl | Real |
| 2024 | 2 | 32 | doze | Real |
| 2024 | 2 | 33 | plank | Real |
| 2024 | 2 | 34 | shrimp | Real |
| 2024 | 2 | 35 | split | Real |
| 2024 | 2 | 36 | stripe | Real |
| 2024 | 2 | 37 | relay | Real |
| 2024 | 2 | 38 | ending | Real |
| 2024 | 2 | 39 | dolphin | Real |
| 2024 | 2 | 40 | crackers | Real |
| 2023 | 1 | 1 | fod | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 1 | 2 | bep | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 1 | 3 | zat | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 1 | 4 | ult | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 1 | 5 | heng | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 1 | 6 | shob | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 1 | 7 | farn | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 1 | 8 | chesh | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 1 | 9 | trun | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 1 | 10 | glork | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 1 | 11 | remp | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 1 | 12 | deebs | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 1 | 13 | chip | Real |
| 2023 | 1 | 14 | hill | Real |
| 2023 | 1 | 15 | jars | Real |
| 2023 | 1 | 16 | shack | Real |
| 2023 | 1 | 17 | twin | Real |
| 2023 | 1 | 18 | crack | Real |
| 2023 | 1 | 19 | tuft | Real |
| 2023 | 1 | 20 | ports | Real |
| 2023 | 2 | 21 | jer | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 2 | 22 | drave | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 2 | 23 | teap | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 2 | 24 | phibe | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 2 | 25 | slimp | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 2 | 26 | craint | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 2 | 27 | splet | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 2 | 28 | strave | Pseudo |
| 2023 | 2 | 29 | boy | Real |
| 2023 | 2 | 30 | scoop | Real |
| 2023 | 2 | 31 | foam | Real |
| 2023 | 2 | 32 | white | Real |
| 2023 | 2 | 33 | swept | Real |
| 2023 | 2 | 34 | dreams | Real |
| 2023 | 2 | 35 | scrap | Real |
| 2023 | 2 | 36 | strike | Real |
| 2023 | 2 | 37 | elbow | Real |
| 2023 | 2 | 38 | tailor | Real |
| 2023 | 2 | 39 | sequins | Real |
| 2023 | 2 | 40 | whirling | Real |
| 2022 | 1 | 1 | bem | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 1 | 2 | dax | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 1 | 3 | kig | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 1 | 4 | eld | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 1 | 5 | besh | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 1 | 6 | quab | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 1 | 7 | barp | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 1 | 8 | chell | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 1 | 9 | grux | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 1 | 10 | smung | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 1 | 11 | nesk | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 1 | 12 | foint | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 1 | 13 | thud | Real |
| 2022 | 1 | 14 | hang | Real |
| 2022 | 1 | 15 | coin | Real |
| 2022 | 1 | 16 | shell | Real |
| 2022 | 1 | 17 | twig | Real |
| 2022 | 1 | 18 | flick | Real |
| 2022 | 1 | 19 | vest | Real |
| 2022 | 1 | 20 | horns | Real |
| 2022 | 2 | 21 | vair | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 2 | 22 | cloat | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 2 | 23 | tirt | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 2 | 24 | whike | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 2 | 25 | plunt | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 2 | 26 | flards | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 2 | 27 | spran | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 2 | 28 | splew | Pseudo |
| 2022 | 2 | 29 | globe | Real |
| 2022 | 2 | 30 | teams | Real |
| 2022 | 2 | 31 | bowl | Real |
| 2022 | 2 | 32 | chase | Real |
| 2022 | 2 | 33 | Real | |
| 2022 | 2 | 34 | clouds | Real |
| 2022 | 2 | 35 | spree | Real |
| 2022 | 2 | 36 | stroke | Real |
| 2022 | 2 | 37 | visit | Real |
| 2022 | 2 | 38 | fabric | Real |
| 2022 | 2 | 39 | trapeze | Real |
| 2022 | 2 | 40 | concrete | Real |
| 2019 | 1 | 1 | sut | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 1 | 2 | yad | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 1 | 3 | dop | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 1 | 4 | uct | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 1 | 5 | meck | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 1 | 6 | shig | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 1 | 7 | joil | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 1 | 8 | chort | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 1 | 9 | blem | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 1 | 10 | drell | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 1 | 11 | fusp | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 1 | 12 | quisk | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 1 | 13 | shop | Real |
| 2019 | 1 | 14 | yell | Real |
| 2019 | 1 | 15 | peel | Real |
| 2019 | 1 | 16 | check | Real |
| 2019 | 1 | 17 | plug | Real |
| 2019 | 1 | 18 | sweep | Real |
| 2019 | 1 | 19 | soft | Real |
| 2019 | 1 | 20 | yards | Real |
| 2019 | 2 | 21 | vaw | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 2 | 22 | meast | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 2 | 23 | waib | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 2 | 24 | zome | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 2 | 25 | brend | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 2 | 26 | throst | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 2 | 27 | stret | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 2 | 28 | spraw | Pseudo |
| 2019 | 2 | 29 | few | Real |
| 2019 | 2 | 30 | fried | Real |
| 2019 | 2 | 31 | beak | Real |
| 2019 | 2 | 32 | cute | Real |
| 2019 | 2 | 33 | crust | Real |
| 2019 | 2 | 34 | trails | Real |
| 2019 | 2 | 35 | strip | Real |
| 2019 | 2 | 36 | scraps | Real |
| 2019 | 2 | 37 | label | Real |
| 2019 | 2 | 38 | vanish | Real |
| 2019 | 2 | 39 | blossom | Real |
| 2019 | 2 | 40 | thankful | Real |
| 2018 | 1 | 1 | reb | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 1 | 2 | wup | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 1 | 3 | jub | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 1 | 4 | eps | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 1 | 5 | vuss | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 1 | 6 | quop | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 1 | 7 | zook | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 1 | 8 | chack | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 1 | 9 | skap | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 1 | 10 | blorn | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 1 | 11 | meft | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 1 | 12 | veems | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 1 | 13 | chop | Real |
| 2018 | 1 | 14 | sing | Real |
| 2018 | 1 | 15 | dart | Real |
| 2018 | 1 | 16 | shock | Real |
| 2018 | 1 | 17 | flat | Real |
| 2018 | 1 | 18 | skill | Real |
| 2018 | 1 | 19 | gift | Real |
| 2018 | 1 | 20 | coins | Real |
| 2018 | 2 | 21 | var | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 2 | 22 | slirt | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 2 | 23 | weaf | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 2 | 24 | pobe | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 2 | 25 | flisp | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 2 | 26 | braint | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 2 | 27 | scrid | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 2 | 28 | splote | Pseudo |
| 2018 | 2 | 29 | twice | Real |
| 2018 | 2 | 30 | gloom | Real |
| 2018 | 2 | 31 | turn | Real |
| 2018 | 2 | 32 | mode | Real |
| 2018 | 2 | 33 | blast | Real |
| 2018 | 2 | 34 | groans | Real |
| 2018 | 2 | 35 | spray | Real |
| 2018 | 2 | 36 | strike | Real |
| 2018 | 2 | 37 | delay | Real |
| 2018 | 2 | 38 | modern | Real |
| 2018 | 2 | 39 | saucers | Real |
| 2018 | 2 | 40 | charming | Real |
| 2017 | 1 | 1 | dat | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 1 | 2 | cag | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 1 | 3 | rin | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 1 | 4 | ept | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 1 | 5 | jash | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 1 | 6 | quib | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 1 | 7 | coid | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 1 | 8 | quass | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 1 | 9 | glog | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 1 | 10 | blard | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 1 | 11 | disp | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 1 | 12 | murbs | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 1 | 13 | chum | Real |
| 2017 | 1 | 14 | kick | Real |
| 2017 | 1 | 15 | reef | Real |
| 2017 | 1 | 16 | short | Real |
| 2017 | 1 | 17 | blot | Real |
| 2017 | 1 | 18 | greet | Real |
| 2017 | 1 | 19 | dust | Real |
| 2017 | 1 | 20 | parks | Real |
| 2017 | 2 | 21 | tay | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 2 | 22 | sloam | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 2 | 23 | zued | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 2 | 24 | meve | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 2 | 25 | clend | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 2 | 26 | braits | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 2 | 27 | scrug | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 2 | 28 | splue | Pseudo |
| 2017 | 2 | 29 | high | Real |
| 2017 | 2 | 30 | feast | Real |
| 2017 | 2 | 31 | goal | Real |
| 2017 | 2 | 32 | shape | Real |
| 2017 | 2 | 33 | trunk | Real |
| 2017 | 2 | 34 | groups | Real |
| 2017 | 2 | 35 | straw | Real |
| 2017 | 2 | 36 | scribe | Real |
| 2017 | 2 | 37 | model | Real |
| 2017 | 2 | 38 | person | Real |
| 2017 | 2 | 39 | chapter | Real |
| 2017 | 2 | 40 | reptiles | Real |
| 2016 | 1 | 1 | lig | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 1 | 2 | mep | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 1 | 3 | gax | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 1 | 4 | emp | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 1 | 5 | beff | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 1 | 6 | shup | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 1 | 7 | doil | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 1 | 8 | charb | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 1 | 9 | fraz | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 1 | 10 | criff | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 1 | 11 | haps | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 1 | 12 | barst | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 1 | 13 | chin | Real |
| 2016 | 1 | 14 | deck | Real |
| 2016 | 1 | 15 | horn | Real |
| 2016 | 1 | 16 | queen | Real |
| 2016 | 1 | 17 | tram | Real |
| 2016 | 1 | 18 | press | Real |
| 2016 | 1 | 19 | self | Real |
| 2016 | 1 | 20 | keeps | Real |
| 2016 | 2 | 21 | jigh | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 2 | 22 | woats | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 2 | 23 | rird | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 2 | 24 | phope | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 2 | 25 | glips | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 2 | 26 | floost | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 2 | 27 | splam | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 2 | 28 | stribe | Pseudo |
| 2016 | 2 | 29 | stair | Real |
| 2016 | 2 | 30 | haunt | Real |
| 2016 | 2 | 31 | lied | Real |
| 2016 | 2 | 32 | wove | Real |
| 2016 | 2 | 33 | drank | Real |
| 2016 | 2 | 34 | treats | Real |
| 2016 | 2 | 35 | scram | Real |
| 2016 | 2 | 36 | stroke | Real |
| 2016 | 2 | 37 | arrow | Real |
| 2016 | 2 | 38 | forest | Real |
| 2016 | 2 | 39 | wishing | Real |
| 2016 | 2 | 40 | brighter | Real |
| 2015 | 1 | 1 | fip | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 1 | 2 | pon | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 1 | 3 | hab | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 1 | 4 | ulb | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 1 | 5 | dack | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 1 | 6 | chob | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 1 | 7 | nurt | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 1 | 8 | queet | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 1 | 9 | plap | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 1 | 10 | froin | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 1 | 11 | melp | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 1 | 12 | heent | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 1 | 13 | shed | Real |
| 2015 | 1 | 14 | long | Real |
| 2015 | 1 | 15 | soil | Real |
| 2015 | 1 | 16 | chart | Real |
| 2015 | 1 | 17 | crab | Real |
| 2015 | 1 | 18 | fresh | Real |
| 2015 | 1 | 19 | wink | Real |
| 2015 | 1 | 20 | shuts | Real |
| 2015 | 2 | 21 | yair | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 2 | 22 | blies | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 2 | 23 | keam | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 2 | 24 | whape | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 2 | 25 | braft | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 2 | 26 | thrant | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 2 | 27 | sprop | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 2 | 28 | straw | Pseudo |
| 2015 | 2 | 29 | law | Real |
| 2015 | 2 | 30 | glued | Real |
| 2015 | 2 | 31 | zoom | Real |
| 2015 | 2 | 32 | rice | Real |
| 2015 | 2 | 33 | grand | Real |
| 2015 | 2 | 34 | cloaks | Real |
| 2015 | 2 | 35 | scrap | Real |
| 2015 | 2 | 36 | strike | Real |
| 2015 | 2 | 37 | river | Real |
| 2015 | 2 | 38 | diving | Real |
| 2015 | 2 | 39 | beehive | Real |
| 2015 | 2 | 40 | midnight | Real |
| 2014 | 1 | 1 | vol | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 1 | 2 | teg | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 1 | 3 | jat | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 1 | 4 | ind | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 1 | 5 | tull | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 1 | 6 | shog | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 1 | 7 | foid | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 1 | 8 | thard | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 1 | 9 | frem | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 1 | 10 | cloin | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 1 | 11 | bulm | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 1 | 12 | harnd | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 1 | 13 | quiz | Real |
| 2014 | 1 | 14 | back | Real |
| 2014 | 1 | 15 | doom | Real |
| 2014 | 1 | 16 | short | Real |
| 2014 | 1 | 17 | freed | Real |
| 2014 | 1 | 18 | dress | Real |
| 2014 | 1 | 19 | fund | Real |
| 2014 | 1 | 20 | think | Real |
| 2014 | 2 | 21 | jair | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 2 | 22 | clain | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 2 | 23 | yewn | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 2 | 24 | tabe | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 2 | 25 | clisk | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 2 | 26 | thrand | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 2 | 27 | strad | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 2 | 28 | scroy | Pseudo |
| 2014 | 2 | 29 | nigh | Real |
| 2014 | 2 | 30 | brown | Real |
| 2014 | 2 | 31 | main | Real |
| 2014 | 2 | 32 | rude | Real |
| 2014 | 2 | 33 | drink | Real |
| 2014 | 2 | 34 | crowds | Real |
| 2014 | 2 | 35 | splat | Real |
| 2014 | 2 | 36 | stripe | Real |
| 2014 | 2 | 37 | comic | Real |
| 2014 | 2 | 38 | giving | Real |
| 2014 | 2 | 39 | pumpkin | Real |
| 2014 | 2 | 40 | fighters | Real |
| 2013 | 1 | 1 | fot | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 1 | 2 | keb | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 1 | 3 | gan | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 1 | 4 | ulp | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 1 | 5 | poth | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 1 | 6 | shan | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 1 | 7 | veen | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 1 | 8 | quorg | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 1 | 9 | drap | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 1 | 10 | flarm | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 1 | 11 | lect | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 1 | 12 | viosk | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 1 | 13 | thin | Real |
| 2013 | 1 | 14 | peck | Real |
| 2013 | 1 | 15 | torn | Real |
| 2013 | 1 | 16 | cheek | Real |
| 2013 | 1 | 17 | trap | Real |
| 2013 | 1 | 18 | snarl | Real |
| 2013 | 1 | 19 | milk | Real |
| 2013 | 1 | 20 | moist | Real |
| 2013 | 2 | 21 | quigh | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 2 | 22 | herks | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 2 | 23 | jorb | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 2 | 24 | zale | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 2 | 25 | bluns | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 2 | 26 | skarld | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 2 | 27 | splot | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 2 | 28 | strabe | Pseudo |
| 2013 | 2 | 29 | toy | Real |
| 2013 | 2 | 30 | spike | Real |
| 2013 | 2 | 31 | fuel | Real |
| 2013 | 2 | 32 | name | Real |
| 2013 | 2 | 33 | props | Real |
| 2013 | 2 | 34 | spoilt | Real |
| 2013 | 2 | 35 | scram | Real |
| 2013 | 2 | 36 | strike | Real |
| 2013 | 2 | 37 | panic | Real |
| 2013 | 2 | 38 | second | Real |
| 2013 | 2 | 39 | tantrum | Real |
| 2013 | 2 | 40 | reaching | Real |
| 2012 | 1 | 1 | pib | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 1 | 2 | vus | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 1 | 3 | yop | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 1 | 4 | elt | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 1 | 5 | desh | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 1 | 6 | chab | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 1 | 7 | poil | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 1 | 8 | queep | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 1 | 9 | stin | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 1 | 10 | proom | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 1 | 11 | sarps | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 1 | 12 | thend | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 1 | 13 | chip | Real |
| 2012 | 1 | 14 | jazz | Real |
| 2012 | 1 | 15 | farm | Real |
| 2012 | 1 | 16 | thorn | Real |
| 2012 | 1 | 17 | stop | Real |
| 2012 | 1 | 18 | truck | Real |
| 2012 | 1 | 19 | jump | Real |
| 2012 | 1 | 20 | lords | Real |
| 2012 | 2 | 21 | kigh | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 2 | 22 | girst | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 2 | 23 | baim | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 2 | 24 | yune | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 2 | 25 | flods | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 2 | 26 | groiks | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 2 | 27 | strom | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 2 | 28 | splaw | Pseudo |
| 2012 | 2 | 29 | fair | Real |
| 2012 | 2 | 30 | flute | Real |
| 2012 | 2 | 31 | goat | Real |
| 2012 | 2 | 32 | shine | Real |
| 2012 | 2 | 33 | crept | Real |
| 2012 | 2 | 34 | shrubs | Real |
| 2012 | 2 | 35 | scrap | Real |
| 2012 | 2 | 36 | stroke | Real |
| 2012 | 2 | 37 | index | Real |
| 2012 | 2 | 38 | turnip | Real |
| 2012 | 2 | 39 | waiting | Real |
| 2012 | 2 | 40 | portrait | Real |
What is the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check?
The Phonics Screening Check is a short test where children in Year 1 read words aloud.
Children sit in a one-to-one setting with their teacher and are asked to read aloud exactly 40 words to demonstrate their phonics skills. Children use their phonics knowledge to read each word, decoding its word structures using the phonics skills they have learned throughout Reception and Year 1.
Half of the words are real words but the other half are 'alien' words (sometimes called 'pseudo words' or 'nonsense words'). These unfamiliar words have been made-up to ensure children are using their decoding skills rather than their existing vocabulary.
The Phonics Screening Test exists to monitor phonics teaching within schools and the level of early literacy attainment among children is recorded.
Below are two example words from the 2019 Phonics Screening Check:
| Word | Type |
|---|---|
| fusp | Pseudo |
| shop | Real |
The word 'fusp' is an alien word (or nonsense word) and the word 'shop' is a real word. To help avoid children misreading alien words as similar-looking real words, each alien word is marked with a picture of a friendly alien.
The Phonics Screening Test is split into two sections. Section 1 is the easier part and contains 20 words - 12 alien words and 8 real words. Section 2 is the harder part and its 20 words are split into 8 alien words and 12 real words.
The Phonics Assessment held in Year 1 of primary schools throughout England has no formal time limit but it normally takes around 10 minutes to complete.
The Phonics Screening Test has a pass mark (also known as threshold mark) and hence children can fail it. If a child fails their Phonics Test then they are required 're-sit' it at the end of Year 2.
What is the Phonics Screening Test Pass Mark?
Since the first Phonics Screening Test in the 2012 Phonics Screening Test, the pass mark has always been 32 out of 40. This means that children had to read at least 32 words out of 40 correctly to pass.
Children that don't reach the pass mark are required to take it again at the end of Year 2.
What date is the Phonics Screening Test?
The 2026 Phonics Screening Test is taking place during the week commencing 8th June 2026. For further information about the 2026 test, see the dedicated 2026 Phonics Screening Test page.
Is the Phonics Screening Test compulsory?
Yes, all pupils in England who have reached the age of 6 by the end of the school year (i.e. Year 1) must take the national Phonics Screening Test during that academic year. Further to this, pupils who will have reached the age of 7 by the end of the academic year (i.e. Year 2) and who have not taken the test before (or who did not meet the expected standard in their previous test) must also take the test.
If children are absent during the planned test week then the school is allowed to administer the test in the following week. If a child remains absent then the child is recorded as absent in their results.
There are some exceptions to this and for further information parents should check the official guidance.
How do you pass the Phonics Screening Test?
To pass the Phonics Screening Test, children have to read at least 32 words out of 40 correctly to their teacher.
Here is Exam Ninja's recommendations to help ensure your child passes their Phonics Screening Test:
- Preparation. The Year 1 Phonics Screening simply asks children to read 40 words. Practice their reading skills daily - then they're practising for the test without even knowing it.
- Download the Year one Phonics Tests above and go through a few tests with them. Experience of phonics testing will help them. In one sitting they should (in the test scenario) be able to attempt all 40 words.
- Patience and perseverance are crucial. Learning to read is a long and at times frustrating journey. It's crucial that you closely support your child.
If in doubt, calmly remind your child to:
- Say each sound in the word from left to right.
- Blend the sounds by pointing to each letter, e.g. b in bat, or igh in high.
Whilst supporting their attempts to read by:
- Running your finger under the letters, letter combinations or the whole word as they (or you) say it.
- Not rushing.
- Being patient and positive.
- Giving encouragement and praise.
If your child is worrying about not doing well in their Year 1 Phonics Test, calmly remind them to simply try their hardest. Remember, persevere and be patient - early literacy and confident reading cannot be mastered overnight.
FAQ
What is the Phonics Screening Check?
The Phonics Screening Check is a short, statutory assessment for all Year 1 pupils in England. It tests decoding ability by asking children to read 40 words aloud to their teacher - 20 real words and 20 pseudo-words.
Are all Phonics Screening Checks free to download?
Yes. Every Phonics Screening Check from 2012 onwards is free to download, including the Pupils' Materials booklet and Answer Sheet. The 2020 and 2021 checks were cancelled due to COVID-19, so no materials exist for those years.
How long does the Phonics Screening Check take?
Most pupils complete the check in 10 minutes or less. It is administered one-to-one with a teacher and is not formally timed, so children can move at a comfortable pace.
Where do Phonics Screening Checks come from?
All Phonics Screening Checks are produced by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA), part of the Department for Education, and published under the Open Government Licence v3.0 - which permits free copying and distribution with attribution.
What year group takes the Phonics Screening Check?
Children take the Phonics Screening Check in Year 1 (age 5-6), normally in the second week after the May/June half term. Any child who does not meet the expected standard re-takes it in Year 2. Download every past check free from the Phonics Screening page.
Is the Phonics Screening Check the same as a phonics test?
Yes. The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check is often called the phonics test or Phonics Screening test. It is a short, statutory check that Year 1 children in England take in June to see how well they can decode (sound out) words.
