2017 Phonics Screening Check
Download the 2017 Year 1 Phonics Screening Check materials for free, including the practice materials, assessment materials, answer sheet, scoring guidance, word list, PowerPoint presentation and a complete ZIP file.
The 2017 check was given to all children in Year 1 in England in June 2017. Schools chose a day within the week commencing 12th June 2017, with larger schools spreading the check across several days. It included a mix of real words and pseudo-words.
2017 Phonics Screening Check Past Papers
Below are all the downloads for the 2017 Phonics Screening Check. You can download each resource individually or grab the complete ZIP, which bundles every PDF together with the word list and whole-class PowerPoint presentation published by Exam Ninja.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||||
| Source: Standards and Testing Agency (STA) | Open Government Licence |
About these 2017 Year 1 Phonics papers
- 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.
2017 Phonics Screening Check Word List
Below are all 40 words used in the 2017 Phonics Screening Check. Each is either a real word or a pseudo-word (a made-up, nonsense word that checks a child's decoding skills rather than their vocabulary).
| Question | Word | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | dat | Pseudo |
| 2 | cag | Pseudo |
| 3 | rin | Pseudo |
| 4 | ept | Pseudo |
| 5 | jash | Pseudo |
| 6 | quib | Pseudo |
| 7 | coid | Pseudo |
| 8 | quass | Pseudo |
| 9 | glog | Pseudo |
| 10 | blard | Pseudo |
| 11 | disp | Pseudo |
| 12 | murbs | Pseudo |
| 13 | chum | Real |
| 14 | kick | Real |
| 15 | reef | Real |
| 16 | short | Real |
| 17 | blot | Real |
| 18 | greet | Real |
| 19 | dust | Real |
| 20 | parks | Real |
| 21 | tay | Pseudo |
| 22 | sloam | Pseudo |
| 23 | zued | Pseudo |
| 24 | meve | Pseudo |
| 25 | clend | Pseudo |
| 26 | braits | Pseudo |
| 27 | scrug | Pseudo |
| 28 | splue | Pseudo |
| 29 | high | Real |
| 30 | feast | Real |
| 31 | goal | Real |
| 32 | shape | Real |
| 33 | trunk | Real |
| 34 | groups | Real |
| 35 | straw | Real |
| 36 | scribe | Real |
| 37 | model | Real |
| 38 | person | Real |
| 39 | chapter | Real |
| 40 | reptiles | Real |
20 real words, 20 pseudo-words.
2017 Phonics Screening Check Pass Mark & Threshold
The pass mark (threshold) for the 2017 Phonics Screening Check was 32 out of 40. A child needed to read at least 32 of the 40 words correctly to meet the expected standard.
Any child who did not meet the standard retook the check the following year, in Year 2. So children who missed the mark in the 2016 Phonics Screening Check sat this 2017 check in Year 2.
More Phonics Screening Past Papers
| Decade | Years |
|---|---|
| 2020s | 20222023202420252026 |
| 2010s | 20122013201420152016201720182019 |
FAQ
Is the 2017 Phonics Screening Check free to download?
Yes. The full 2017 Phonics Screening Check is free to download. It includes the Pupils' Materials booklet (with words for the child to read aloud) and the Answer Sheet for the teacher.
Where does the 2017 Phonics Screening Check come from?
The Phonics Screening Check is produced annually by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA), part of the Department for Education, and published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
What was the pass mark for the 2017 Phonics Screening Check?
The pass mark (threshold) for the 2017 Phonics Screening Check was 32 out of 40. Any child who scored below 32 retook the check the following year.
Who sat the 2017 Phonics Screening Check?
Two groups sat the 2017 check: Year 1 children, aged 5 to 6 (born between 1 September 2011 and 31 August 2012); and Year 2 children who did not meet the expected standard in the 2016 check and were retaking it. For how the check works, see the Phonics Screening page.
What happened if my child did not pass the 2017 Phonics Screening Check?
A child who did not meet the expected standard (32 out of 40) in the 2017 check retook it in Year 2, the following year, in 2018.
