Education secretary confirms phonics check to go ahead in the Autumn term

It will replace the phonics check that usually takes place in June in Year 1 - the academic year when most children turn six - but was cancelled this year because of the pandemic.

The Department for Education has published a guide to the phonics check for local authorities and schools.

It says this relates to the collection of data for pupils in year 2 in the 2021 to 2022 academic year, who due to the cancellation of the phonics screening check in June 2021 did not take the check in year 1.

The document states, ‘It is a statutory requirement for schools to administer a past version of the phonics screening check to year 2 pupils during the second half of the 2021 autumn term and return results to the LA.

‘Year 2 pupils who meet the expected standard in phonics in the autumn check will not be required to complete any further statutory assessments in phonics. Year 2 pupils who do not meet the expected standard in the autumn check will be expected to take the statutory check in June 2022, alongside year 1 pupils.’

Speaking at the Festival of Education Gavin Williamson said that young children’s development has been particularly affected by the pandemic, and confirmed plans for an exceptional Year 2 phonics screening check in the autumn term to help ensure all young pupils grasp the basics of reading, as part of the full return of primary assessments in the next academic year.

Mr Williamson also confirmed that the Government continues to plan for 'a full programme of primary assessments in the 2021-22 academic year, including the introduction of the statutory reception baseline assessment and the multiplication tables check, and we will confirm full details in due course'.

Teaching unions have criticised the decision on the phonics check and said it is ‘the last thing’ schools need when they need to focus on supporting children that have missed time at school during the pandemic, and is an unnecessary 'bureaucratic burden'.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said, ‘Asking schools to administer a phonics test in the Autumn term for every child in Year 2 is a completely unnecessary bureaucratic burden at a challenging time and for zero academic value.

'Teachers will already be assessing all children, identifying their wellbeing and academic needs, including in phonics, and providing the support that those children need. An additional test and formal data collection exercise is wrong.

'We have suggested to Government that teacher assessment is sufficient to gather the information which is needed, but their lack of trust in the profession is getting in the way of sensible solutions.

‘This is the last thing schools need next term when they want to be able to focus on supporting those children who have missed out on schooling this year as a result of the pandemic. What schools need right now is to know on what basis to plan for the return of pupils in the new academic year and when and how they will access recovery funding, not news of new bureaucratic burdens that will only get in the way of teaching and learning.'

Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said, 'The last thing children need after Covid-19 is another test which won't tell teachers anything new or helpful about their pupils and will simply put them under more pressure. 

'Children who "fail" the test will be required to re-sit it in the summer term. This is no message to give to pupils who have just experienced huge disruption to their education due to the pandemic. 

'Carrying out this test in autumn will also place an unnecessary burden on school staff at a time when they want to focus all their energies on supporting pupils with learning.'