Phonics screening check practice
Practise the Year 1 phonics screening check
Use a real past check from the government, or make a new mixed check. The child reads each word aloud and you mark it as they go, just like the real thing.
- 40words in two sections of 20
- Alien words are made-up words, shown with an alien
- 4words on each page, like the real check
Tap Correct or Not yet under each word as the child reads it. Use the arrow keys to change page, or press Y and N to mark when showing one word at a time. Download PDF gives you the word pages and a marking sheet to print.
About the phonics screening check practice
A free mock of the Year 1 phonics screening check, with every past check published by the government from 2012 to 2026 (there were no checks in 2020 and 2021). You can also make a new mixed check, which takes each of the 40 words from a different past year, so the sounds and word types still build up just like the real check. Show four words to a page or one at a time, mark as the child reads, then see their score, whether they reached the pass mark for that year, and the words and sounds to practise next. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
Past check words are from the Standards and Testing Agency and contain public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is a practice tool and is not made by or linked to the Department for Education.