Year 1 Phonics screening check 2023

The Y1 Phonics screening check is used to test children's reading and phonics skills and what they've learnt in their first two years at school. Get an idea of what your child will be asked to do in the June test by looking through the official past paper for 2023.

Children's phonics knowledge has been tested at the end of Year 1 since 2012.

To understand what sounds and words (including nonsense words or pseudo words) your child might be expected to read in this year's test, look through the 2023 past paper.

The 'pass threshold' mark for this past paper from 2023 is 32 out of 40 words read correctly.

Download official Year 1 Phonics screening check past papers

You can download the official past paper from 2012 (the first year the Check was administered), 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022 for free from TheSchoolRun.

       

Year 1 Phonics screening check: practice tests

For more practice materials see our Y1 Phonics "mock" tests, written to mirror the official test and offer your child some extra opportunities to familiarise themselves with the format of the screening check.

Phonics worksheets, activities and games for KS1

You can also browse through our selection of phonics worksheets, follow our Phonics Learning Journey, read parents' information about the Y1 Phonics screening check or find out more about phonics.

Our phonics subscriber learning packs, Fabulous phonics and Phonics games, offer phonics fun and activities to help boost your child's confidence as they learn to read.

 

All official Year 1 Phonics screening check papers available on TheSchoolRun are © Department for Education and reproduced under the terms of the Open Government Licence (see our Terms and conditions for further details). They are intended for home use / private study only.