To be annoyed about Year 2 and the phonics screen

[Useruseruserusee]

I am a teacher and I have a year 1 DS. This thread isn’t about school opening in September.

It’s about the decision by the STA that the children going into Year 2 will have to take a phonics screen in the second half of the autumn term.

I know they have missed it in Year 1 but just in primary schools the SATs, end of EYFS assessments and Year 4 multiplication check were also missed. No one is having to catch up on any of these! So why the obsession by the government with the phonics screen?

I feel sad that my DS will experience a Year 2 where all autumn phonics will be pushed and then it will be SATs prep time. And for the unlucky DC who do not pass in autumn, there will be a phonics resit. The world can turn with one cohort missing a phonics screen!

AIBU to feel annoyed about this?

How big a deal is it really? It was barely mentioned at DS’s school and then I got a letter saying it had happened and his score.

I didn’t seem like a difficult one or one that put them under pressure.

I am a primary teacher, taught Y1 this year and moving up to Y2 next year with my class to help continuity plus I have a 6yo DD who will be starting Y2 in Sept so... YES, I totally agree with you.

It's not a big deal if the children have been in school all year and have covered all the phonics needed for the screening. It's an additional pain in the backside in September when schools are trying to catch up with all the bits of the curriculum some of the children have missed whilst ensuring those that have been able to access learning at home continue to make progress and cover the year 2 curriculum at the same time!

It's ridiculous and will impact massively on the recovery curriculum. These children wil have so many gaps that to have to drill them for phonics, then expect them to do SATs is making a travesty of a Y2 curriculum. I totally despair of the testing situation in this country, across all key stages, particularly as the government have already admitted it's accountability for us.

To be fair, one of the reasons we went for a private school was to avoid these tests... A friends 7 year old had nightmares for weeks because of the KS 1 SATS (her school made a massive deal out of them, tons of practice and homework).
its just too much stress for young kids, especially since some will have done next to nothing since march!

It's just another example of out of touch leadership.

It's a government decision, not school leaders.

I’ll be annoyed if there’s a big focus on phonics as my child entering year 2 could’ve past that phonics check in reception. But from experience of other child in year 2 at the school they (The school) haven’t made a fuss over phonics check or SATs so DC probably won’t even notice it.

Merryoldgoat It’s not a big deal for a child who will comfortably pass. But those who are borderline or below will be drilled in the run up at the expense of other lessons. Schools are judged on the results.

Year 2 reading will be dominated by phonics initially when it should be so much broader than that. It should be time to move on from alien words.

Most of the year 2 teachers I know are quite happy with it- I also don't see an issue. If children do need the extra support in phonics then surely that's a good thing that they have these extra sessions and then the test to see what support they need? Phonics is so important for their reading- and then reading is so important for all of their learning?
Even if the government didn't say this, I'm sure many schools would of done the test anyway to see and get a good baseline- I bet times table tests will happen too- maybe not officially but schools will do it :)
Year 2 should be more than just phonics - however it's different this year- things have to change initially to get things back on track x

@Useruseruserusee

Merryoldgoat It’s not a big deal for a child who will comfortably pass. But those who are borderline or below will be drilled in the run up at the expense of other lessons. Schools are judged on the results.

Year 2 reading will be dominated by phonics initially when it should be so much broader than that. It should be time to move on from alien words.

Ok. Then it’s obviously done differently in my son’s school as there was no push or drilling at all.

They specifically told us they’d just be assessed ‘as is’ when required and would use the results to help the kids who needed it.

My son didn’t even mention it had happened - my friends and I weren’t even aware until we got the results.

@Merryoldgoat same in our school. We were completely oblivious the phonics check and SATs had even happened in KS1

It's a screening test.

If your DC is struggling, would you not rather this was picked up by a 5minute screening, when there is still oodles of time in KS1 to benefit from interventions (if indeed any are needed)?

I think year 2 SATs should dissapear but i cant get as upset about the phonics screen. I dont think the results should be published though. And this comes from someone whose child failed it and is aware that it correlates with age more strongly than reading ability!

The phonics screen only takes about five minutes and it allows the teacher to see where any shortfalls are so that he/she can focus attention in the daily phonics lesson.
It’s no big deal.

If your DC is struggling, would you not rather this was picked up by a 5minute screening, when there is still oodles of time in KS1 to benefit from interventions (if indeed any are needed)?

But teachers already know who is struggling and already have support in place. No teacher is going to wait 2 years to notice a problem.

I think YABU.
The whole point of the check is to see which children are struggling with their phonics. They'll only need to spend ages on phonics in the autumn term if the majority of the class aren't where they need to be yet. Phonics is so important for reading and spelling.

But teachers already know who is struggling and already have support in place. No teacher is going to wait 2 years to notice a problem.

Actually I don't think that is so. The screening test was introduced precisely because a minority of schools were not teaching phonics well and this was being missed and only discovered in juniors when children who had learned by whole word or 'guess by context' couldn't read new words.
e.g. eclectic / electric / eccentric

If, after 8 years of the screening test, there are still schools not teaching phonics well, they never will!

Y2 teacher here. I actually don't have that much of a problem with the Phonics check as that's all it is...a check. And by the second half of the Autumn term, most children will be absolutely fine with it while the ones who struggle should have lots of support in place.

What I do object to hugely are the KS1 SATS. The children are to be tested on the whole KS1 curriculum when they can't possibly have covered everything in the time we have. It's absolutely ridiculous and I really hope that the unions, schools and most importantly, parents boycott them.

They're supposed to be phased out by 2023 anyway so what is the point?? All they will do is put additional stress on teachers and the children at a critical time in history when additional stress is positively the last thing anyone needs.

Y2 teacher here. I actually don't have that much of a problem with the Phonics check as that's all it is...a check. And by the second half of the Autumn term, most children will be absolutely fine with it while the ones who struggle should have lots of support in place.

What I do object to hugely are the KS1 SATS. The children are to be tested on the whole KS1 curriculum when they can't possibly have covered everything in the time we have. It's absolutely ridiculous and I really hope that the unions, schools and most importantly, parents boycott them.

They're supposed to be phased out by 2023 anyway so what is the point?? All they will do is put additional stress on teachers and the children at a critical time in history when additional stress is positively the last thing anyone needs.

I’m a teacher and parent of a Year 1-going into Year 2 child who will likely sail through the phonics screening and I think it’s ridiculous. More time does not need to be spent practising phonics, they have enough to get through in Year 2 and they have SATS which is bad enough. I’m not impressed either.

Some may sail through and some are going to struggle- not every child has been home schooled during this time and even if they have they have still missed large areas of learning- phonics screening is a very discreet test that half the time the children don't realise it's done.
Also an issue would be if year 2 didn't catch the issues and go straight on and then these children get further behind- is like to think the children who 'sail through' will probably not get the phonics interventions that others will certainly need. Year 2 will need to have some sort of 'year 1 ' phonics for the first term at least to catch up and fill in any gaps surely!
Unfortunately as it seems with everything you can't please everyone.

My son has just finished Yr 2 @Useruseruserusee the phonics screening he did in Yr 1 was not an issue at all, literally just reading words out and confirming if they were made up or real, like a normal phonics lesson - it's nothing honestly.

also with regards to teachers knowing who is struggling and already have support in place - do you realise that since March things have been so different- some of my bright sparks have certainly maintained that and some of what were my losers are now flying high! Things have swapped completely and children have progressed at different paces, as well as gone backwards- the transition meeting with my year 2 teacher (I teach year 1) I told her what I thought but said first week of September anything could happen x