Failing the phonics screening

[Falcon1]

I've just been informed by DD's school (because I asked) that she only got 21 out of 40 in her phonics screening in December. The pass mark was 32. She is Year 2 (the test was delayed due to covid). She's below expectations in reading and writing and really hates/struggles with reading. Her spelling seems to suggest a lack of basic phonic knowledge. For instance, she recently spelt favourite as 'fafrt' and colour as 'coley'. My question is, is this score (and her struggles) indicative of something like dyslexia, or could she just be a bit of a late developer? I've been concerned about her progress since reception but I keep being told not to worry, lockdown has had an impact on their learning, she'll get it eventually etc etc. The school said they categorically do not support dyslexia assessments as the council won't fund them. I listen to her read every day (which is like pulling teeth as she hates it so much) and I read to her a different book at bedtime, and always have done. We have a reading chest subscription, play phonics games and do Reading Eggs (which she also hates). It just doesn't seem to be sinking in.

Are they doing any interventions with her?

Dyslexia assessments aren't done until older. Maybe year 4? I'm sure someone will come along in a moment with the information.

School should be running an intervention group for all those who didn't pass, and she will retake it again (when the current year one's do there's).

They've said she's working in a small Fred group where they go over sounds 3 times a week. She is retaking the test in June apparently.

My son failed his phonics screening in year 1. He said he wanted to be good at reading, but found it hard. He would get angry when reading, and rub his eyes. Then one day he mentioned the words wouldn’t stay still, and I decided I was going to take him for private screening. It was not cheap, but they diagnosed him as not dyslexic, but with visual stress. He was given coloured lenses for his glasses and coloured overlays, and it was as though someone had switched his reading on overnight. I’m not going to say your dd will experience the same, but it is well worth investigating if you are worried. We were able to get a discount on our tests, as I allowed ds’s result to be included in a study they were doing. Getting his lenses made a massive difference to his ability to move through school, and it’s an expense I do not regret.

Thanks backinthebox. I've looked into a private assessment - there seems to be a minimum 6 month waiting list around here!

Coloured overlays are worth a try - experiment with different colours.

Can she identify specific sounds if asked? Can she orally blend sounds together to make words? Can she break a word down into the sounds she can hear? Lots of questions, but trying to work out where the difficulty is.

I tried coloured overlays but she said it wasn't helpful. She struggles to hear sounds - often she can only hear the first sound and sometimes not even then. For instance if a word starts with ch or sh she finds it baffling.

I don’t have much to offer other than understanding. My year 1 child is not meeting the expectations for literacy and spelling though I think maybe he gets phonics. School are not particularly helpful, I’m fairly certain there is some underlying issue, but they are just not interested at this age.

Hearing issues?

TonsilTrouble - it's stressful, isn't it? She's starting to say things about being stupid, which just breaks my heart.

ThirdElephant - the GP checked her hearing ages ago (she had a slight speech delay) but it was all fine.

Unless she's actually been taught how to spell 'colour' that's not a bad attempt! So many different ways to spell the schwa, our poor children

fafrt shows some phonic awareness too.

But it did strike me that you said she doesn't seem to hear sounds properly. Have you had it checked?

Because if she can't hear how sounds make words, then yes it's going to be difficult.

Lots of rhymes and puns might help. Out loud or you reading to her. Also make sure she's enjoying stories with you - because although you might have to work hard on the nuts and bolts of how to access text and read, literacy is also about enjoying and understanding stories

I would look online for phonological assessments and see if there are underlying phonological difficulties. These are things like syllable segmentation, rhyme etc which are key indicators of reading and spelling success. Lots of children are struggling with this because of lost time in school. There is a book called Toe by Toe which is intended for use by parents and teachers with children who have dyslexia . You can buy on Amazon. I have used it at my school for many many children and it never fails!

Some dyslexia screening can be done at 61/2. Most schools do not have access to a full dyslexia assessment but a screener can give an idea of difficulty.

Look into auditory processing disorder- there is a very helpful FB group. I don’t think her spelling attempted are too bad, TBF, but you’ve mentioned the sounds as a particular concern.
Please be aware that not all children learn to read through phonics- the government would like this to be the case, but it truly isn’t.

Sounds like low level hearing impairment does she have a cold or mild cold symptoms hay-fever? Mine snore because he was so swollen in that area he has glue ear but he clears it naturally so he can "pass" a hearing test sometimes but not always he failed too but he has sen so he only got 2 or 3 right he got ten the next time after many many interventions then they were allowed to excuse him

Honestly get hearing and sight tested

Look at something like dyslexia gold online. It’s a great system to support developing readers and to assess dyslexia

Have you had her hearing checked? It may or may not be an issue but it rules out why she may not be able to hear the sounds if there's nothing wrong with it. I completely disagree with school's approach to dyslexia too, if diagnosed then she's be eligible for extra time in SATs, it's not always about money. That said, if she was dyslexic then she would be entitled to some form of intervention.

There's a scheme called toe-by-toe which is aimed at children who find reading hard, you have to commit to it though ie 10 mins a day. They also do another book called Word Wasp.
toe-by-toe.co.uk
www.wordwasp.com

Nessy Learning might appeal more as it's computer based games.
www.nessy.com/en-gb

If you can afford it it might be worth putting her names down for a private assessment. If (as in many cases) there's a long waiting list then it gives you a few months during which if everything 'clicks' then you can simply cancel the appointment.

Finally, I'd ask for a meeting with the teacher & even the SENCO. Explain your concerns, ask how you can help your daughter and ask again at what point they might consider dyslexia (or anything else).

Buy flash packs of phonics cards from Amazon and first words etc and do it daily - ten mins before school and ten mins after - make it a game. Oxford owl has a good website with phonics on it and read read read read every single day. Encourage her to sound and try spellings etc

Coloured overlays are snake oil (or the placebo effect if you prefer).
Make sure the Reading Chest books are all phonics based and don't bother with Reading Eggs, it's not phonics based.
My DS "got" phonics but hated reading due to attention difficulties (he has ADHD). Helpful suggestions included much shorter things to read (e.g. Picture of toy and "it's on the bed" or "Mum has the book". Teach your Monster to Read was the best app for us.

I would recommend Reading Reflex. You can get the book online and basically work your way through. It worked for my eldest.

Toe by toe is really for 7+.

I would go back to basics, with simple books such as the Ladybird series, just to build up her confidence with reading. Lots of praise, and lots of 'clever girl' when she reads correctly.
It sounds old fashioned, but this is how I successfully taught both my daughters, and then my granddaughter, to read.

If you can afford it get a dyslexia test.
best thing I ever did for my now year 4 child. Once it is confirmed they are dyslexic school will do more to help.

Fwiw, ive heard that lots of yr2 kids are struggling much more than would normally be expected this year. Especially summer babies.

The disruption to not being in school for much of reception and a considerable amount of yr1 has had a massive effect.

I know of kids who I'd really expect to be doing better, really struggling purely because theyve not been able to develop concerntration skills to learn.

Thats also having a knock on effect in terms of disruption to the rest of the class due to behaviour levels.

So I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that something is wrong as such.

I don't have any advice to offer but i think this is worth keeping in mind.