How much time for the Year 1 phonics test?

[PrincessesRUs]

My child failed the year 1 phonics test as they weren't quick enough. I think they're redoing it at some point. We are practicing flash cards at home to try and build speed and fluency. Does anyone know how many words they have to read and in what length of time?

It’s 40 words and I wasn’t aware of a time limit on the test. Do you mean that the sounding out and blending that your child did/does is too stretched out to be fluid/fluent?

There are 40 words and threshold is 32 read correctly. If you mean there was an overall time limit then the teacher needs to clarify what they mean, as there is no time limit. They can take breaks during it, do it a page at a time etc. You can get previous screening materials from the government website to show you what they need to be able to read.

They will redo it when the current Year 1 cohort do it as they will do the same screening check, mid June.

Odd, there is no time limit. We’ve had to make adjustments for some children by giving them a break every 4th or 5th word. Think the school needs to explain what they mean

Flashcards won't really help - recognising words on sight doesn't help learn to letters relate to sounds relate to words relate to meaning.

What is much more likely to help is practising de-coding, so that DC really learns how the marks on the paper (graphemes - letters or combinations of letters like 'sh') relate to the sounds they can represent. And the plausible ways that they could write down a word from how it sounds.

Rather than flashcards, I'd try reading together - lots - with your finger following under the words as you read them. DC might just listen, or they might listen and look, and if looking they will, over time, assimilate that code of how the letters or groups of letters relate to words

This is all really helpful - thank you so much! School says that she is painstakingly sounding out each word when she just needs to be able to say the words that are common words?

Whilst this is true, this is not what the phonics screening tests. Half the words in it are made up eg pight or slock. Recognising common words on sight is good but no use for reading unknown words! Sounds like there are 2 separate issues here: she isn’t recognising ‘tricky’/sight/non decodable words on sight (eg the, people, there) and is sounding them out which doesn’t help, and that she also failed the phonics screening so is presumably also struggling with sounding decodable words (eg sleep, out, light) out. There is no time limit on the phonics screening so it’s weird to say she failed on that.

There is no time limit on the screening.

Children can sound out the words but they must also blend them after. So if you sound out c-a-t but then don't also say 'cat' you don't get a mark.

I'd ask how they are going to support her to pass. For example, if they use sound buttons in class to identify the sounds in each word they learn in phonics, do they also do this in the test? My Year 1s put the sound buttons on to help them to sound out and blend, but they can only do this if this is normal classroom practise!

This is the administration guidance which should clarify how the screening should be administered and states no time limits etc.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachmentdata/file/1142992/20233Phonicsscreeninggcheckadministrationn_guidance.pdf

I think reading everybody's responses I need to stop thinking there's going to be some magic solution to get through the process more quickly and just focus on doing the basic stuff ie read the school reading book multiple times and read to her lots and just try and enjoy reading together. I so desperately want her to be a good reader as it opens every other door in education.