Hi Laura
Thank you for posting your question.
The point of the testing is to see which children are falling behind where they should be. The teachers should use this information to put in place a plan to help your child to catch up. They will then again test all those that were originally falling behind at the end of the school year.
Your child should not feel like they are doing a test. Usually the teachers take children out of the class or to a quiet area to do a phonics or reading test every week or two. The phonics screening test should feel the same for your child.
It only takes 4 to 9 minutes.
You will be told the results either at the next parent's meeting or at the end of the school year.
It is supposed to be designed to help your daughter.
If you are worried that she will react badly to this, please do speak to your teacher about this. I'm sure that they will be able to help your child to feel comfortable.
FOR A MORE DETAILED EXPLAINATION SEE BELOW;
All year 2 pupils in most schools are to take the test this autumn term.
These are the pupils that would have had the test at the end of year 1 had it not been cancelled.
The schools are supposed to send the results to the local authority.
Exceptions are for children who may not have English as their first language or who have not shown any understanding of phonics or graphemes (phonemes are sounds. Graphemes are single letters or collection of letters that make a sound)
The schools will use materials from previous years to set the checks. Here is a link to the check materials.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/809986/2019_phonics_pupils_materials_standard.pdf
The check will take between 4-9 minutes.
The class teacher will tell your child to read out real or imaginary words and they will write down if your child got it right on a piece of paper.
Data from the autumn check will be used by DfE only to determine which eligible pupils have not met the expected standard in phonics by the end of the 2021 autumn term and are, therefore, expected to take the statutory check in June 2022 (alongside year 1 pupils).
Headteachers must report pupils’ results to parents in their annual reports. This should include whether their child has met the expected standard to ensure they are aware of their child’s progress in developing phonics decoding skills.
For year 2 pupils who take the check in autumn 2021 and June 2022, schools must report both results to parents.
Schools can choose to report pupils’ check results to parents earlier. There is no requirement to provide any interim reports and schools must still include autumn check results in pupils’ annual reports.
I hope this helps
Chenali@level-up-kids
