Didn't Pass the Phonics Screening Check? What Happens Next

The end-of-year report shows a phonics check score below the pass mark, and it's hard to know how worried to be. If your child didn't pass the phonics screening check, the next steps are already laid out: continued phonics support at school through Year 2 and a second go the following June. This article explains what the check measures, what happens between now and the retake, what to ask the school, and how to help at home without turning evenings into test practice.

The short answer

Missing the phonics screening check in Year 1 is common and does not mean your child won't learn to read. In June 2026, 82% of Year 1 pupils in England met the expected standard, so nearly one in five did not, and 89% had met it by the end of Year 2. Your child retakes the check in June of Year 2, and the school must keep supporting their phonics until then.

What the phonics screening check measures, and what it doesn't

The check is a statutory assessment in state-funded schools in England. A teacher sits with your child and listens to them read 40 words aloud: 20 real words and 20 pseudo-words, the made-up words many schools call alien words. It takes about five minutes, according to the Department for Education's reading framework.

The made-up words are there on purpose. A child can't recognise them from memory, so the only way to read them is to know the letter sounds and blend them. That is why a child who reads familiar books confidently can still fall short: they may turn a made-up word into a real one they know. The framework is clear that the check does not assess comprehension or how quickly a child reads familiar words. It looks at one skill, decoding.

Each word read correctly scores a mark. The mark needed to meet the standard was 32 from 2012 to 2025. In 2026 it was 31, the first change since the check began, because the words change every year and the difficulty can shift slightly. Schools only learn the mark after the check week.

Meeting the standard is also not the finish line. The reading framework notes that many children who pass still read the words slowly, and it cites the Standards and Testing Agency's guide of around 90 words per minute as the point where children start to read fluently enough to focus on meaning. Our article on what most 7-year-olds can do covers that next stage.

What happens next if your child didn't pass the phonics screening check

The steps are set out in the Standards and Testing Agency's assessment and reporting arrangements for schools.

1. End of the Year 1 summer term. The headteacher must report your child's score to you. If the report doesn't say what support comes next, it's fair to ask.
2. Through Year 2. The headteacher has to make sure pupils who didn't meet the standard keep receiving phonics support, and schools are expected to run a programme of support for them. The reading framework describes good extra practice as a short session every day, at a regular time, in a quiet place, led by a trained teacher or teaching assistant, one-to-one or in a small group, and following the same phonics programme as the class.
3. June of Year 2. Your child takes the check again. In 2027 schools give it in the week beginning Monday 14 June, and the pass mark is published on Monday 28 June. The result comes to you in the end-of-year report, as before.
4. If the retake is missed too. There is no third statutory check. The duty to keep phonics support going covers Year 2 pupils as well, and the framework expects schools to keep teaching older pupils who can't yet decode through a phonics programme at their level, starting at the point they need rather than from the beginning.

Results are not published for individual schools. The framework notes that Ofsted inspectors use them, alongside other evidence, when they look at how a school teaches reading.

Why some children miss the expected standard

There is rarely a single reason, and several of them are temporary.

• Age in the school year. In 2026, 76% of August-born pupils met the standard in Year 1, against 87% of September-born pupils, according to the DfE statistics. A late-summer birthday means taking the check almost a year younger than some classmates. Even so, the reading framework warns against assuming a summer-born child will simply catch up with time; children in that position still need targeted teaching.
• Gaps in letter-sound knowledge. Each word is marked separately, so a few letter-sound patterns that aren't solid yet can cost several marks.
• Guessing instead of sounding out. Children who lean on the first letter or on the words they know tend to misread the made-up words. Our article on why children guess words explains how to shift that habit.
• Hearing, vision, or speech and language. The framework asks teachers to look into whether a hearing or visual impairment, or speech, language and communication needs, might be behind slow progress.
• Special educational needs. In 2026, 56% of pupils on SEN support met the standard in Year 1. The reading framework notes that children with learning difficulties may need longer, and that every child needs to master the link between letters and sounds.

If English isn't your child's first language, that alone is not the cause: in 2026, children whose first language was not English met the standard at the same rate as other children, 82%.

How to help at home before the Year 2 retake

Home practice works best when it matches what school is doing, so start by asking which sounds your child is still missing. Then keep it short, daily and calm.

• Practise the missing sounds in real words. A few minutes saying the sounds, blending them and reading the word is enough. The framework also suggests writing words from dictation and then reading them back, saying the sounds while writing.
• Read the book school sends home. The framework says children who are behind should keep reading books made up of the sounds they have been taught until they can blend new words fluently. If the book seems too hard, tell the teacher.
• Keep reading aloud to your child. The framework's guidance for parents describes two books: one your child reads to you, and one you read to them and talk about.
• Don't drill made-up words or old check papers. The framework tells teachers not to give pupils lots of pseudo-words to prepare, and says past papers aren't a good way to find which sounds need practice. Real words and real books do more.
• Stop while it's still going well. A short, focused session does more than a long, tense one. Our guide to improving reading fluency at home has a short daily routine for when decoding is steady.

If you'd like short, structured practice between school sessions, HyFo's exercises include reading single words and blending syllables, with one task on screen at a time. It's a practice tool for children who already know the alphabet and can read simple words syllable by syllable, not a phonics programme, so the school's programme stays the main thing.

When to involve the teacher

You don't have to wait for the retake. Ask for a short meeting early in Year 2 and take a few questions with you:

• Which letter-sound patterns is my child still missing?
• What extra phonics practice are they getting, how often, and who leads it?
• Is the reading book coming home matched to the sounds they know?
• Has anyone looked at hearing, vision, or speech and language?
• What can we do at home that fits your phonics programme?

If progress stays slow despite steady support, or reading difficulties come with other worries about learning, ask to talk to the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO). GOV.UK suggests speaking to the teacher or the SENCO if you think your child needs extra help, such as a special learning programme or work in a smaller group.

For short daily practice alongside school phonics, you can join the free HyFo beta.