This is a human-readable view of our entitymap.json (following the entitymap.org v1.0 convention). It lists the key entities around the UK phonics screening check, how they relate, and short pieces of evidence quoted directly from pages on this site.
A statutory assessment of phonic decoding taken by children in Year 1 in England each June, in which the child reads 40 words aloud (20 real words and 20 pseudo/‘alien’ words) one-to-one with a teacher.
No Wikidata entity (sameAs omitted).
The phonics screening check is a short, one-to-one activity that almost every child in Year 1 in England does each June.
The “expected standard” in the phonics screening check has been 32 out of 40 in every year the check has run.
A method of teaching reading and writing by relating letters to the sounds they represent, and blending those sounds into words (decoding).
Same as: Wikidata Q1364762
A child can’t have memorised “splace”, so the only way to read it is to use phonics: break it into its sounds and blend them.
The educational year group in England for children who are mostly aged five to six; the year in which the phonics screening check is first taken.
Same as: Wikidata Q6580633
It’s taken by children in Year 1, usually aged five or six, during a set week in June each year.
The stage of the National Curriculum in England covering Years 1 and 2 (ages five to seven).
Same as: Wikidata Q9423006
No evidence chunks.
The United Kingdom government ministerial department responsible for education in England, which publishes the phonics screening check materials each year.
Same as: Wikidata Q2612019
Every year the Department for Education publishes a new phonics screening check.
A made-up, pronounceable word with no meaning — called an ‘alien word’ in the check and shown beside a monster — used to test pure decoding because it cannot be recognised from memory.
Same as: Wikidata Q1369058
In the real check each one is shown beside a little cartoon monster, and children are told these are “alien words” — the monster’s name — so they know not to try to twist them into a real word they already know.
A free, no-login web app for practising the UK Year 1 phonics screening check at home, using the official 2012–2026 papers (excluding cancelled 2020/2021). Nothing is paywalled.
No Wikidata entity (sameAs omitted).
Phonics Check Buddy lets your child practise the real phonics screening check format in your browser — free, with no login, no ads and nothing to download.
The UK company that makes and runs Phonics Check Buddy. It is not affiliated with the Department for Education.
No Wikidata entity (sameAs omitted).
Any donations go to Broadhurst Digital Limited, the small UK company behind this app, and are put straight back into it