Check in Assessment and Phonics

Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

What is phonics?

Phonics is the relationship between letters and sounds and is vital in learning to read. Some children struggle with learning to read so it is important that these children are identified quickly so teachers can plan for any specific support they may need.

What is the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check?

The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check is a short statewide assessment that tells teachers how your child is progressing in phonics. This screening check observes how your child can read English words with different letter combinations. Your child will sit with a teacher and will be asked to read 40 words aloud. These words include 20 real words and 20 nonsense words. The purpose of the nonsense words is to see if the student can use their knowledge of blending to read a word rather than their memory of having seen that word before. The test normally takes 5-7 minutes. If your child is struggling the teacher will stop the check. The check is carefully designed not to be stressful for your child. 

The main purpose of the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check is to provide your child’s teacher with information which will allow them to plan for your child’s learning. Each child is individually assessed by a teacher and all Year 1 students will be assessed.

Why use nonsense words?

The assessment includes pseudo or nonsense words to see if the student is able to use their knowledge of blending to read a word rather than their memory of having seen that word before.

When will this be occurring at SSPS?

In Week 4, 5 and 6,  Year 1 students will participate in the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check. 

For further information, please click here.

Check-in Assessment for Stage 2 & Stage 3 (Year 3-6)

During weeks 6-9, all students in Year 3-Year 6 will participate in the Check-in assessment.

The Check-in assessment is a NSW Department of Education online literacy and numeracy assessment available to support schools to assess and monitor student learning.

The assessment can supplement existing school practices to identify how students are performing in literacy and numeracy and aims to help teachers tailor their teaching more specifically to their students' needs. Students with a disability may receive the same level of support during the assessment they would normally receive in the classroom.

• All students in Year 3-Year 5 will complete a reading assessment and a numeracy assessment. 
• All students in Year 6 will complete a reading assessment, writing assessment and a numeracy assessment. 

We ask that your child brings headphones or earbuds that plug into a computer to enable them to hear audio by Friday of Week 5, these will be kept in their classroom until all assessments are completed. Please ensure they have an audio jack connection.