The Biggest Mistake Parents Make Before the Phonics Screening Check
As the date for the phonics screening check approaches, many parents find themselves wondering how best to support their child’s reading journey. While the intention is always positive, there is a common pitfall that can hinder a child’s performance during this assessment. The biggest mistake parents make before the phonics screening check is encouraging their child to memorise words rather than teaching them to decode.
Why Memorising Will Not Always Work
It is easy to see why memorising feels like a win. When a child recognizes a word on sight, it looks like fluent reading. However, the phonics screening check is specifically designed to see if a child can use their phonics knowledge to tackle words they have never seen before.
If a child relies solely on memory, they hit a wall when they encounter:
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Unfamiliar vocabulary: Words that haven’t been practiced at home.
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Nonsense words: Also known as “alien words,” these are made-up strings of letters like “froam” or “blize”.
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Complex phonetic structures: Words where phonics sounds must be carefully identified and combined.
In the video, “The Biggest Mistake Parents Make Before the Phonics Screening Check,” it is explained that memorising will not always work because the test is essentially a check of a child’s “decoding engine”.
The Power of Decoding
To succeed, your child needs to move away from memory and toward decoding. This is the process of looking at the letters, saying the individual phonics sounds, and then blending them together to read the word.
The phonics screening check includes nonsense words specifically to ensure children aren’t just reciting words from memory. For example, a child might see an alien word like “blize”. They cannot rely on memory for this; they must identify the /b/ /l/ /ie/ /z/ sounds and blend them. This demonstrates they have the skills to read any word, not just the ones they’ve seen in a specific book.
How to Help Your Child Prepare
Learning phonics sounds properly matters immensely. Here is how you can shift the focus from memorising to decoding:
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Focus on the Sounds: Practice the individual sounds (phonemes) that letters and groups of letters make.
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Practice Blending: Encourage your child to “sound it out” and then push the sounds together.
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Embrace the Aliens: Use nonsense words during practice sessions to build confidence in decoding without the safety net of memory.
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Keep it Consistent: Short, daily practice of phonics sounds is much more effective than long, infrequent sessions.
Making Phonics Clearer
If phonics feels confusing, you aren’t alone. The goal of the phonics screening check isn’t to catch children out, but to ensure they have the foundational tools for lifelong reading. By avoiding the biggest mistake parents make before the phonics screening check—relying on memorising—you give your child the gift of true literacy.
Focusing on decoding ensures that when your child sits down for their phonics screening, they aren’t guessing—they are reading.
For more support, you can find free phonics screening help at Early Years Pad.
