Phonics screening check data collection: guide to submitting data

Phonics teaches people to read by relating sounds with letters and words. The phonics screening check is designed to check whether pupils understand phonics to an appropriate standard.

The phonics screening check data collection is an annual statutory data collection that takes place each June. In the 2020 to 2021 academic year, the national curriculum assessments, including the phonics screening check, were cancelled.

Cancellation of the phonics screening check in June 2021 means incoming year 2 pupils did not take the check in year 1.

In the 2021 to 2022 academic year, it will be statutory for schools to administer a past version of the check to year 2 pupils during the second half of the 2021 autumn term. Schools should return results to DfE through their local authority in the usual way. The data collection process for the autumn check is designed to mirror the existing summer collection process, to minimise change for schools and local authorities.

Local authorities must complete statutory data collections by law unless there is a very good reason not to.

You must submit phonics screening check assessment data for year 2 pupils in all:

• schools maintained by the local authority
• academies
• free schools
• special schools (schools for children with special educational needs or disabilities)

Important dates

Dates for the 2022 data collection:

• collection opens on Monday 6 June 2022
• deadline for submitting data is Friday 22 July 2022

Submit your data

You’ll need to:

• register and log in with DfE Sign-in
• use COLLECT to submit your data

Please contact your school or local authority approver, if:

• you want to request a DfE Sign-in username or password so you can access COLLECT
• ‘phonics screening check data’ is not on the list of collections you can see in COLLECT

Get help using DfE Sign-in

If you do not know who your approver is, please use the DfE Sign-in request form.

If you’ve forgotten your password, use DfE Sign-in to reset it. You will need to click ‘start now’ and then the ‘I’ve forgotten my password’ link.

Note that we’ll only be able to change the status of your data submission to ‘authorised’ once you’ve cleared all errors in the data in COLLECT.

2022 collection documents

The following guides will help you complete the return:

• Phonics screening check data collection 2022: guide
• Phonics screening data collection 2022: technical specification
• COLLECT guides for schools and local authorities

Do you need help?

Submitting data

Please use the service request form if you have any questions about your data. We aim to answer your question within 5 working days.

Administering the check

For general enquiries about administering the phonics screening check to year 2 pupils, please contact the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013 or assessments@education.gov.uk.

Feedback

Please use the feedback form if you have any comments about our data collection service, including COLLECT and the helpdesk service.