Phonics screening check: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA)
Statutory guidance for assessing and reporting the phonics screening check at key stage 1 (KS1).
- From:
- Standards and Testing Agency
- Published
- 1 October 2024
- Last updated
- 29 September 2025 — See all updates
Documents
Details
This guidance is for schools, local authorities and governing bodies responsible for the phonics screening check.
The arrangements apply to maintained schools, maintained special schools, academies, free schools, Ministry of Defence (MoD) schools and participating independent schools with pupils in KS1.KS1.
Updates to this page
Published 1 October 2024
Last updated 29 September 2025
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-
Updated for the academic year 2025 to 2026.
-
First published.
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Details
This guidance is for schools, local authorities and governing bodies responsible for the phonics screening check.
The arrangements apply to maintained schools, maintained special schools, academies, free schools, Ministry of Defence (MoD) schools and participating independent schools with pupils in KS1.KS1.
Updates to this page
-
Updated for the academic year 2025 to 2026.
-
First published.
Sign up for emails or print this page
Update history
2026-03-23 09:30
Updated date in the ‘Important dates’ section, for clarification: Local authorities carry out monitoring visits to a sample of schools Monday 1 June to Friday 26 June (previously shown as Monday 1 June to Friday 16 June). For full details, please refer to section 5.9, which explains that local authorities will carry out monitoring visits to a sample of schools between Monday 1 June and Friday 19 June but that, in some circumstances, a local authority may be able to conduct a monitoring visit after 19 June, up until Friday 26 June.
2025-09-29 09:30
Updated for the academic year 2025 to 2026.
2024-10-01 09:30
First published.