Children who missed the Year 1 phonics check owing to schools being shut during the coronavirus outbreak would sit a “past version” of the test next term, under proposals seen by Tes.

The suggestion is set out in an email sent to heads from the Standards and Testing Agency (STA), the Department for Education (DfE) agency that oversees assessment.

The DfE had announced that the 2019-20 national curriculum assessments “will not take place due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic”.

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But in an email sent yesterday, the STA suggested schools “administer a past version of the check to Year 2 pupils during the second half of the 2020 autumn term”.

In response, headteacher Sarah Alexander has called on the NAHT school leaders’ union to “reject the DfE proposal”, asking: “Where has the pupil wellbeing focus gone?”.

@NAHTnews Please tell me you are going to reject the DfE proposal (emailed out to HTs today) that current Y1 pupils take their missed phonics check during the second half of autumn term! Where has the pupil wellbeing focus gone?!? ???

- Sarah Alexander ??‍♀️ (@Sarah_Alexand) July 15, 2020

Nick Brook, NAHT deputy general secretary, told Tes that the union “does not support the proposal” to administer the phonics check in Year 2, as it “just adds an unnecessary bureaucratic burden and provides no educational benefit to pupils”.

The STA’s email states: “Cancellation of the phonics screening check in June 2020 means incoming Year 2 pupils did not take the check in Year 1.

“This means that under the existing arrangements, all Year 2 pupils would have been required to take the statutory check in June 2021.

“Our current proposal, subject to the necessary legislation being made, is that (for 2020-21 only) schools will administer a past version of the check to Year 2 pupils during the second half of the 2020 autumn term.”

It continues: “Year 2 pupils who meet the expected standard in the autumn check will not be required to complete any further statutory assessments in phonics.

“Year 2 pupils who do not meet the expected standard in the autumn check will be expected to take the statutory check in June 2021.”

The email sets out the proposals in more detail: 

• Schools will have the flexibility to decide when they administer the check in the second half of the 2020 autumn term.
• Schools can choose which version of the check they use from the past materials already published on GOV.UK.
• Schools will be required to report their Year 2 pupils’ check scores to their local authority and local authorities will then submit this data to the DfE (this will mirror the existing data collection process, in order to minimise change for schools and local authorities, and will take place in December 2020 and January 2021).
• The data will only be used to determine which Year 2 pupils have not met the expected standard in phonics and are expected to take the statutory check in June 2021 (alongside Year 1 pupils).
• The data from the autumn 2020 check will not be added to Analyse School Performance, but schools should use the assessment outcomes to help inform their own teaching and support to pupils.

“Incoming Year 3 pupils who were due to take the statutory check in June 2020 are not required to take the autumn check. Schools are expected to maintain a programme of support for these pupils, which should be informed by formative assessment,” the email states.

It adds that further guidance will be published in September 2020.

Mr Brook added: “All year groups in the new academic year need to be able to move on with a curriculum that meets their needs.

“Teachers will, as they do every year, work with all pupils to fill any gaps in their learning, including their reading skills, to allow them to progress in their current year group.

“Government proposals mean that all Year 2 children will be expected to take a phonics test in the second half of the autumn term and schools will need to report that data to their local authority.

“This is entirely unnecessary. School leaders and their staff are facing unprecedented challenges as they work to recover, rebuild their school community and support pupils, parents and carers, both academically and pastorally.

“We must help schools to do this and not place any unnecessary obstacles in their path.”

A spokesperson for campaign group More Than A Score said: “This announcement beggars belief. 

“It shows zero empathy for six- and seven-year-olds who will now spend the first term of the new school year being crammed in nonsense words to sit a pointless phonics test instead of being supported and encouraged to love reading and learning.”

Earlier this month, the department said all statutory primary assessments, including the phonics check, will take place in 2020-21 “in accordance with their usual timetables”.

A DfE spokesperson said: “Pupils who may need support should not be overlooked as a result of missing their phonics check, and we know the majority of schools also undertake assessments to inform teaching, which is why we’re proposing checks are held retrospectively next term.

“The proposal will give schools flexibility on when in the second half of the autumn term they administer phonics assessments, so that teachers do not have to manage two year groups taking the assessment in June 2021.”