Heads have claimed a “lack of trust” in teachers is “getting in the way of sensible solutions” after the government ignored their pleas for this term’s catch-up phonics check to be scrapped.

Asking schools to hold an autumn phonics test for Year 2 children following the cancellation of assessments in the summer term is a “completely unnecessary bureaucratic burden” with “zero academic value”, according to the NAHT school leaders’ union.

This week, the Department for Education’s Standards and Testing Agency (STA) confirmed earlier reports that schools would be asked to carry out a past version of the phonics check in the autumn term.

Related: Pupils to catch up on phonics test ‘in autumn term’

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

At the time the plans for the catch-up tests emerged, NAHT wrote to the STA, urging the department to “trust the professionalism of school leaders and teachers who want the best for all of the children in their schools”.

“Through normal teaching, learning and assessment in the autumn term schools can identify those children who are yet to meet the expected standard in phonics and notify their local authority of those children who will therefore need to sit the check in June 2021,” the letter said.

“This approach achieves the same result without subjecting children to another test in the autumn, disrupting their learning and recovery, or creating additional burdens and workload for school leaders and their staff.”

But the STA ignored heads’ pleas for the tests to be cancelled.

The new guidance, released this week, states: “Cancellation of the phonics screening check in June 2020 means incoming Year 2 pupils did not take the check in Year 1.

“In the 2020-21 academic year only, it is statutory for schools to administer a past version of the phonics screening check to Year 2 pupils during the second half of the 2020 autumn term and return results to the LA.”

Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said the decision “goes against everything the government has said it wants schools focusing on” in the wake of the Covid-19 shutdown.

“Asking schools to administer a phonics test this term for every child in Year 2 is a completely unnecessary bureaucratic burden at a very challenging time and for zero academic value,” he said.

“Teachers will already be assessing all children and their ‘catch-up’ needs, including in phonics - distracting from this at such a vital time for the sake of a formal test and data collection exercise is wrong.

“It goes against everything the government has said it wants schools focusing on to mitigate the damage lockdown has wrought on wellbeing as well as education.

“Once again, we have suggested to government that teacher assessment is sufficient to gather the information which is needed but their lack of trust in the profession is getting in the way of sensible solutions.”

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 this 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.”