The controversial Year 1 summer phonics check hasbeen scrappedfor a second year running.
All statutory primary assessments due to take place in the 2020-21 academic year have been cancelled, according to from theDepartment for Education.
This includes thephonics check, which would normally take place in the summer, the Standards and Vlogting Agency (STA) clarified in an update sent this afternoon.
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In September, the DfE confirmed that schools would be asked tocarry out a past version of the phonics check in the autumn term for Year 2 pupils who missed the test at the end of the 2019-20 academic year.
It is not yet clear whether this arrangementwill be repeated for a second year.The DfE toldVlogthat further detailsin relation to the 2020-21 phonics check were still being worked out.
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Yesterdayeducation secretary Gavin Williamsonannounced thatSats will not be going ahead this year, after schools were closed as part of the third national lockdown.
The DfEhad already U-turned on its plan to press ahead withall primary assessments in 2021, cancelling key stage 1Sats and some ofthe Year 6 tests.
However, it was still planning for themajority of KS2Sats, as well as the Year 1 phonics check,to go aheadin the summer.
This afternoon, the DfE clarified that all primary assessments will be scrapped in the2020-21 academic year.
New guidance from the DfE states: “The department recognises that, due to the further disruption caused by school closures, primary assessments cannot continue as intended.
“We will therefore cancel the statutory KS1 and KS2 tests and teacher assessments planned for summer 2021, including the KS2 tests in reading and mathematics.
“We remain determined to ensure that every young person, no matter their age or background, is provided with the education and opportunities they deserve despite the challenges faced by schools.
“We know that schools will continue to use assessment during the summer term to inform teaching, to enable them to give information to parents on their child’s attainment in their annual report and to support transition to secondary school. We strongly encourage schools to do this, using past test papers if they wish.”
And an email update from the STA, sent this afternoon, confirms that the phonics check is among the cancelled assessments.
It states: “The following assessments, scheduled between April and July 2021, have been cancelled:
- KS1 teacher assessments
- KS2 tests and teacher assessments
- Phonics screening check
- All statutory trialling
“Schools do not need to complete any further activities to prepare for these assessments. Local authorities will not need to undertake monitoring or moderation activities.”
In the new guidance published this afternoon,thedepartment addsthat afull range of primary tests will take place in the next academic year.
“Primary assessments have a crucial role in supporting pupils to grasp the basics of reading, writing and mathematics and to prepare them for secondary school,” it says.
“As such, these arrangements will apply for summer 2021 only, and the department is planning for a full programme of primary assessments to take place in the 2021-22 academic year.”
