Merton Council’s primary schools have put the council in the top 10 local authorities for year 1 phonics.

Phonics is a method for teaching reading and writing by learning the sounds letter combinations make.

Following the publication of the 2017 statutory phonics screening check for 6-year-olds, the council has been formally congratulated by Minister for School Standards, the Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP, for achieving a four percentage point increase on its 2016 performance. Eighty-four percent of pupils achieved the expected standard which is three percentage points above the national average.

Merton Council cabinet member for education Cllr Caroline Cooper-Marbiah said: “This is yet more fantastic news for our schools as they continue to perform strongly, giving our children a great start in life. Children who can read are much more likely to gain the qualifications they need and enjoy a rewarding career. Congratulations to all our primary school pupils and teaching staff who make Merton stand out as an excellent place to go to school and achieve their full potential.”

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Note to editor

The phonics screening check is a statutory assessment for all pupils in year 1 (typically aged 6) to check whether they have met the expected standard in phonic decoding. All state-funded schools with a year 1 cohort must administer the check. Those pupils who did not meet the standard in year 1 or who were not checked, must take part in the check at the end of year 2 (typically aged 7). Teachers administer the check one-on-one with each pupil and record whether their response to each of the 40 words is correct. Each pupil is awarded a mark between 0 and 40 and in 2017, as in previous years, the threshold to determine whether a pupil had met the expected standard was 32. Since 2014, this threshold mark has not been communicated to schools until after the screening check has been completed, however its year-on-year stability means it is predictable.