QTS Phonics and Early Reading

Question 1

What does 'systematic synthetic phonics' (SSP) require teachers to do?

Accepted Answer

Teach letter-sound correspondences in a structured sequence and blend them to read words

Answer

SSP requires teaching grapheme-phoneme correspondences in a planned sequence and teaching children to synthesise (blend) sounds to decode words.

Question 2

Which government-commissioned review in 2006 strongly endorsed systematic synthetic phonics for early reading in England?

Accepted Answer

The Rose Review

Answer

The Independent Review of the Teaching of Early Reading (2006), known as the Rose Review, concluded that SSP is the most effective approach to teaching reading.

Question 3

In the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check, what score must pupils reach to pass?

Accepted Answer

32 out of 40

Answer

The pass threshold for the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check is 32 out of 40. Pupils below this threshold retake the check in Year 2.

Question 4

What is a 'grapheme' in the context of phonics teaching?

Accepted Answer

A written representation of a phoneme (one or more letters)

Answer

A grapheme is the written letter or group of letters that represents a phoneme (sound). For example, 'sh' is a grapheme representing one phoneme.

Question 5

Which of the following is an example of a 'digraph'?

Accepted Answer

sh

Answer

A digraph is two letters that together represent one phoneme. 'sh' is a consonant digraph representing the /ʃ/ sound.

QTS Practice Test

QTS Practice Test

QTS Phonics and Early Reading