Phonics attainments for children aged 5 to 7 (key stage 1)

Published 4 May 2018

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Contents

1. Main facts and figures

• overall, in 2016/17, 81% of pupils met the expected standard in phonics at the end of year 1 (when children are aged 5 to 6 years), and 92% had met the expected standard by the end of year 2 (when children are aged 6 to 7 years)
• across all ethnic groups, a higher percentage of girls than boys met the expected standard by the end of both year 1 and year 2
• within every ethnic group, year 1 pupils not eligible for free school meals (FSM) were more likely to meet the expected standard than those who were eligible, except for Gypsy/Roma pupils
• among both girls and boys, Indian pupils were most likely to meet the expected standard both at the end of year 1 (at 92% for girls and 88% for boys), and at the end of year 2 (at 97% for girls and 94% for boys, which was the same percentage as Chinese boys)
• Traveller of Irish Heritage boys and girls were least likely to meet the expected standard at the end of year 1, at 27% and 44% respectively – at the end of year 2, 54% of Traveller of Irish Heritage boys and 65% of Gypsy/Roma girls had met the expected standard (the lowest percentages of any ethnic groups at the end of year 2)

Things you need to know

In 2016/17, there were 664,964 pupils at the end of year 1, and ethnicity was known for 655,166 (99%) of them; 75% were White, 11% were Asian, 5% were Black, 6% were Mixed, 2% were from the any Other ethnic group and 0.5% were Chinese.

There were 652,013 pupils in year 2, and ethnicity was known for 645,003 (99%) of them; 75% were White, 11% were Asian, 5% were Black, 6% were Mixed, 2% were from the any Other ethnic group and 0.5% were Chinese.

Phonics results are presented for the academic year 2016/17. Data for the academic year 2015/16 is available in the download file.

The data covers phonics attainment for pupils in years 1 and 2.

Year 1 results include all eligible pupils who were in year 1 (aged 5 to 6 years) in the school year 2016/17 and eligible for the phonics check. See ‘Further technical information’ in the Methodology section for details about eligibility.

Year 2 phonics results include both:

• pupils who took the phonics check in the school year 2015/16 (when they were in year 1) and met the expected standard – these pupils account for around 80% of year 2 phonics results
• pupils who did the check again in 2016/17 (when they were in year 2), usually because they hadn’t met the standard or were absent during the year 1 check – these pupils account for around 20% of year 2 phonics results

School level data is not published for key stage 1.

Results for the Isles of Scilly and the City of London, which have only one school each, have been excluded from local authority breakdowns.

The Department for Education (DfE) has also excluded, or ‘suppressed’, very small numbers (for example, values of 1 or 2, a percentage based on 1 or 2 pupils who achieved, or 0, 1 or 2 pupils who did not achieve a particular standard).

This is because, where the size of the ethnic group population is small enough that an individual’s identity could be revealed, information is suppressed to preserve confidentiality. This is consistent with DfE’s statistical policy statement on confidentiality (PDF opens in a new window or tab) (PDF).

Pupil numbers for key stage 1 vary between measures of attainment for different subjects. This is because pupils who don't have a valid teacher assessment for a particular subject are excluded from the total. For more about valid teacher assessments, see the Methodology section.

What the data measures

This data measures the percentage of pupils who met the expected standard in the phonics screening check both:

• at the end of year 1 (when pupils are aged 5 to 6 years)
• at the end of year 2 (when pupils are aged 6 to 7 years)

The data covers the academic year 2016/17 (September 2016 to July 2017).

The phonics approach helps children to learn to read by teaching them the sounds made by letters in the English language. They can then combine these sounds into words, for both reading and writing.

All pupils in state-funded mainstream schools take the phonics screening checks at the end of year 1 to see if they’ve reached the expected standard. Pupils who don’t meet the standard, or who weren’t checked, are checked at the end of year 2.

The test consists of 20 real words and 20 made-up words that pupils read out loud to a teacher.

The ethnic categories used in this data

This data uses categories from the Department for Education’s school census, which is broadly based on the 2001 national Census, with 3 exceptions:

• Traveller of Irish Heritage and Gypsy/Roma children have been separated into 2 categories
• Sri Lankan has been added to the Asian/Asian British group but is not reported separately
• Chinese pupils have been assigned a separate category

These changes were made after consultations with local authorities and lobby groups.

The categories in the school census are as follows:

White:

• White British
• White Irish
• Traveller of Irish Heritage
• Gypsy/Roma
• Other White

Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups:

• White and Black Caribbean
• White and Black African
• White and Asian
• Other Mixed background

Asian/Asian British:

• Indian
• Pakistani
• Bangladeshi
• Sri Lankan
• Other Asian background

Black/African/Caribbean/Black British:

• Black African
• Black Caribbean

• Other Black background

• Chinese

• Other ethnic group

Information is provided for both detailed and broad ethnic groups where possible and when the data is available.

The 6 broad categories used are as follows:

• Asian/Asian British
• Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
• Chinese
• Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups
• White
• Other ethnic group

However, local authority data is only provided for 5 broad ethnic groups. Information about the specific ethnic categories is excluded to preserve confidentiality and ensure individuals cannot be identified. Information about the Other ethnic group is not given because DfE does not publish data for this group at the local authority level.

The 5 broad categories are as follows:

• Asian/Asian British
• Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
• Chinese
• Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups
• White

2. Phonics attainment for children aged 5 to 7 by ethnicity

• Location: England
• Time period: 2016/17
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2017

Percentage of year 1 and year 2 pupils meeting the expected standard in phonics by ethnicity

Ethnicity	Year 1	Year 2
All	81	92
Asian	85	93
Bangladeshi	84	92
Indian	90	95
Pakistani	81	92
Asian other	85	93
Black	83	92
Black African	84	92
Black Caribbean	79	90
Black other	81	91
Chinese	88	95
Mixed	83	92
Mixed White/Asian	86	94
Mixed White/Black African	84	92
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	78	91
Mixed other	83	93
White	81	92
White British	81	92
White Irish	81	91
White Irish Traveller	36	60
White Gypsy/Roma	39	61
White other	79	90
Other	79	89

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Phonics attainments for children aged 5 to 7 (key stage 1) Phonics attainment for children aged 5 to 7 by ethnicity Summary

The data shows that:

• overall, 81% of pupils met the expected standard in phonics at the end of year 1 (aged 5 to 6 years), and 92% did so by the end of year 2 (aged 6 to 7 years), making these the national averages for 2016/17
• 90% of Indian pupils met the expected standard at the end of year 1, and 95% of both Indian and Chinese pupils met the standard by the end of year 2 (the highest percentages of any ethnic groups)
• 36% of Traveller of Irish Heritage pupils met the expected standard at the end of year 1, and 60% did so at the end of year 2 (the lowest percentages of any ethnic groups)
• 81% of White British pupils met the expected standard at the end of year 1, and 92% did so at the end of year 2

3. Phonics attainment for children aged 5 to 6 by ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals (FSM)

• Location: England
• Time period: 2016/17
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2017

Percentage of year 1 pupils meeting the expected standard in phonics by ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals

Ethnicity	FSM	Non-FSM
	%	%
All	68	83
Asian	78	86
Bangladeshi	80	84
Indian	82	90
Pakistani	77	82
Asian other	78	86
Black	77	84
Black African	79	85
Black Caribbean	73	81
Black other	76	82
Chinese	83	89
Mixed	73	85
Mixed White/Asian	74	88
Mixed White/Black African	76	85
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	70	81
Mixed other	74	85
White	65	83
White British	66	84
White Irish	58	84
White Irish Traveller	31	41
White Gypsy/Roma	42	38
White other	71	80
Other	74	80

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Phonics attainments for children aged 5 to 7 (key stage 1) Phonics attainment for children aged 5 to 6 by ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals (FSM) Summary

Eligibility for free school meals (FSM) is used as an indicator of deprivation by the Department for Education. For more about who qualifies for FSM, see the Methodology section.

The data for year 1 pupils shows that:

• overall, 68% of FSM-eligible pupils met the expected standard in phonics in 2016/17, compared with 83% of pupils not eligible for FSM (a gap of 15 percentage points)
• among White British pupils, 66% of those eligible for FSM met the expected standard, compared with 84% of those not eligible for FSM (a gap of 18 percentage points)
• FSM-eligible pupils were less likely to meet the expected standard than those not eligible in every ethnic group, except Gypsy/Roma pupils, where 42% of FSM-eligible pupils met the expected standard, compared with 38% of those not eligible for FSM
• 83% of Chinese FSM-eligible children met the expected standard (the highest percentage of any FSM-eligible ethnic group)
• 31% of Traveller of Irish Heritage FSM-eligible pupils met the expected standard (the lowest percentage of any FSM-eligible ethnic group)
• the biggest gap in attainment was found among White Irish pupils, where 58% of FSM-eligible pupils met the expected standard compared with 84% of those not eligible (a gap of 26 percentage points)

4. Phonics attainment for children aged 5 to 6 by ethnicity and area

• Location: England
• Time period: 2016/17
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2017

Percentage of year 1 pupils meeting the expected standard in phonics by ethnicity and area

Local authority	All	Asian	Black	Chinese	Mixed	White
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Barking and Dagenham	80	84	85		83	76
Barnet	85	89	83	94	88	85
Barnsley	78	75	74		86	78
Bath and North East Somerset	79	91	47	50	74	80
Bedford	77	81	85	100	79	76
Bexley	85	92	89		88	82
Birmingham	80	84	81	85	80	78
Blackburn with Darwen	81	85	82		91	79
Blackpool	80	86	50	100	82	81
Bolton	81	87	73		88	81
Bournemouth	84	89	86		86	83
Bracknell Forest	85	88	86		92	84
Bradford	80	83	79		79	78
Brent	81	85	82		83	80
Brighton and Hove	78	78	83	81	81	78
Bristol, City of	81	85	74		81	81
Bromley	88	94	84	95	88	88
Buckinghamshire	82	82	87	100	84	82
Bury	81	79	75	71	82	82
Calderdale	80	82	84	100	83	80
Cambridgeshire	80	86	73	91	83	80
Camden	82	81	79	87	82	83
Central Bedfordshire	82	92	82		83	82
Cheshire East	83	84		100	84	84
Cheshire West and Chester	81	84	67		83	81
City of London
Cornwall	79				81	79
County Durham	83	84	71	80	83	83
Coventry	79	86	83		81	77
Croydon	82	88	83		82	80
Cumbria	79			73	81	79
Darlington	85	92	100			85
Derby	80	80	81	80	84	80
Derbyshire	80	84	86	84	81	80
Devon	83	85	77	83	84	83
Doncaster	78	78	76		84	78
Dorset	81	81	50	100	80	81
Dudley	79	79	78		80	79
Ealing	83	86	80		83	85
East Riding of Yorkshire	82	100			87	82
East Sussex	80	85	87		80	80
Enfield	80	88	80		85	78
Essex	82	90	84	82	83	82
Gateshead	83	91	90		92	83
Gloucestershire	79	89	79	100	82	79
Greenwich	84	89	88	93	83	81
Hackney	86	89	85	85	86	85
Halton	79	100		N/A*	81	79
Hammersmith and Fulham	86	93	83	100	89	86
Hampshire	82	85	83	93	83	82
Haringey	83	88	83	91	89	83
Harrow	87	91	82		89	83
Hartlepool	82	86		100	76	82
Havering	85	92	85		86	85
Herefordshire, County of	84				83	84
Hertfordshire	83	89	84	93	82	83
Hillingdon	83	88	85		86	79
Hounslow	84	88	80		90	83
Isle of Wight	76		N/A*		85	75
Isles of Scilly
Islington	82	86	78	100	82	82
Kensington and Chelsea	86	89	79		90	90
Kent	82	89	89	84	86	82
Kingston upon Hull, City of	77	84	74	100	73	78
Kingston upon Thames	84	87	67	91	88	84
Kirklees	79	80	78	75	76	79
Knowsley	78	78		100	80	77
Lambeth	84	84	82	83	86	86
Lancashire	81	81	80	86	84	81
Leeds	77	79	76	81	76	78
Leicester	80	85	82	83	77	76
Leicestershire	82	89	90	83	80	81
Lewisham	81	85	79	82	80	83
Lincolnshire	82	90		76	85	82
Liverpool	76	82	80	81	77	76
Luton	78	79	83	60	79	78
Manchester	79	80	83	95	79	78
Medway	82	89	92	100	82	81
Merton	84	88	84	85	83	84
Middlesbrough	76	80	83		81	77
Milton Keynes	82	90	83		86	80
Newcastle upon Tyne	82	82	81	85	82	82
Newham	88	90	88	87	88	85
Norfolk	78	87	77	89	80	78
North East Lincolnshire	79			100	75	80
North Lincolnshire	80	85	57		92	80
North Somerset	82	81	67	100	82	82
North Tyneside	81	81	79	100	81	81
North Yorkshire	81	83	73	50	85	81
Northamptonshire	81	84	79	91	80	81
Northumberland	85	90	100	100	93	85
Nottingham	79	85	83		79	77
Nottinghamshire	79	86	86	88	81	79
Oldham	77	76	79	67	80	78
Oxfordshire	81	81	81		80	82
Peterborough	75	78	84	75	81	75
Plymouth	80	87	90		80	80
Poole	85	92			84	85
Portsmouth	77	82	86		87	77
Reading	80	88	83	79	80	78
Redbridge	83	88	81		81	78
Redcar and Cleveland	81	100			89	81
Richmond upon Thames	89	92	84	86	91	89
Rochdale	81	86	76	100	76	81
Rotherham	79	85	74		81	79
Rutland	83		100	N/A*		83
Salford	79	88	89		82	79
Sandwell	79	82	81		78	77
Sefton	80	73		100	83	80
Sheffield	77	79	78	79	77	77
Shropshire	82	88			82	82
Slough	84	90	81	100	84	77
Solihull	85	85	76	100	85	85
Somerset	79	81	77	73	82	79
South Gloucestershire	83	93	90	100	84	83
South Tyneside	83	78			87	84
Southampton	82	89	85		82	81
Southend-on-Sea	82	83	86	100	84	81
Southwark	84	85	84	90	86	85
St. Helens	79	83		100	78	79
Staffordshire	83	83	83	91	84	83
Stockport	82	80	82		77	82
Stockton-on-Tees	83	81	84		80	83
Stoke-on-Trent	79	83	84	82	85	79
Suffolk	80	84	86	100	80	80
Sunderland	83	82		80	79	83
Surrey	83	86	82	92	87	83
Sutton	84	92	89		80	82
Swindon	81	82	89		83	81
Tameside	79	79	78		88	79
Telford and Wrekin	82	91	79	100	81	82
Thurrock	84	91	92	100	84	82
Torbay	84	100			76	84
Tower Hamlets	82	84	84		82	78
Trafford	83	81	72	88	80	85
Wakefield	78	82	76	83	75	78
Walsall	80	85	86		80	79
Waltham Forest	84	87	80	91	87	84
Wandsworth	86	85	84	100	82	88
Warrington	81	88			79	81
Warwickshire	82	89	83	100	86	82
West Berkshire	78	89	85		78	78
West Sussex	80	84	80		82	80
Westminster	87	92	86	88	90	87
Wigan	83	86	73		87	84
Wiltshire	81	87	80	70	83	81
Windsor and Maidenhead	84	84	81	100	89	84
Wirral	76	84	100		84	76
Wokingham	83	88	85	100	85	82
Wolverhampton	79	86	85		79	77
Worcestershire	81	78	81	75	85	81
York	84	89		70	84	84

^* Not applicable Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Phonics attainments for children aged 5 to 7 (key stage 1) Phonics attainment for children aged 5 to 6 by ethnicity and area Summary

Except for the information for White pupils, the statistics quoted for phonics attainment by ethnicity and local authority are based on small numbers of pupils and are highly variable over time.

The data for year 1 pupils shows that:

• overall, in 2016/17, 89% of pupils met the expected standard in Richmond upon Thames in London (the highest percentage of any local authority), and 75% did so in Peterborough in the East of England (the lowest percentage of any local authority)
• 100% of Asian pupils met the expected standard in Halton, East Riding of Yorkshire, Torbay, and Redcar and Cleveland, compared with 73% in Sefton in the North West (a gap of 27 percentage points)
• 100% of Black pupils met the expected standard in Darlington, Northumberland, Wirral and Rutland, compared with 47% in Bath and North East Somerset (a gap of 53 percentage points)
• 100% of Chinese pupils met the expected standard in 31 out of 88 local authorities where data for Chinese pupils is available, compared with 50% in Bath and North East Somerset, and North Yorkshire (a gap of 50 percentage points)
• 93% of pupils of Mixed ethnicity met the expected standard in Northumberland, compared with 73% in the City of Kingston Upon Hull (a gap of 20 percentage points)
• 90% of White pupils met the expected standard in Kensington and Chelsea, compared with 75% in both Peterborough and the Isle of Wight (a gap of 15 percentage points)

5. Phonics attainment for children aged 5 to 7 by ethnicity and gender

• Location: England
• Time period: 2016/17
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2017

Percentage of year 1 and year 2 children meeting the expected standard in phonics by ethnicity and gender

	Boys		Girls
Ethnicity	Boys Year 1	Boys Year 2	Girls Year 1	Girls Year 2
All	78	90	85	94
Asian	82	91	88	95
Bangladeshi	80	90	87	95
Indian	88	94	92	97
Pakistani	77	90	86	94
Asian other	83	91	88	95
Black	79	89	86	94
Black African	81	90	87	95
Black Caribbean	74	88	83	93
Black other	77	89	85	93
Chinese	87	94	90	96
Mixed	79	90	86	95
Mixed White/Asian	83	92	89	96
Mixed White/Black African	81	91	86	94
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	73	88	83	94
Mixed other	80	91	86	95
White	77	90	85	94
White British	78	90	85	94
White Irish	78	90	84	92
White Irish Traveller	27	54	44	67
White Gypsy/Roma	34	57	44	65
White other	76	88	83	92
Other	75	87	83	92

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Phonics attainments for children aged 5 to 7 (key stage 1) Phonics attainment for children aged 5 to 7 by ethnicity and gender Summary

The data shows that:

• overall, 85% of year 1 girls met the expected standard in phonics in 2016/17, compared with 78% of year 1 boys, and 94% of year 2 girls did so compared with 90% of year 2 boys; girls were more likely to meet the expected standard than boys in every ethnic group in both year 1 and year 2
• Indian girls were most likely group of children to reach the expected standard in both year 1 and year 2, at 87% and 97% respectively
• boys from the Traveller of Irish Heritage group were least likely group of children to reach the expected standard in both year 1 and year 2, at 27% and 54% respectively
• the largest gap between girls and boys was found in the Traveller of Irish Heritage ethnic group, where 44% of girls and 27% of boys met the expected standard in year 1 (a gap of 17 percentage points), and 67% of girls and 54% of boys did so in year 2 (a gap of 13 percentage points)
• the smallest gap between girls and boys was found in the Chinese ethnic group, where 90% of girls and 87% of boys met the expected standard in year 1 (a gap of 3 percentage points), and 96% of girls and 94% of boys did so in year 2 (a gap of 2 percentage points); White Irish boys and girls in year 2 also had a gap of 2 percentage points, with 92% of girls and 90% of boys meeting the expected standard

6. Phonics attainment for children aged 5 to 6 by ethnicity, gender and eligibility for free school meals (FSM)

• Location: England
• Time period: 2016/17
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2017

Percentage of year 1 pupils meeting the expected standard in phonics by ethnicity, gender and eligibility for free school meals (FSM)

	Boys		Girls
Ethnicity	Boys FSM	Boys Non-FSM	Girls FSM	Girls Non-FSM
All	63	80	74	87
Asian	74	82	83	89
Bangladeshi	75	81	84	88
Indian	77	88	87	93
Pakistani	73	78	81	86
Asian other	74	83	81	89
Black	73	81	81	88
Black African	76	82	82	89
Black Caribbean	66	77	79	85
Black other	70	79	81	86
Chinese	79	88	88	90
Mixed	68	82	77	88
Mixed White/Asian	69	86	79	91
Mixed White/Black African	72	83	81	88
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	64	76	75	86
Mixed other	70	83	78	88
White	60	80	71	87
White British	60	80	72	87
White Irish	49	83	68	87
White Irish Traveller	20	34	41	48
White Gypsy/Roma	37	33	47	43
White other	68	77	74	83
Other	69	76	79	83

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Phonics attainments for children aged 5 to 7 (key stage 1) Phonics attainment for children aged 5 to 6 by ethnicity, gender and eligibility for free school meals (FSM) Summary

Eligibility for free school meals (FSM) is used as an indicator of deprivation by the Department for Education. For more about who qualifies for FSM, see the Methodology section.

The data for year 1 pupils shows that:

• 88% of Chinese girls eligible for FSM met the expected standard in phonics in 2016/17 (the highest percentage of any group of FSM-eligible children)
• 20% of Traveller of Irish Heritage boys eligible for FSM met the expected standard (the lowest percentage of any group of FSM-eligible children)
• the biggest gap between FSM-eligible boys and girls was found in the Traveller of Irish Heritage ethnic group, where 41% of girls met the expected standard, compared with 20% of boys (a gap of 21 percentage points)
• the biggest gap between FSM-eligible and non-eligible boys was found among White Irish boys, where 83% of non-eligible boys met the expected standard, compared with 49% of eligible boys (a gap of 34 percentage points)
• the biggest gap between FSM-eligible and non-eligible girls was found among White Irish girls, where 87% of non-eligible girls met the expected standard, compared with 68% of eligible girls (a gap of 19 percentage points)

7. Phonics attainment for children aged 5 to 6 by ethnicity, gender and area

• Location: England
• Time period: 2016/17
• Source: Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2017

Percentage of year 1 pupils meeting the expected standard in phonics by ethnicity, gender and area

	All		Asian		Black		Chinese		Mixed		White
Local authority	All Boys	All Girls	Asian Boys	Asian Girls	Black Boys	Black Girls	Chinese Boys	Chinese Girls	Mixed Boys	Mixed Girls	White Boys	White Girls
Barking and Dagenham	77	84	81	88	82	89	100		80	88	71	80
Barnet	82	87	89	89	81	85			87	89	82	88
Barnsley	73	84			64				92	78	73	84
Bath and North East Somerset	77	82							76	72	78	83
Bedford	73	82	75	86	84	86	100	100	72	86	72	81
Bexley	82	88	90	94	86	93		100	85	90	79	85
Birmingham	77	84	80	87	79	84	81	88	75	85	75	82
Blackburn with Darwen	77	86	79	91	79	84	100		84		75	83
Blackpool	76	85	85	86					81	84	76	85
Bolton	78	85	82	91	64	81			90	86	77	84
Bournemouth	81	86	84						82	90	81	86
Bracknell Forest	81	88	84	91	82			100	92	91	81	88
Bradford	75	84	77	89	69	86	100		78	80	75	81
Brent	77	86	82	88	78	86		100	80	85	77	84
Brighton and Hove	74	83	80	76	71	90		82	80	83	73	84
Bristol, City of	78	84	85	84	71	78		100	80	82	77	85
Bromley	86	90	91	96	79	88			85	92	86	89
Buckinghamshire	79	85	81	83	83	91	100	100	81	87	79	86
Bury	77	84	74	85	73	77	60		80	83	79	85
Calderdale	77	84	77	87			100	100	82	84	76	84
Cambridgeshire	77	83	86	86	65	83	90		81	86	77	83
Camden	78	85	76	85	74	85			78	88	81	86
Central Bedfordshire	80	85	91	93	77	88	100		78	89	80	85
Cheshire East	80	87	77	92		100	100	100	84	83	80	88
Cheshire West and Chester	77	85	82	86					75	93	77	85
City of London
Cornwall	75	83			N/A*				75	87	75	83
County Durham	79	86		79	64	100	73	100	82	86	79	86
Coventry	76	83	83	89	81	86			77	85	73	81
Croydon	80	86	86	90	81	86		100	78	87	77	84
Cumbria	76	83							75	85	76	83
Darlington	81	89				100					81	89
Derby	76	84	78	83	77	85			81	86	76	85
Derbyshire	76	83	73	93				73	76	86	76	83
Devon	79	86	72	100	50	100			84	84	79	86
Doncaster	73	82	72	83	63			100	74	94	74	82
Dorset	78	85	76	86			100	100	75	86	78	85
Dudley	75	83	74	84					72	87	75	83
Ealing	80	87	84	89	78	82	100		77	88	82	88
East Riding of Yorkshire	78	85	100	100					84	89	78	86
East Sussex	76	85	85	86	84			100	77	84	76	85
Enfield	77	83	84	91	75	86	100		83	86	76	80
Essex	79	85	90	91	77	90	74		83	84	78	85
Gateshead	80	86							92		80	86
Gloucestershire	75	83	89	90	70	87	100	100	81	82	75	83
Greenwich	81	87	85	92	85	91			77	89	79	83
Hackney	82	89	89	90	80	92		82	84	89	82	88
Halton	77	81			N/A*		N/A*	N/A*	82	80	77	81
Hammersmith and Fulham	83	88	92	93	82	84	100	100	88	90	83	89
Hampshire	79	85	84	86	76	88	100	87	80	88	79	85
Haringey	81	85	89	87	79	87	84	100	85	94	82	84
Harrow	85	89	90	93	75	88		100	86	92	81	84
Hartlepool	78	86		84					60		79	86
Havering	82	89	90	94	81	89		100	80	91	81	89
Herefordshire, County of	80	87		100	N/A*		100		86	79	80	88
Hertfordshire	80	86	87	91	82	86	90		78	86	80	86
Hillingdon	79	87	85	92	80	90	100		83	89	74	85
Hounslow	81	88	86	90	74	85	100		86	95	79	87
Isle of Wight	70	82		100		N/A*		N/A*	82		70	81
Isles of Scilly
Islington	77	87	84		69	86			78	86	78	87
Kensington and Chelsea	82	91	84		72	86		N/A*	87	93	87	93
Kent	78	86	85	95	87	92	77		83	89	78	86
Kingston upon Hull, City of	74	81			85	65			74	73	74	83
Kingston upon Thames	82	87	84	88	65	68	77	100	85	90	82	87
Kirklees	74	84	75	85	79	76		57	70	82	74	84
Knowsley	72	84							67	86	72	83
Lambeth	81	87	83	86	77	87	79		85	87	84	88
Lancashire	78	85	76	85	76	85			83	86	78	85
Leeds	74	80	75	83	75	76	83	78	74	79	74	81
Leicester	77	83	83	88	79	85			71	83	73	79
Leicestershire	79	85	84	93	88	91	71		78	83	78	84
Lewisham	77	84	80	92	75	84	76	89	78	83	81	86
Lincolnshire	78	85	85			100	50		83	88	78	85
Liverpool	72	80	80	84	75	86	77	86	73	81	72	80
Luton	73	83	74	84	78	88			73	85	73	83
Manchester	75	83	77	84	79	87	92		76	83	74	82
Medway	78	86	84	94	92	93	100	100	78	88	77	85
Merton	83	85	86	91	84	83			78	88	83	84
Middlesbrough	71	81	71	88					82	80	72	82
Milton Keynes	78	87	88	93	80	86	100		79	94	75	85
Newcastle upon Tyne	79	85	76	88	72	90	86	83	79	85	80	85
Newham	84	91	88	93	83	92			85	91	81	89
Norfolk	74	82	78	93	74	80	82		75	83	74	82
North East Lincolnshire	76	82	100						75	76	76	83
North Lincolnshire	75	85	82	89							75	86
North Somerset	80	84		78		57			80	84	80	85
North Tyneside	77	86	82	81	63	100	100	100	76	86	77	86
North Yorkshire	77	85	84	81	67	80			85	85	77	85
Northamptonshire	77	84	80	89	77	82	84	100	78	81	77	84
Northumberland	81	89		86					91		81	89
Nottingham	75	82	83	87	77	90		100	75	83	74	81
Nottinghamshire	75	83	85	87	83	87	87		79	85	75	83
Oldham	73	81	71	81	79				80	80	74	83
Oxfordshire	78	85	77	85	78	84	100		77	84	78	85
Peterborough	71	80	72	84	84	85			75	85	70	80
Plymouth	76	85	80		83	100			73	87	77	84
Poole	82	88							85	83	82	88
Portsmouth	73	82	74	90	91	82		100	87	87	72	81
Reading	78	83	86	89	80	87		70	81	80	76	81
Redbridge	81	86	86	90	79	83		100	79	83	75	81
Redcar and Cleveland	77	85	100	100					85		77	85
Richmond upon Thames	86	91	88	96	85	83			91	92	86	91
Rochdale	77	86	82	91	78	75	100	100	73	81	77	85
Rotherham	75	83	81	89	72	75			73	90	75	82
Rutland	79	89	100				N/A*			100	79	89
Salford	74	85	81	94	86	92		100	76	89	73	84
Sandwell	75	82	79	85	79	84		100	72	84	74	81
Sefton	75	84	68	78	100				76	92	75	84
Sheffield	73	81	77	81	73	84	83	76	72	82	73	81
Shropshire	78	86							79	85	78	86
Slough	80	89	86	93	74				81	88	72	83
Solihull	81	88	79	91	68	83	100	100	81	89	82	88
Somerset	75	82	72		57	100			81	83	75	82
South Gloucestershire	79	87	92	95			100	100	78	89	79	86
South Tyneside	79	87	68	85					82		80	88
Southampton	78	86	86	92	79	93		100	79	86	77	86
Southend-on-Sea	78	85	84	82	77		100	100	77	91	78	85
Southwark	81	86	82	88	80	87	88		84	89	82	88
St. Helens	75	83							79	78	76	84
Staffordshire	80	87	79	88	82	85	81	100	77	91	80	87
Stockport	78	85	79	82	67			100	73	80	79	86
Stockton-on-Tees	79	87	78	86	77	100		100	79	82	79	87
Stoke-on-Trent	75	84	77	89	82	86			83	88	74	83
Suffolk	76	84	76	93	83	88	100	100	75	86	76	84
Sunderland	79	87	81	84		100			76	83	78	87
Surrey	80	86	83	90	77	87		88	83	91	80	86
Sutton	80	88	89	94	85	93		100	75	84	79	86
Swindon	77	85	75	90	82		100		77	89	77	85
Tameside	74	84	76	81	85	72			84	91	73	84
Telford and Wrekin	78	87	86	96					80	81	78	86
Thurrock	80	88	91	91	91	93	100	100	81	88	76	87
Torbay	80	88	100	100	N/A*		N/A*		62		80	88
Tower Hamlets	78	87	79	88	79	89			81	83	73	84
Trafford	80	87	80	83	69	75	87	90	76	84	81	89
Wakefield	74	82	78	88	81	73			73	76	74	82
Walsall	77	84	82	88	82	91	100		74	87	76	83
Waltham Forest	81	88	85	90	76	86			84	91	79	89
Wandsworth	84	89	78	92	81	87	100	100	80	85	88	89
Warrington	77	85	88	88		100		100	77	81	77	85
Warwickshire	78	87	88	90	78	86	100	100	80	93	78	87
West Berkshire	74	83	82						74	80	74	82
West Sussex	76	84	81	86	79	81		100	77	88	76	83
Westminster	85	89	90	93	87	86			86	95	86	88
Wigan	79	87		81	69	77		100	79	93	80	88
Wiltshire	77	85	83	93	74	86			78	87	78	85
Windsor and Maidenhead	81	87	83	84					84	93	81	88
Wirral	72	81	74	92	100	100		100	82	88	72	80
Wokingham	79	87	84	92	73		100	100	85	84	78	85
Wolverhampton	76	83	82	90	85	84			76	81	73	81
Worcestershire	77	85	74	82	75		67		80	91	77	85
York	82	85	89						83	86	82	86

^* Not applicable Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Phonics attainments for children aged 5 to 7 (key stage 1) Phonics attainment for children aged 5 to 6 by ethnicity, gender and area Summary

Except for the information for White pupils, the statistics quoted for phonics attainment by ethnicity, gender and local authority are based on small numbers of pupils and are highly variable over time.

The data for year 1 pupils shows that:

• overall, girls were more likely than boys to meet the expected standard in phonics in all local authorities in 2016/17
• for Asian pupils, the biggest gap between girls and boys was in Devon in the South West, where 100% of girls met expected standard, compared with 72% of boys (a gap of 28 percentage points)
• for Black pupils, the biggest gap was in Devon in the South West, where 100% of girls achieved the expected standard, compared with 50% of boys (a gap of 50 percentage points)
• for pupils with Mixed ethnicity, the biggest gap was in Doncaster in Yorkshire and the Humber, where 94% of girls met the expected standard, compared with 74% of boys (a gap of 20 percentage points)
• for White pupils, the biggest gap (of 11 percentage points) was found in 11 local authorities: the Isle of Wight, North Lincolnshire, Knowsley, Salford, Slough, Thurrock, Tameside, Hillingdon, Brighton and Hove, Tower Hamlets and Barnsley

8. Methodology

The phonics dataset is put together using information matched together from 2 data sources:

• phonics results in year 1, plus those in year 2 who didn't pass the check in year 1
• school census records

Phonics results received from local authorities are combined with pupil characteristics from the school census. Records are matched using identifiers such as surname, forename, date of birth, unique pupil number, gender and postcode. This successfully matches around 98% of results.

Phonics results are not published at school level. The coverage of the local authority and regional statistics is for state-funded mainstream schools only in England. This includes schools and academies but excludes hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision.

The information was collected from 16,337 schools (approximately 650,000 pupils).

Pupils are included in the figures for free school meals (FSM) if their families have claimed eligibility for FSM at the time of the annual spring school census. This FSM definition includes all who were eligible to receive FSM, not only those who actually received FSM. Pupils not eligible for FSM or unclassified pupils are described as ‘non-FSM’ or ‘all other pupils’.

Parents are able to claim FSM if they receive a qualifying benefit.

FSM is used as an indicator of disadvantage, but when drawing conclusions, it should be remembered that not all eligible parents apply for FSM. Families who don’t quite reach the eligibility threshold for FSM may still be suffering deprivation.

Suppression rules and disclosure control

Values of 1 or 2 or a percentage based on 1 or 2 pupils who achieved, or did not achieve, a particular standard are suppressed. Some additional figures may be suppressed to prevent the possibility of a suppressed figure being revealed. This suppression is consistent with DfE’s statistical policy statement on confidentiality (PDF opens in a new window or tab) (PDF) .

Figures for the Isles of Scilly and City of London are suppressed in DfE’s key stage 2 provisional Statistical First Release as these local authorities have a single school and DfE do not publish school-level information in the performance tables at the time of the provisional release. These figures are unsuppressed in the revised release as school-level figures are already published in the performance tables.

Regional eligible pupil figures are rounded to the nearest 10 so that it is not possible to derive figures for these local authorities by summing the figures for the other local authorities in the region.

In the school-level data, any figures relating to a cohort of 5 pupils or fewer are suppressed. This applies to sub-groups of pupils as well as the whole cohort. For example, if there were five boys and three girls in a school, DfE would not publish attainment for boys or girls separately but would publish attainment for all pupils as this is based on 8 pupils. The Code of Practice for Official Statistics requires DfE to take reasonable steps to ensure that their published or disseminated statistics protect confidentiality.

For more information about DfE’s disclosure control procedures for its statistical releases please see DfE’s statistical policy statement on confidentiality (PDF opens in a new window or tab) (PDF).

Rounding

Percentages given in charts, tables and downloads are rounded to the nearest whole number. For this reason some figures may not exactly match those published by the Department for Education.

Related publications

Schools, pupils and their characteristics: June 2017

Quality and methodology information

Further technical information

2018 key stage 1: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA) – includes details of pupils who should and shouldn’t take the phonics check (page 24).

9. Data sources

Source

Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessments: England 2017

Type of data

Administrative data

Type of statistic

National Statistics

Publisher

Department for Education

Publication frequency

Yearly

Purpose of data source

This data provides results for the 2017 phonics screening checks and key stage 1 national curriculum assessments for pupils in schools in England. The results are used to monitor pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing, science and mathematics.

10. Download the data

Phonics attainments for children aged 5 to 7 (key stage 1) -national - Spreadsheet (csv) 77 KB

This file contains the following variables: Measure, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_Type, Time, Time_Type, Geography (England), Geography_Code, Gender, FSM, Value, Value_Type, Denominator

Phonics attainments for children aged 5 to 7 (key stage 1) - Local Authorities - Spreadsheet (csv) 487 KB

This file contains the following variables: Measure, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_Type, Time, Time_Type, Region, Local_Authority, Local_Authority_Code, Gender, Value, Value_Type, Denominator

Publication release date: 4 May 2018

full page history

1. 4 May 2018 Updated to include new data (for 2016/17)

From: Department for Education

Previous edition:

1. 4 March 2018

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