School wants inclusive tests for non-verbal pupils

Samantha Hill, assistant head at Orchard Manor School, is calling for more suitable ways for children who cannot speak to have their reading ability tested

A special school in Devon is petitioning the government to make phonics testing inclusive for children who have speech and language needs when learning to read.

Orchard Manor School, in Dawlish, said a phonics screening check required non-verbal children to say the letter sounds aloud - which was not possible.

The school has adapted tests, but the results are not recognised, it said.

The Department for Education (DoE) said it was due to review its curriculum and assessments and would report back next year.

Phonics is the technique used in schools to teach children to read.

Pupils are taught to identify and repeat letter sounds. Those sounds then combine to form words that they read aloud.

But teachers at the school said it was difficult for those with a language delay or who did not speak at all.

Samantha Hill teaching phonics in the traditional way to a child who can repeat the letter sounds

Samantha Hill, assistant head at the school, said the Key Stage One phonics screening check was not accessible for non-verbal students.

"We have children in our school who don't speak," she said.

"They are very capable of writing... but if you look at the Key Stage One curriculum, if they can't orally rehearse a sentence, they cannot meet that milestone.

"They communicate in other ways, using pictures, sign language and assisted technology."

Lucas, a six-year-old pupil at the school, is non-verbal so he cannot make the letter sounds in his phonics screening test.

His parents said they were upset the test was not accessible to him.

His mother, Lisa, said: "Due to government guidelines... his mark was not recognised because he didn't orally participate in the test, which we think is extremely unfair."

Lucas's parents are upset the test is not accessible to him

Working with a consultant from the phonics scheme Read Write Inc, the teachers found a different way to assess Lucas's ability to read.

They allowed him to point to the letter that matched what a teacher read out from a card.

He identified 37 out of 40, a score that is above the phonics screening pass mark, his parents said.

Ceri Brinkworth, head of training at Ruth Miskin Training, said: "Since the pandemic there's been an increase in children who begin school with delayed speech.

"Around a quarter of autistic children are non-verbal. That shows us how important this issue is.

"We do need to be able to fairly assess all children."

'Important role'

Lucas's father, Steven, said: "Just because Lucas is non-verbal it doesn't mean he can't read, write or spell, which he can. His results clearly show that.

"We think that things need to change and the government needs to recognise it."

The school has started a petition calling for the DoE to change the way it assesses phonics for non-verbal children within Key Stage One.

The DoE said: ''The phonics screening check ensures children have learned phonic decoding to an age appropriate standard and identifies those pupils who need extra support.

"We are looking at whether the current assessment system can be improved... while protecting the important role of assessments."