GovWire

Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to monitor the administration of the phonics screening check. This guidance outlines how local authority representatives should do this.

Monitoring visits help to ensure that:

• the security and confidentiality of check materials are maintained
• the phonics screening check is administered correctly and consistently

Monitoring visits also give headteachers a formal opportunity to demonstrate how their school is administering the phonics screening check.

At least 10% of schools administering the phonics screening check in a local authority must receive a visit. This includes:

• participating pupil referral units or special schools
• academies that have chosen to be monitored by thelocal authority
• maintained nursery schools with registered pupils who will reach the age of 6 before the end of the school year

Local authoritiesshould not arrange more than one visit to an individual school unless the Standards and Testing Agency raised specific concerns. We recommend that approximately:

• 10% of visits take place during the week prior to the phonics screening check period
• 80% of visits are carried out during the phonics screening check period
• 10% of visits take place immediately after the phonics screening check period

We recommend that eachlocal authoritygives responsibility to one person to act as their monitoring visits co-ordinator. The monitoring visits co-ordinator should:

• arrange monitoring visits
• select monitoring visitors
• brief monitoring visitors on the purpose, scope and procedures involved in conducting monitoring visits
• provide monitoring visitors with the information they will need for the visits
• process completed monitoring visit forms

Before any monitoring visits take place, local authorities may choose to contact all schools within their authority to explain the purpose of the visits and make them aware of this guidance. Local authorities may give the names of individuals involved in the visits, but must not identify any specific schools that will be visited in advance.

If schools receive a visit and wish to confirm the identity of any visitors, they should contact thelocal authoritydirectly, or phone the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013 if the visitor is from STA.