A phonics screening check assessment is set to become compulsory for Year 1 students in New South Wales, from next year, in a bid to build strong reading foundations among the state’s youth.

Sky News host Peta Credlin spoke with the Director of Strategy and Senior Research Fellow at MultiLit, Dr Jennifer Buckingham, about the importance of phonics.

“Phonics is essentially learning how to translate the letters on the page into words that we know and understand,” Dr Buckingham said.

She said children who are beginning to learn how to read, “need to know how to decipher those letters, how to make them into recognisable words”.

“And then, once they know how to read words accurately, they start to read for comprehension and for meaning and for enjoyment.

“But that accurate word meaning is the essential first step and phonics helps children to get there.”