News and communications

Primary school pupils show improvement in their reading ability as attainment in this year’s reading assessment increases since last year.

• Updated: 12 October 2023

Free schools achieve highest results for six and seven-year-old pupils for the fifth year in a row

• Updated: 26 September 2019

Official figures show 163,000 more six-year-olds are on track to become fluent readers than in 2012 thanks to our focus on phonics

• Updated: 27 September 2018

School Standards Minister speaks at a presentation of England's successful Progress in International Reading Literacy Study results at the British Library

• Updated: 5 December 2017

Written ministerial statement by Education Secretary Justine Greening on primary education

• Updated: 19 October 2016

Results of this year's phonics screening check show a continued rise in pupils meeting the expected reading standard.

• Updated: 29 September 2016

Schools Minister announces a series of ‘phonics roadshows’ to help schools share best practice.

• Updated: 3 March 2016

Jane Eyre and Gulliver’s Travels will be some of the literary treats offered to schools thanks to Penguin and Schools Minister Nick Gibb.

• Updated: 13 February 2016

Phonics check results show 120,000 more children on track to become excellent readers.

• Updated: 24 September 2015

Shared ambition for hundreds of new book clubs across the country and a library card for every 8-year-old.

• Updated: 19 August 2015

School Reform Minister Nick Gibb announces new grants to help primary schools spread their reading expertise to other schools.

• Updated: 14 July 2015

School Reform Minister Nick Gibb addresses the Reading Reform Foundation Conference.

• Updated: 28 March 2015

First published during the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Information about the Standards and Testing Agency's email newsletters for early years providers and key stage 1 and key stage 2 schools.

• Updated: 19 March 2015

First published during the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Phonics check results show more pupils are now doing well.

• Updated: 25 September 2014

First published during the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Find out more about the new tests for key stage 1 and key stage 2.

• Updated: 14 July 2014

First published during the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Information about the 2014 phonics threshold mark.

• Updated: 30 June 2014

First published during the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

National, regional and local authority results for the phonics reading check and key stage 1 results have been published.

• Updated: 3 October 2013

First published during the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

National, regional and local authority results for the year 1 phonics reading check and key stage 1 results are published today.

• Updated: 27 September 2012

First published during the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Thousands of primary schools have already signed up to spend more than £7.7 million on new phonics products and training to drive up their pupils’ standards of reading, new Department for Education figures show today.

• Updated: 19 January 2012

First published during the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Gibb: “Phonics is the proven method that will drive up reading standards.”

• Updated: 9 December 2011

First published during the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government