Cambridgeshire primary school in top 1% of country for phonics

The Meadow Primary School in Cambridgeshire has been congratulated by the Minister for Schools for their ‘outstanding achievement’ in scoring 100 per cent in a recent Phonics Screening Check.

In a letter addressed to the school, Damian Hinds, Minister for Schools, states that he was ‘delighted’ to see 100 per cent of pupils in Year 1 meeting the statutory requirements for phonics.

He goes on to say that this achievement means ‘your pupils are developing a firm foundation, from which they can become increasingly fluent and develop a lifelong love of reading’.

Nichola Pickford, Executive Headteacher for The Meadow Primary School and Wimbish Primary Academy, said “We are delighted to see our results which are a testament to the hard work of our staff and pupils. Our Early Reading curriculum supports our vision for pupils to be independent readers and confident, lifelong learners.

The planned approach we take when introducing reading to pupils from when they start school, to our well-stocked library, has helped The Meadow Primary School to achieve this significant result, and I could not be prouder of our community.”

Rachael Johnston, Director of Primary Education at Anglian Learning, the multi-academy Trust of which The Meadow Primary School is a part of, said “It is great to see Nichola and her team’s determination and dedication achieve this result and be recognised by the Minister for Schools. This proactive and innovative teaching perfectly represents Anglian Learning’s vision of creating dynamic and empowered learners.”

Later in his letter, Damian noted the latest figures to show that 83 per cent of pupils who met the expected standard in the Screening Check went on to achieve the expected standard in reading at Key Stage 2 in 2023 which ‘underlines the importance of developing the ability to decode words effectively at an early age’.

The Phonics Screening Test was established by the Government in 2011 following a successful pilot. It aims to confirm children have learned phonic decoding to an age-appropriate standard. The results are not published in performance tables but instead allow schools to benchmark their pupils’ performance.

The Meadow Primary School joined Anglian Learning in April 2020. To find out more about The Meadow Primary School, please visit: https://www.themeadowbalsham.co.uk/  and www.anglianlearning.org.