KS2 SATs Support May 2027
If you have a child in year 6, at the end of key stage 2 (KS2) they will take national curriculum assessments in:
• English grammar, punctuation and spelling
• English reading
• mathematics
Some people refer to these tests as SATs.
The tests help measure the attainment of pupils in relation to the standards
set out in the national curriculum, and help teachers and parents identify
where pupils may need additional support in a certain subject area. The test results are also used to report publicly on schools’ performance via the
Department for Education’s (DfE) Compare School and College Performance1 service and to produce national and regional performance statistics.
Your child will sit the KS2 tests on scheduled dates set by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA). If your child is absent on a scheduled test day, they may be able to take any missed test up to 5 school days afterwards. Your child’s school must apply for a timetable variation and receive approval from STA to allow for this.
For the academic
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Key Stage 2 Tests Information for Parents 2026 | [pdf 2MB] |
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Timetable 2027
The statutory key stage 2 tests are timetabled from Monday ?th May to Thursday ?th May 2027.
Are there any other assessments?
There are no tests for English writing or science at the end of KS2, but performance in these subjects will be reported as a teacher assessment judgement. Your child’s teachers will make this judgement based on your child’s overall work and performance in the subject. As with the tests, this will help to indicate if your child needs more support in the subject.
Teacher assessment judgements in English writing may be externally moderated by the school’s local authority. This is a collaborative process between the school and local authority moderator, to ensure that judgements are consistent with national standards.
If your child is working below the standards of the national curriculum in one or more subjects, they may be assessed under an alternative teacher assessment – either the:
• pre-key stage 2 standards2, if they are engaged in subject-specific study
• engagement model, if they are not engaged in subject-specific study
Your child’s school will inform you if this is the case.
When will my child receive their results?
Schools can view KS2 test results online from Tuesday 7 July 2026.
Your child’s school will decide how they issue test results and teacher assessment judgements to pupils and parents, but you should receive them by the end of the summer term.
Your child’s school will also discuss your child’s overall performance at the end of KS2 with you before the summer holidays and give you the opportunity to raise any questions or concerns you may have about your child’s results.
Schools will review test papers and submit marking review applications if they believe the marking scheme has not been applied correctly. In the rare cases where revisions to results are necessary, they are made once the review process is complete at the end of the summer holidays.
The secondary school your child is moving to will also be able to access your child’s results. This helps them plan how best to support new pupils on entry.
How will the information be used?
The assessments are a way of making sure every child has mastered the basics when they leave primary education. The results help teachers to identify where children may need extra help or support as they move into year 7 and begin their secondary education.
Your child’s individual results, for both tests and teacher assessment judgements, will not be published by either your child’s school or the Department for Education (DfE).
However, school-level results of pupils’ attainment and progress are published on the DfE’s school performance tables website.
KS2 Reading
The reading test is a single paper with questions based on three passages of text. Your child will have one hour, including reading time, to complete the test.
There will be a selection of question types, including:
- Ranking/ordering, e.g. ‘Number the events below to show the order in which they happen in the story’
- Labelling, e.g. ‘Label the text to show the title of the story’
- Find and copy, e.g. ‘Find and copy one word that suggests what the weather is like in the story’
- Short constructed response, e.g. ‘What does the bear eat?’
- Open-ended response, e.g. ‘Look at the sentence that begins Once upon a time. How does the writer increase the tension throughout this paragraph? Explain fully, referring to the text in your answer.’
KS2 Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG)
The grammar, punctuation and spelling test consists of two parts: a grammar and punctuation paper requiring short answers, lasting 45 minutes, and an aural spelling test of 20 words, lasting around 15 minutes.
The grammar and punctuation test will include two sub-types of questions:
- Selected response, e.g. ‘Identify the adjectives in the sentence below’
- Constructed response, e.g. ‘Correct/complete/rewrite the sentence below,’ or, ‘The sentence below has an apostrophe missing. Explain why it needs an apostrophe.’
KS2 Maths
Children sit three papers in maths:
- Paper 1: arithmetic, 30 minutes
- Papers 2 and 3: reasoning, 40 minutes per paper
Paper 1 will consist of fixed response questions, where children have to give the correct answer to calculations, including long multiplication and division. Papers 2 and 3 will involve a number of question types, including:
- Multiple choice
- True or false
- Constrained questions, e.g. giving the answer to a calculation, drawing a shape or completing a table or chart
- Less constrained questions, where children will have to explain their approach for solving a problem
SATs Past Papers
Please use the links below.
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SATs Papers.co.uk |
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Government website - SATs Past Papers |
School Learning Zone SATs Support
Please select from the links below.
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KS2 English Learning Resources |
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KS2 Maths Learning Resources |
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Mr P's Vidamins |
Support with Exam Stress
Please select from the resources below.
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Exams, anxiety and stress resources for schools and colleges | [pdf 177KB] |
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Exam Stress Social Media Assets | [pdf 93KB] |
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