Understanding Primary Assessments

It is a busy year for primary school assessments! While children are assessed informally by their teachers every day, there are several "statutory" (required by law) checks at various stages to monitor progress nationally.

Below is a summary of the key assessments for the 2025–2026 academic year.

Reception: Starting the Journey

Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA): * When: Within the first 6 weeks of starting school.
- What: A short, practical task focusing on early literacy and maths. It is not a "pass/fail" test; it simply helps the government measure how much progress a group of children makes from Reception to Year 6.
Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP):
- When: June.
- What: This is a teacher-led assessment. Your child’s teacher will observe them in 17 areas of learning (like social skills, physical development, and early reading) to see if they have reached a "Good Level of Development."

Year 1: Phonics Check

Phonics Screening Check:
- When: Week commencing Monday 8 June 2026.
- What: A 5-10 minute check where your child reads 40 words aloud to their teacher. Some are real words, and some are "alien" (nonsense) words to ensure they can use phonics to decode any new word they see.
- Note: If a child does not meet the expected standard in Year 1, they will retake the check in Year 2.

Year 2: End of Key Stage 1

Optional SATs:
- When: Typically May.
- What: These are no longer statutory (compulsory). While the government still provides the test papers, many schools now choose to use their own internal tracking instead of formal SATs. Check with your school to see if they plan to use them.

Year 4: Multiplication Check

Multiplication Tables Check (MTC):
- When: Within a 2-week window starting Monday 1 June 2026.
- What: A digital, on-screen check for all Year 4 pupils. They have 6 seconds to answer 25 times table questions (up to 12x12). It is designed to ensure children are fluent in their tables before moving to the harder maths of Year 5 and 6.

Year 6: Key Stage 2 SATs

These are the most formal tests in primary school and follow a strict national timetable:

Date	Subject
Mon 11 May 2026	English Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling (Papers 1 & 2)
Tue 12 May 2026	English Reading
Wed 13 May 2026	Mathematics Paper 1 (Arithmetic) & Paper 2 (Reasoning)
Thu 14 May 2026	Mathematics Paper 3 (Reasoning)

A Note on Writing: There is no "writing test" during SATs week. Instead, Year 6 writing is assessed by the teacher over the whole year, looking at a range of work in your child's books.

How to support your child

The best support is usually to keep things low-pressure at home—reading together and practicing times tables for a few minutes a day makes a huge difference.