If your child is in Year 6, you have probably heard about "SATs" and wondered what they actually involve, and how much you should worry about them. The short answer: SATs are useful checkpoints, not exams your child can pass or fail, and a little calm, regular practice at home goes a long way. This guide explains how the Key Stage 2 SATs work, what each paper looks like, what the results mean, and how to support your child without the stress.
What are KS2 SATs?
SATs is the everyday name for the end of Key Stage 2 national curriculum tests, taken in Year 6 in the summer term (in May). They are sat in school, marked externally, and used to check how children are doing against the national expected standard at the end of primary school. There is nothing for parents to book: the school arranges everything, and the dates are set nationally by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA).
Crucially, there is no "pass" or "fail". Results are reported as a scaled score from 80 to 120, where 100 or more means your child has met the expected standard.
- Year group Year 6 (ages 10–11)
- When Four days in May; 10 to 13 May in 2027
- Where In school, nothing to book
- Result A scaled score from 80 to 120; 100 or more = expected standard
- Subjects tested English reading, English grammar, punctuation and spelling, and maths
- Not tested Writing and science are judged by your child's teacher instead
When are the 2027 KS2 SATs?
STA has published the timetable for children in Year 6 during the 2026 to 2027 school year:
- Monday 10 May 2027 English grammar, punctuation and spelling (questions paper and spelling test)
- Tuesday 11 May 2027 English reading
- Wednesday 12 May 2027 Maths Paper 1 (arithmetic) and Paper 2 (reasoning)
- Thursday 13 May 2027 Maths Paper 3 (reasoning)
If your child is off sick on a test day, all is not lost. The school can apply to STA for a timetable variation, which lets a pupil sit a missed test up to 5 school days afterwards.
The papers your child will sit
English reading: one paper lasting one hour. Children read three texts in a reading booklet and answer questions that test comprehension, inference and vocabulary.
English grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS, often called SPaG): two parts. Paper 1 is a 45-minute questions paper on grammar and punctuation. Paper 2 is a spelling test of 20 words, each read out within a sentence; it takes about 15 minutes and is not strictly timed.
Maths: three papers, with no calculators allowed on any of them.
- Paper 1: arithmetic (30 minutes, 40 marks) tests quick, accurate written and mental calculation.
- Papers 2 and 3: reasoning (40 minutes and 35 marks each) apply maths to problems and word questions.
Practise the maths papers at home. PassNova's free KS2 SATs Maths course covers arithmetic and reasoning questions in the style of the real papers, with a worked explanation on every answer. No sign-up, and you can stop whenever your child has had enough.
What about writing and science?
There are no tests for English writing or science at the end of KS2. Instead, your child's teacher makes a judgement based on their work across the year, and that judgement is reported alongside the test results. Writing judgements may be checked by the local authority (a process called moderation) to keep them consistent with national standards. The old science sampling tests, which only a small number of schools ever took, have been withdrawn.
How the scaled score works
Each test is first marked to give a raw score (the number of marks your child got). That raw score is then converted into a scaled score using a conversion table published by STA. The conversion changes slightly each year to allow for small differences in how hard the papers are, so a scaled score of 100 always represents the same standard, even though the number of raw marks needed to reach it can move a little.
- 80 is the lowest scaled score that can be awarded.
- 100 or more means the expected standard has been met.
- 120 is the highest scaled score.
To give you a sense of scale, the Department for Education's provisional 2026 figures show that 75% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, 75% in maths and 74% in grammar, punctuation and spelling, while 63% met it in all of reading, writing and maths combined. So a child who falls a little short is in plenty of company, and it simply signals where some extra help would be useful at secondary school.
How to help at home (without the pressure)
The best preparation is little and often. Fifteen focused minutes a few times a week beats a stressful hour. Mix it up: a few arithmetic questions one day, a reading passage the next, some spellings before bed.
- Build arithmetic fluency: quick recall of times tables and number facts makes the whole maths paper easier, especially without a calculator. Our free Times Tables practice is a good warm-up.
- Practise reasoning: work through KS2 SATs Maths together and talk through why an answer is right, not just what it is.
- Read every day and chat about the story: ask what a character might be thinking, or why the author chose a particular word. That is exactly the inference the reading paper tests.
- Learn spellings in context: the spelling test reads each word in a sentence, so practise writing whole sentences, not just lists.
- Keep it positive: praise effort, not just correct answers, and stop before anyone gets tired.
Reading and grammar, little and often. PassNova's free KS2 SATs English course covers comprehension, grammar, punctuation and spelling in short, bite-sized sets, with every answer explained so your child learns from mistakes.
What happens with the results?
Schools can view the 2027 results online from Tuesday 6 July 2027. Each school decides how to share them, but you should receive your child's test results and teacher assessment judgements by the end of the summer term, and the school will give you a chance to discuss them before the summer holidays.
Results give secondary schools a snapshot of where your child is starting from, and they are used to report on primary schools' performance. They do not decide your child's future: secondary school places are based on your application and each school's admission arrangements, not SATs scores.
Frequently asked questions
Can my child fail their SATs?
No. There is no pass or fail. Your child gets a scaled score between 80 and 120 for each test, and a score of 100 or more means they have met the expected standard.
What is a good SATs score?
A score of 100 or more meets the expected standard. The maximum is 120. Beyond that, the most useful thing a score tells you is where your child might need extra support in Year 7.
Are calculators allowed in the KS2 maths SATs?
No. Calculators are not allowed on the arithmetic paper or either of the reasoning papers, which is why times tables and written methods are worth practising.
What happens if my child is ill on SATs week?
The school can apply to the Standards and Testing Agency for a timetable variation, which allows a missed test to be taken up to 5 school days after the scheduled date.
Do secondary schools use SATs results for admissions?
No. Secondary school places are allocated through your local authority application. The results are passed on to your child's new school to help it plan support, not to decide whether they get a place.
Is there a science SAT?
No. Science is assessed by your child's teacher rather than by a test. Science sampling tests, which only a small sample of schools ever sat, are no longer run.
One point of clarity: PassNova is a free practice and revision site, not the Standards and Testing Agency. Dates and test details in this article come from STA's published guidance and were checked in September 2026; confirm them on GOV.UK's KS2 tests information for parents page.