Statutory Assessments

There are many forms of assessment in Primary Schools. At Leigh the most important is our formative assessment. This is ongoing assessment that the teachers conduct throughout every day informally when they ask questions, mark work, talk to pupils and conduct lessons. Information gathered in this way is utilised to design next steps, lessons and support children to progress their learning.

The second type of assessment is summative.  Summative assessments are conducted at the end of each term in most year groups to tell a teacher which objectives in a given curriculum a child has mastered and identify gaps to inform the next term of teaching. For younger children this is conducted without their awareness and is called teacher assessment. For KS2 they will sit tests which the teacher conducts gap analysis upon to inform their teaching. 

In some Year groups particular tests are statutory and conducted in line with National Guidelines and results are reported to the Government. Please find school letters regarding these assessments for the year 2022-2023 and information for parents under each heading.

SATs, or national curriculum assessments

SATs, or national curriculum assessments, are assessments of primary pupils’ progress and attainment. They are currently completed at the end of key stage 1 (infant phase) and key stage 2 (end of primary/ junior phase). These tests will take place within May 2024  with flexibility given to schools regarding timetabling. The KS1 assessments are optional for schools and Leigh Primary School will not be taking part in formal testing with our Year 2 pupils and will instead use teacher assessment to gain an accurate picture of your child's achievement and report to you on their progress and attainment.

At key stage 2, the tests are more formal and school-level results are normally published in national performance tables allowing for comparison with other schools. These are often known as league tables.

SATs cover core academic subjects – English, maths, and science.

National KS2 SAT Timetable 2024

SATs during the coronavirus pandemic

There were no national curriculum assessments at either key stage 1 or key stage 2 in the 2019/20 or 2020/21 academic years, because of the pandemic.

The assessments – for both KS1 and KS2 pupils – took place in 2021/22, although school-level performance data was not published for this year. They also took place in 2022-2023 academic year and full data will be reported in December 2023 when statistics are validated. Below are letters send last academic year regarding assessments across the school.

• KS1 SAT Letter for Year 2 /docs/KS1_SATS_LETTER_2022_to_2023.pdf
• KS2 SAT Letter for Year 6 /docs/KS2_SAT_LETTER_2022_to_2023.pdf
• KS1/KS2 SAT information - please note this 2019 edition from the STA has not been updated for 2023 

Phonics screening check

Children in year 1, which is the second year of primary education, also take a phonics screen to check their ability to decode words. They complete the screen again in year two if they don’t reach the expected standard in year one. These will take place within the week commencing 10th June 2024.

• Phonics Check Letter Year 1 /docs/Phonics_Letter_2022_to_2023.pdf
• Phonics Check Parent Information

Multiplication Tables Check

In the 2022/23 academic year, all qualifying schools will administer an online multiplication tables check for children in year four (normally aged 8 or 9). This will test recall of times tables up to 12. These will take place within the 2-week period from Monday 3rd June 2024.

• MTC Parent Letter /docs/MTC_-Letter_2022_to_2023.pdf
• MTC 2023 Parent Information 

Statutory Baseline assessment in reception class

Children in state-funded primary and infant schools now take a new baseline assessment within the first six weeks of entering reception class. This focuses on maths, language, communication and literacy. The results will be used as the starting point to assess how much progress schools are making with their pupils. Results for individual children or schools will not be published.

• Reception Baseline Information to Parents 

Levelling Up White Paper: target for 90% of key stage 2 pupils to meet expected standards

In its January 2022 White Paper, Levelling Up the United Kingdom, the Government announced an ambition for 90% of key stage 2 pupils to reach the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics by 2030, and for the proportion meeting the expected standard in the “worst performing areas” to improve by a third.

In 2019, the last year for which figures are available, nationally 65% of pupils reached the expected standard in English, Maths and Reading , and 11% reached the higher standard in all assessments.