The truth about
YEAR 6 SATS

• In the summer term, year 6 pupils sit four days of English and maths tests under GCSE-style exam conditions
• SATs are imposed on schools by the government. The overwhelming majority of heads do not agree with them
• SATs do not benefit your child, their school or their teachers in any way. They are used by the government to measure schools against each other
• SATs lead to a stripped down curriculum and teaching to the test. Many pupils spend most of year 6 focusing on English and maths, just to sit narrow tests
• SATs put unnecessary pressure on children. 77% of parents believe they damage children’s mental health
• Parents do not care about SATs results: 71% would not be concerned if the exams were removed
• In 2025, almost 40% of children were told they had “not reached the expected standard”. This is the wrong way to begin secondary school

Research: NAHT; Omnisis; DfE