Statutory assessment and moderation
Statutory assessment and moderation
KS1 assessments
End of KS1 assessments (SATs) are no longer statutory (from 1 September 2023).
The following KS1 assessments are optional:
- teacher assessment judgements in English reading, English writing, mathematics and science
- tests in English reading and mathematics (the English grammar, punctuation and spelling test will also remain optional)
- where relevant, using the pre-key stage standards or engagement model
There will be no legal requirement for schools or local authorities to report KS1 teacher assessment data. There will also be no requirement to report results from end of KS1 assessments to parents. As with other years in which there are no statutory assessments, there will still be a requirement for headteachers to provide an annual report to parents or carers about a pupil’s general progress in year 2.
The reception baseline assessment (RBA) will replace the end of KS1 assessments as the baseline for cohort level primary progress measures. This will happen when the first cohort with a statutory RBA reaches the end of key stage 2 (KS2) in 2028.
The phonics screening check will remain statutory. While there will be no legal duty on local authorities to moderate KS1 teacher assessment, they will still be required to monitor the phonics screening check.
The existing end of KS1 teacher assessment frameworks will continue to be available on GOV.UK for schools who wish to use them optionally as part of their ongoing assessment of children. STA will also continue to develop and supply materials for the optional, non-statutory end of KS1 tests in:
- English reading
- English grammar, punctuation and spelling
- mathematics
STA will publish formal guidance on accessing and administering the optional tests, for those who want to use them, in autumn 2024.
The optional tests will be developed to the same specifications as previous KS1 papers, so that they may continue to inform classroom practice and help schools understand where pupils need additional support as they transition into KS2. They may also provide helpful information when reporting to parents. To enable STA to do this, there will continue to be a legal requirement for a small number of selected schools to participate in the trialling of the tests each spring. Trialling does not test the pupils’ abilities and is not a test of the school; it only tests the materials in development. STA will continue to take a proportionate approach to trialling; testing the optional assessment materials will not create any additional work for schools compared to the current requirements. For more information, refer to our page about statutory participation in trialling of national curriculum assessments.
KS2 Assessment and moderation
Local authorities continue to have a statutory duty to moderate the teacher assessment judgements each year for a minimum sample of 25% of schools in key stage 2.
At key stage 2 moderation takes place for writing judgements only.
Local authorities also have a statutory duty to monitor the administration of key stage 2 (KS2) national curriculum tests and the phonics screening check.
The management of this process is delivered by Buckinghamshire Council.
Please see the training and courses available for Y6 teachers, Headteachers and Assessment leads, as well as non-statutory training for Y1/2/3 teachers:-
The Assessment and Reporting Arrangements for 2025 have not yet been published for KS2.
The guidance is for schools, local authorities and governing bodies responsible for end of KS2 assessment, including KS2 tests. The arrangements apply to maintained schools, maintained special schools, academies, free schools, Ministry of Defence (MoD) schools and participating independent schools with pupils in KS2. The guidance for 2024 was :-
The Teacher Assessment Guidance documents for KS2 have not yet been published for 2025.
These support schools in making statutory TA judgements at the end of each key stage, and schools and local authorities in undertaking statutory moderation of these judgements. For last year, 2024 at KS2 see:-
The Access Arrangements Guidance for KS2 2024 has not yet been published. Please see last year, 2024