SATs 2024 Guide For Teachers and School Leaders: When Are SATs, What Are The Key Dates And How Best To Revise This Year

Find out everything you need to know about SATs 2024 in our annual guide.

Consider this your one stop shop to the SATs 2024: all the key SATs 2024 dates, information about administering the SATs process and applying for special consideration this year, as well as lots of other essential resources for year 6 teachers and school leaders.

Look out for links to the most accurate free practice SATs papers you’ll find, as well as analysis from all the previous SATs papers and SATs results and your list of hot topics to revise for the KS2 SATs 2024 maths papers.

This article will be regularly updated with new information about the SATs 2024 as it becomes available.

When are SATs 2024?

The 2024 KS2 SATs dates fall as usual in the second week in May so SATs in 2024 will adminstered from 13 to 16th May 2024.

• Monday 13th May 2024: Spelling, punctuation, and grammar (Grammar/Punctuation Test) – 45 minutes
• Monday 13th May 2024: Spelling, punctuation, and grammar (Spelling Test) – 20 minutes
• Tuesday 14th May 2024: Reading Paper (English) – 60 minutes
• Wednesday 15th May 2024: Maths Paper 1 (Arithmetic) – 30 minutes
• Wednesday 15th May 2024: Maths Paper 2 (Reasoning) – 40 minutes
• Thursday 16th May 2024: Maths Paper 3 (Reasoning) – 40 minutes

Read more: What are SATs?

When are the KS1 SATs 2024?

In 2023 KS1 SATs became optional and it is now up to schools and if they decide to administer them. If your school decides to take them, they will take place in May 2024 and will be sat in classrooms. As schools are offered flexibility, the exact dates of the KS1 SATs tests vary from school to school with each choosing their own dates within a certain range.

When is SATs Week 2024?

2024 SATs week for Year 6 pupils in England is Monday 13 May – Thursday 16 May. Over this period, pupils will sit 6 different tests, with English taking place at the beginning of the week and maths at the end.

• 3 English Tests: Grammar and Punctuation; Spelling and Reading
• 3 Maths Tests: Arithmetic, Reasoning, Reasoning

In addition pupils will be expected to submit writing as part of their teacher assessed Writing SATs – and of course some schools will be moderated. This usually takes place after SATs week.

What will children be tested on in their 2024 SATs?

The option KS1 Standard Assessments Tests consists of a total of 6 papers altogether, usually not sat under timed conditions. They are marked internally by the school.

KS2 Standard Assessment Tests consist of 6 papers too, but to be sat within time restrictions. In addition, there is a teacher-assessed element in KS2 to establish a ‘Writing’ score. These papers are sent back to be marked centrally with marks standardised around a score of 100.

Detailed breakdown of Year 2 national tests: KS1 SATs papers 2024

This is the format for KS1 SATs papers that schools can choose to give 6 and 7-year-olds in Year 2 in May 2024.

KS1 maths SATs

• There will be 2 papers.
• Paper 1 is a 25-mark arithmetic test which should take around 15 minutes.
• Paper 2 involves reasoning, problem-solving and mathematical fluency. This paper has 35 marks available, will last for roughly 35 minutes, and contains a variety of question types.

KS1 SPaG SATs

• There will be 2 papers.
• Paper 1 is a 20-word spelling paper, comprising 20 marks. The spelling test should take around 15 minutes.
• Paper 2 consists of grammar and punctuation, with two sections taking around 10 minutes per section.

KS1 reading SATs

• There will be 2 papers.
• Paper 1 consists of a variety of texts totalling between 400-700 words. There will be a number of questions for pupils to answer dotted throughout.
• Paper 2 consists of a reading booklet containing different passages of text. This will average out at roughly 900 words.

Detailed breakdown of year 6 national tests: KS2 SATs papers 2024

10 and 11-year-olds in Year 6 will sit the following compulsory KS2 SATs papers in 2024. In addition, some primary schools will be chosen for science sampling and their Year 6 children will also sit a KS2 science paper.

KS2 reading SATs in 2024

• This is one paper, with questions that are based on 3 different passages of text. Pupils will have 1 hour to complete the reading test which they will do in a specially provided answer booklet.

The KS2 SPaG SATs in 2024

• There is a 20-word aural spelling test which should last around 20 minutes.
• There is also a written element which consists of an English grammar and punctuation paper, which will last for 45 minutes.

The KS2 maths SATs in 2024

• There will be 3 mathematics papers.
• Paper 1 is an arithmetic paper which will last for 30 minutes.
• Papers 2 and 3 are reasoning papers which will last for 40 minutes each.

Read more: SATs 2024 Guide For Teachers and School Leaders: When Are SATs, What Are The Key Dates And How Best To Revise This Year

How to prepare for KS2 SATs 2024 in maths

Preparation for KS2 SATs really does make a difference. The best approach tends to be a blend of the following:

• Analysis of past papers and topics from you to see the sorts of questions that come up.
• Lots of practice for pupils on SATs questions, SATs strategies.
• A solid KS2 SATs revision programme that addresses any remaining gaps that weren’t picked up first time around.
• Good quality SATs revision resources and teaching resources – hundreds available from the free Third Space Learning online maths hub.
• SATs practice papers – when the time is right, pupils will benefit from regular exposure to the kinds of papers they’ll face in their national curriculum tests.
• Bespoke maths interventions as needed.

Third Space Learning can help you with all of these.

GET THE ANALYSIS ON PREVIOUS SATS

SATs have been running in their current incarnation for 7 years; there were no government standardised assessments in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Get all the analysis and results from previous national assessments below.
And find out which are the top 20 year 6 maths revision topics to focus on this year.

– SATs papers 2024
– SATs results 2024
– SATs papers 2023
– SATs results 2023
– SATs papers 2022
– SATs results 2022
– SATs papers 2019
– SATs results 2019
– SATs papers 2018
– SATs results 2018
– SATs papers 2017
– SATs results 2017
– SATs results 2016

Find out more: How To Create A Year 6 Maths Revision Programme So That All Your Pupils Achieve 100 In KS2 SATs

Where to find all the best revision resources for SATs 2024

• Visit our SATs papers hub which includes links to every possible practice SATs paper you could need from all suppliers (not just us)
• Download these 6 free SATs maths papers
• Choose from hundreds of SATs questions here including these 35 exemplar year 6 maths questions focused on the reasoning skills required for mathematics paper 2 and mathematics paper 3.
• Finally, if you still need more, take a look at the best SATs revision resources that other teachers have recommended.

Information for SLT and headteachers planning their SATs timetable for 2024

When will the KS1 SATs papers be released?

It is likely that the KS1 SATs papers will be released from embargo by the Standards and Testing Agency early in June 2024. At this point, you can expect to receive both the test materials including the mark scheme and the scaled score conversion tables.

When do the KS1 SATs results 2024 come out?

As the papers at KS1 are marked internally by teachers in accordance with the mark scheme provided by the Standards and Testing Agency, it is up to schools to decide when and if they share the results.

Schools are not obliged to share the results of these tests with parents, but many include a summary of them in the end-of-year report.

When will the KS2 SATs papers be released?

As a general rule, based on previous years (excluding pandemic ones), the Key Stage 2 SATs papers are released by the Standards and Testing Agency at the end of May. This year the date given is 24th May 2024. At this time when they come out of embargo you will then have both the test papers and the answers with number of marks available.

When do the KS2 SATs results 2024 come out?

Standards and Testing Agency released the KS2 SATs results 2024 on Tuesday 9 July 2024.

Schools will then receive both the raw score and the standardised score for every pupil, and whether or not they have reached ‘expected standard’ ie a standardised score of 100 or above.

When are the KS2 SATs results 2024 made public

The next key date for KS2 SATs results is when the league tables are published and each school’s performance is then subject to wider scrutiny along with their Ofsted report. During the Covid years this data wasn’t published but from 2023 they returned to releasing them publicly on the compare performance website. These usually appear in April of the following year so we can expect to see the KS2 SATs results 2024 made public in April 2025.

When to apply and the varying time of the tests in your school?

Schools can vary the test time between 7am and 7pm on the day of a SATs exam, so that an individual pupil or part of the cohort can take a test on the scheduled date, but at a different time from the rest of the cohort. In these circumstances, schools no longer need to submit a notification to the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) as was previously the case.

For further guidance on this from the STA, see how to apply for a timetable variation.

Special consideration for SATS

This can be applied for from 16th May 2024 (Thursday of SATs week), and you have one week to do it. Many schools do not apply for special consideration for pupils when they are allowed to.

The following circumstances are all eligible for Special Consideration (if they have had some form of impact on the child, of course). This adds an additional 3 to all scaled scores for the pupil (if the application is accepted).  Note the 3 scaled score addition won’t show on your results on NCA tools, but the pupils will be marked with a symbol to show it has been granted, so you can add the 3 scaled score points.

• Bereavement of a family member or close friend within 12 months of the tests.
• The pupil, or a close family member, has a diagnosed terminal illness at the time of the tests.
• The pupil or a close family member has suffered a severe or permanent injury or illness or has undergone major surgery, in the 6 months prior to the tests.
• A serious domestic incident occurred within 2 weeks of the start of the tests.
• A longer-term major incident that occurred in the 6 months before the tests is still having an impact on the pupil at the time of the test.

Helpful GOV.UK links for KS1 and KS2 SATs 2024

Much of the key documentation is available from the Department for Education (DfE) on GOV.UK and updated for every academic year.

KS1: National Curriculum Assessments KS1 tests page. This includes:

• Key stage 1 assessment and reporting arrangements
• Key stage 1 calendar of SATs dates
• Access arrangements
• Test administration
• Maladministration

KS2: National Curriculum Assessments KS2 tests page. This includes:

• Key stage 2 assessment and reporting arrangements
• Key stage 2 planner
• Planning
• Access arrangements
• Test administration
• Monitoring visits
• Maladministration
• Results

In addition, you may need the following:

• Key Stage 1 Teacher Assessment Guidance and the 
• Key Stage 2 Teacher Assessment Guidance
• Future dates for primary asssessments