Parent communication Β· 5 min read
What Are the KS1 SATs? A Guide for Parents
Year 2 assessments explained β what they are, what changed in 2023, and what your child needs to know
Published 2026-05-21
KS1 SATs (Key Stage 1 Standard Assessment Tests) changed significantly in 2023. From that year, the formal Year 2 tests became non-statutory β schools can still choose to use them, but they are no longer required to.
What this means in practice varies by school. Many schools have moved to teacher assessment only. Others still use the papers as an internal tool. If you're unsure which applies to your school, it's worth asking.
What still happens in Year 2
Regardless of whether formal tests are used, schools are still required to report on whether Year 2 pupils have met the 'expected standard' in reading, writing, and maths at the end of KS1. This reporting is based on teacher assessment β the teacher's professional judgement about what the child can demonstrate consistently across their work.
Where schools do use the optional papers: the reading paper (two parts, about 30 minutes each) tests decoding and comprehension. The maths papers (arithmetic and reasoning, about 20 minutes each) test calculation and problem-solving. There is no SPaG paper at KS1.
What the results mean
Year 2 teacher assessment results are reported using three categories: Working Towards the Expected Standard, Working at the Expected Standard, and Working at Greater Depth. Most children are at the expected standard β this is what it means.
How to support your child
The most important thing you can do is keep Year 2 feeling normal. Young children are highly sensitive to parental anxiety about school, and if they sense that something important and stressful is happening, they will perform worse, not better.
Read together daily β this is the single highest-leverage thing you can do. Discuss books, ask questions, let your child retell what happened. Play number games naturally. Count things, talk about quantities, add and subtract as part of everyday life.
If your child is below expected in any area, ask the teacher what specifically they can work on β and what that looks like at home. A targeted approach is more useful than general 'do more maths.'
Going deeper
KS1 preparation books for parents
Books we'd recommend on the topics raised in this article.
For children
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