Statutory assessments
Reception baseline assessment
Within 6 weeks of a child starting Reception, they complete the reception baseline assessment (RBA). The purpose of the assessment is to provide the starting point for a progress measure that will help parents understand how well schools support their pupils to progress between reception and year 6.
The RBA is a short, interactive and practical assessment of your child's early literacy, communication, language and mathematics skills when they begin school, using materials that most children of your child's age will be familiar with.
Phonics screening test
Children in year 1 participate in the phonics screening check in June. The phonics screening check is a check of your child's phonic knowledge. It helps the school to confirm whether your child is making the progress expected in the national curriculum.
With some exceptions, all pupils who have reached the age of 6 by the end of the school year must take the check during that academic year, for most pupils, this will be in year 1.
Phonics is an effective way of teaching children to read. By ensuring high quality phonics teaching, we want to improve literacy levels and give all children a solid base to build on as they progress through school.
Through phonics, children are taught how to:
• recognise the sounds that each individual letter makes
• identify the sounds that different combinations of letters make, such as ‘sh’ or ‘oo’
• blend these sounds together from left to right to make a word. Children can then use this knowledge to ‘decode’ new words that they hear or see. This is the first important step in learning to read.
Year 4 multiplication tables check
Pupils in year 4 participate in the multiplication tables check (MTC) in June. The purpose of the check is to determine whether your child can fluently recall their times tables up to 12, which is essential for future success in mathematics. It will also help the school to identify if your child may need additional support
The MTC is an on-screen check consisting of 25 times table questions. Your child will be able to answer 3 practice questions before taking the actual check. They will then have 6 seconds to answer each question. On average, the check should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete.
SATs (KS2 standard assessment tests)
Pupils in year 6 will complete national curriculum assessments at the end of key stage 2 (KS2) in:
- English grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS)
- English reading
- mathematics
Some people refer to these tests as ‘SATs’.
The tests help measure the attainment of pupils in relation to the standards set out in the national curriculum, and help teachers and parents identify where pupils may need additional support in a certain subject area. The tests are also used to assess schools’ performance, and school-level results data is used to produce national and regional performance statistics.
Your child will sit the KS2 tests on scheduled dates set by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA). If your child is absent on a scheduled test day, they may be able to take any missed tests up to 5 school days afterwards. Your child’s school must apply for a timetable variation and receive approval from STA to allow for this.