Barnburgh Primary School

SATs Guidance for Parents

Aims of the Guidance

• When are SATS
• What are SATS and how will attainment be measured?
• Reading and Writing expectations
• How parents can support

When are the KS1 SATS?

The KS1 tests are administered in May. There is no given timetable for Key Stage 1 SATs.

The tests are administered in small groups with adults that the children are familiar with.

What are the KS1 SATS?

• KS1 SATs (National Curriculum Tests) are tests children take at the end of Year 2. SATs test children on what they have learnt since joining KS1
• KS1 SATs are mandatory tests from the National Curriculum assessment programme. All state schools in England are required to provide the tests.
• They are marked internally.

What assessments do the children do?

• English: Paper 1: Reading Comprehension
• English: Paper 2: Reading Comprehension
• Mathematics: Paper 1 : Arithmetic
• Mathematics: Paper 2 : Reasoning
• English Grammar, Punctuation and Vocabulary: Paper 1: Spelling Test
• English Grammar, Punctuation and Vocabulary: Paper 2: Grammar, Punctuation and Vocabulary Test
• Writing: Writing Portfolios

Year 2 SATs - Reading

Reading will be two papers with questions for the pupils to complete. There will be a variety of texts with between 400-700 words in total with questions interspersed for the first paper. The reading paper texts increase in difficulty.

Paper 2 comprises of a reading booklet of a selection of passages totaling 800 to 1100 words. Children will write their answers in a separate booklet.

Each paper is worth 50 per cent of the marks, and should take around 30 minutes, but children are not be strictly timed, as the tests are not intended to assess children’s ability to work at speed.

How are the reading tests presented?

The texts in the reading papers cover a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, and get progressively more difficult towards the end of the test. There are a variety of questions types:

• Multiple Choice
• Ordering the events
• Matching
• Labelling
• Find and copy
• Short answers
• Open-ended answers

Assessing Reading beyond the tests

Working at the Expected Standard

• read accurately most words of two or more syllables
• read most words containing common suffixes*
• read most common exception words.*

In age appropriate books, the pupil can:

• read words accurately and fluently] without overt sounding and blending, e.g at over 90 words per minute
• sound out most unfamiliar words accurately, without undue hesitation

In a familiar book that they can already read accurately and fluently, the pupil can:

• check it makes sense to them
• answer questions and make some inferences on the basis of what is being said

Click  the highlighted link below to see an example.

Exemplification video

Working at greater depth within the expected standard

The pupil can, in a book they are reading independently:

• make inferences on the basis of what is said and done
• predict what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far
• make links between the book they are reading and other books they have read.

Click  the highlighted link below to see an example.

Exemplification video

Year 2 SATs - Mathematics

The Key Stage 1 Maths test is made up of two papers:

• Paper 1: arithmetic, worth 25 marks and taking around 20 minutes.
• Paper 2: mathematical fluency, problem-solving and reasoning, worth 35 marks and taking 35 minutes, with a break if necessary.

How are the Maths tests presented?

There are a variety of question types:

• matching
• true/false
• constrained (e.g. completing a chart or table; drawing a shape)
• less constrained (e.g. where children have to show or explain their method).

The assessments focus on:

• Fluency – children’s ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.

• Reason and Problem Solve – follow a line of enquiry, make generalisations, justify or prove something and apply their knowledge, break down and persevere to solve problems.

Assessing MATHS beyond the tests

Working at Expected Standard

The pupil can:

• partition two-digit numbers into different combinations of tens and ones.
• add 2 two-digit numbers within 100 (e.g. 48 + 35)
• use estimation to check that their answers to a calculation are reasonable (e.g. knowing that 48 + 35 will be less than 100)
• subtract mentally a two-digit number from another two-digit number when there is no regrouping required (e.g. 74 − 33)
• recognise the inverse relationships between addition and subtraction and use this to check calculations and work out missing number problems (e.g. Δ − 14 = 28)
• recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 2, 5 and 10 multiplication tables to solve simple problems
• identify 1/3, 1/4, 1/2, 2/4, 3/4 and knows that all parts must be equal parts of the whole.
• use different coins to make the same amount
• read scales in divisions of ones, twos, fives and tens in a practical situation where all numbers on the scale are given (e.g. pupil reads the temperature on a thermometer or measures capacities using a measuring jug)
• read the time on the clock to the nearest 15 minutes
• describe properties of 2-D and 3-D shapes

Working at Greater Depth

The pupils can:

• reason about addition (e.g. that the sum of 3 odd numbers will always be odd)
• use multiplication facts to make deductions outside known multiplication facts (e.g. a pupil knows that multiples of 5 have one digit of 0 or 5 and uses this to reason that 18 × 5 cannot be 92, as it is not a multiple of 5)
• work out mental calculations where regrouping is required (e.g. 52 − 27; 91 – 73)
• solve more complex missing number problems (e.g. 14 +  – 3 = 17; 14 + Δ = 15 + 27)
• determine remainders given known facts (e.g. given 15 ÷ 5 = 3 and has a remainder of 0, pupil recognises that 16 ÷ 5 will have a remainder of 1; knowing that 2 × 7 = 14 and 2 × 8 = 16, pupil explains that making pairs of socks from 15 identical socks will give 7 pairs and one sock will be left)
• solve word problems that involve more than one step (e.g. “which has the most biscuits, 4 packets of biscuits with 5 in each packet or 3 packets of biscuits with 10 in each packet?”)
• recognise the relationships between addition and subtraction and can rewrite addition statements as simplified multiplication statements (e.g. 10 + 10 + 10 + 5 + 5 = 3 × 10 + 2 × 5 = 4 × 10)
• find and compare fractions of amounts (e.g. ¼ of £20 = £5 and ½ of £8 = £4, so ¼ of £20 is greater than ½ of £8)
• read the time on the clock to the nearest 5 minutes
• read scales in divisions of ones, twos, fives and tens in a practical situation where not all numbers on the scale are given.
• describe similarities and differences of shape properties (e.g. finds 2 different 2-D shapes that only have one line of symmetry; that a cube and a cuboid have the same number of edges, faces and vertices but can describe what is different about them).

download white rose 1 minute maths to support with instant recall facts 

Working at the Expected standard

The pupil can, after discussion with the teacher:

• write simple, coherent narratives about personal experiences and those of others (real or fictional) [e.g appropriate tense & ‘makes sense’]
• write about real events, recording these simply and clearly
• demarcate most sentences in their writing with capital letters and full stops, and use question marks correctly when required
• use present and past tense mostly correctly and consistently
• use co-ordination (e.g. or / and / but) and some subordination (e.g. when / if / that / because) to join clauses
• segment spoken words into phonemes and represent these by graphemes, spelling many of these words correctly and making phonically-plausible attempts at others
• spell many common exception words*
• Consistently form capital letters and digits of the correct size, orientation and relationship to one another and to lower-case letters
• use spacing between words that reflects the size of the letters.

Click the highlighted link below to see examples of expected writing.

Expected writing examples

Working at Greater Depth

The pupil can, after discussion with the teacher:

• write effectively and coherently for different purposes, drawing on their reading to inform the vocabulary and grammar of their writing
• make simple additions, revisions and proof-reading corrections to their own writing
• use the punctuation taught at key stage 1 mostly correctly
• spell most common exception words
• add suffixes to spell most words correctly in their writing (e.g. –ment, –ness, –ful –less, –ly)*
• use the diagonal and horizontal strokes needed to join some letters.

Click the highlighted link below to see examples of expected writing.

Greater Depth Writing Examples

I would encourage all parents/carers to continue practise letter formation with your children. It is VITAL that letters are formed correctly and consistently.

How can you support your child's learning?

• Read, read and read again with your child! (development of vocabulary and fluency)
• Use of spelling shed, maths shed and White Rose 1 minute Maths
• Practise KIRFS (can be found on the Year 2 2021-2022 page) Top Marks is a great site for instant recall facts.
• Ensure your child is 100% secure with sounds in Phonics to read.
• Ensure your child is secure in their handwriting and forming letters correctly.
• Practise Year 1 and Year 2 Common exception words