SATs 2025 Guide For Teachers and School Leaders: When Are SATs, What Are The Key Dates And How Best To Revise This Year
The Year 6 SATs 2025 will take place from Monday 12 May to Thursday 15 May. As with previous years, the Year 6 SATs will assess children’s reading, writing, and mathematics skills.
This article is regularly updated with new information about the SATs 2025 as it becomes available.
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SATs 2025 test dates
As usual, the 2025 KS2 SATs dates fall in the second week in May. SATs in 2025 will be administered from Monday 12th to Thursday 15th May 2025.
- Monday 12th May 2025: Spelling, punctuation, and grammar (Grammar/Punctuation Test) – 45 minutes
- Monday 12th May 2025: Spelling, punctuation, and grammar (Spelling Test) – 20 minutes
- Tuesday 13th May 2025: Reading Paper (English) – 60 minutes
- Wednesday 14th May 2025: Maths Paper 1 (Arithmetic) – 30 minutes
- Wednesday 14th May 2025: Maths Paper 2 (Reasoning) – 40 minutes
- Thursday 15th May 2025: Maths Paper 3 (Reasoning) – 40 minutes
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Over this period, pupils sit 6 core subject tests. English takes 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 must submit writing as part of their teacher-assessed Writing SATs. Some schools will be moderated for the writing assessment, which usually happens after SATs week.
Each test paper is between 30-60 minutes long. Arithmetic is the shortest paper and Reading is the longest. All Year 6 SATs papers are sent away for marking and the results are sent back to schools in July.
Detailed breakdown of year 6 national tests: KS2 SATs papers 2025
10 and 11-year-olds in Year 6 will sit the following compulsory KS2 SATs papers in 2025. In addition, primary schools will decide whether pupils are working at the expected standard for science.
KS2 English reading SATs in 2025
- There will be just one English reading paper with questions based on at least 3 different passages. 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 2025
- There will be a 20-word aural spelling test which should last around 20 minutes. Pupils will write the spellings in the provided booklet.
- There will also a written element which consists of an English grammar and punctuation paper, which will last for 45 minutes. Questions vary in format, including some multiple-choice questions.
The KS2 maths SATs in 2025
- There will be 3 mathematics papers.
- Paper 1 is an arithmetic paper, lasting for 30 minutes.
- Papers 2 and 3 are reasoning papers, lasting for 40 minutes each.
Purpose of KS2 SATs
SATs reflect the level a child is working:
- Towards the expected standard
- At the expected standard
- Greater depth
A child needs to achieve a scaled score of 100 or more to be classified as working at the expected standard. If they do not achieve a scaled score of at least 100, this indicates they have not reached the expected standard set out by the government.
READ MORE: What are SATs?
Preparing for SATs
There are many resources available to help children prepare for their SATs, including free practice SATs papers, analysis from all the previous SATs papers and SATs results, and a list of hot topics to revise for the KS2 SATs 2025 maths papers.
What will the 2025 SATs test children on?
There are a total of 6 papers for the optional KS1 Standard Assessments. Usually, pupils do not sit these under timed conditions and the school marks the papers internally.
While they are not classified as SATs, pupils in Year 2 who did not pass the phonics screening check in Year 1 will be retested on the week of the 9th June 2025.
KS2 Standard Assessment Tests consist of 6 papers too. However, pupils sit these papers within time restrictions. These papers are sent back to be marked centrally with marks standardised around a score of 100. In addition, there is a teacher-assessed element in KS2 to establish a ‘Writing’ score.
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Watch Skye in actionHow to prepare for the maths KS2 SATs 2025
Preparation for KS2 SATs really does make a difference. The best approach to the KS2 SATs 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 strategies.
- A solid KS2 SATs revision programme that addresses any remaining knowledg gaps.
- 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 2025
– SATs results 2025
– 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
Where to find all the best revision resources for SATs 2025
- 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.
Looking for more bespoke personalised support?
Third Space Learning prepares over 10,000 pupils every year across the UK for their KS2 SATs using targeted one-to-one online maths tuition.
Thanks to the feedback and learnings from hundreds of thousands of previous pupils the Year 6 SATs revision programme is continually improving its approach to addressing gaps in students’ maths knowledge.
It follows a rigorous programme where each lesson builds on the previous one and offers supported SATs practice questions along the way. By the time pupils sit their SATs they feel confident and prepared.
When are the KS1 SATs 2025?
In 2023 KS1 SATs became optional. It is now up to schools if they decide to administer them. If your school decides to take them, they will take place in May 2025. As schools have the flexibility, the exact dates of the KS1 SATs tests vary from school to school. Each school chooses their own dates within a certain range. Pupils usually sit the KS1 SATs in classrooms.
Detailed breakdown of Year 2 national tests: KS1 SATs papers 2025
The KS1 SATs papers that schools can choose to give 6 and 7-year-olds in Year 2 in May 2025 take the following format:
KS1 maths SATs
- There are 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 are 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 are 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.
RELATED SATs 2025 RESOURCES:
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