Assessment Information

Statutory Assessment - Academic Year 2024/25

Reception Baseline Assessment
Schools must complete the Reception Baseline Assessment for each child in the first 6 weeks after they enter reception. This usually takes place within the month of September or when a child first joins our setting.

Key Stage 1 SATS
Key Stage 1 SATS for pupils in Year 2 are now optional. Key Stage 1 tests are therefore no longer being administered at Orchard.

Key Stage 2 Assessment (Year 6 Pupils)
Year 6, before children leave us to move to Secondary school they undertake tests in Reading Comprehension, Writing, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation (GPS) and Numeracy. These tests are set by the Department for Education and must be taken in a particular week in May. All maintained schools in the country take the same test on the same day.

The key stage 2 tests are timetabled from Monday 12th May to Thursday 15th May 2025.

Key Stage 2 Reading
The reading test will provisionally be a single paper with questions based on one 800-word text and two passages of 300 words. Your child will have one hour, including reading time, to complete the test.

There will be a selection of question types, including:

Ranking/ordering, e.g. ‘Number the events below to show the order in which they happen in the story’
Labelling, e.g. ‘Label the text to show the title of the story’
Find and copy, e.g. ‘Find and copy one word that suggests what the weather is like in the story’
Short constructed response, e.g. ‘What does the bear eat?’
Open-ended response, e.g. ‘Look at the sentence that begins Once upon a time. How does the writer increase the tension throughout this paragraph? Explain fully, referring to the text in your answer.’

Key Stage 2 grammar, punctuation and spelling test
The grammar, punctuation and spelling test will consist of two parts: a grammar and punctuation paper requiring short answers, lasting 45 minutes, and an aural spelling test of 20 words, lasting around 15 minutes.

The grammar and punctuation test will include two sub-types of questions:

Selected response, e.g. ‘Identify the adjectives in the sentence below’
Constructed response, e.g. ‘Correct/complete/rewrite the sentence below,’ or, ‘The sentence below has an apostrophe missing. Explain why it needs an apostrophe.’

Key Stage 2 Maths
Children will sit three papers in maths:

Paper 1: arithmetic, 30 minutes (written)
Papers 2 and 3: mathematical fluency, solving problems and reasoning, 40 minutes per paper

Paper 1 will consist of fixed response questions, where children have to give the correct answer to calculations, including long multiplication and division. Papers 2 and 3 will involve a number of question types, including:

Multiple choice
True or false
Constrained questions, e.g. giving the answer to a calculation, drawing a shape or completing a table or chart
Less constrained questions, where children will have to explain their approach for solving a problem.

Key Stage 2 science
Not all children in Year 6 nationally will take science SATs. For those whose schools are selected, there will be three papers:

Biology: 25 minutes, 22 marks
Chemistry: 25 minutes, 22 marks
Physics: 25 minutes, 22 marks

How will Key Stage 2 SATs be marked?
Children will be given standardised scores. You will be given your child’s score, alongside the average for their school, the local area and nationally. There will also be a ‘performance descriptor’ of the expected standard for Key Stage 2 pupils. The Department for Education is aiming for 65% of children to reach or exceed that standard.

How you can help

Try to talk to your child ahead of the test week and reassure them – re-iterating the message that they just need to try their best and not worry.
Make sure that they have a reasonably early night during SAT week. They will feel under a degree of stress so try to be patient.
Ensure that they have a healthy breakfast before coming to school. Once in school we provide milk, juice or fruit prior to the tests starting with those children who want it.
Once home ask your child how the day went and what they think they did well.

Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check
Schools must administer the multiplication tables check within the 2-week period from Monday 2nd - Tuesday 3rd June 2025.

The multiplication tables check is an online test for pupils in Year 4. Pupils are asked to answer 25 questions on times tables from two to 12. They are given six seconds per question, with three seconds rest between each question, so the test should last less than five minutes. It is very similar to the set-up of Times Tables Rock stars.

Questions about the six, seven, eight, nine, and 12 times tables are likely to come up most often, as these are the hardest for most children to learn. It’s a good idea to focus on these tricky times tables with your child.

First and foremost, the check is about finding out which children are struggling with their times tables so that they can get extra support. It is not a judgement on what your child can do, but a way for the school to know how their teaching is going and to adjust their focus if needed.

Parent/Carer Information
Please click on the link below to view an information pack for Parents/Carers:
2024 Information for Parents - Y4 Multiplication Tables Check

Year 1 Phonics Screening Check (Year 1 Pupils)
We are required to administer a phonics screening check to children in Year 1, week commencing Monday 9th - Friday 13th June 2025.

This test is a series of words – proper and nonsense words which children are asked to read using their phonic knowledge. If a child in Year 1 does not get the required number of words right to pass the test they are able to revisit it in Year 2.

General Assessment Information
Our comprehensive Assessment Policy contains further information about procedures at Orchard relating to the tracking and assessment of pupils, which can be opened using the following link:
www.orchardprimary.org/policy/assessment-policy

Useful Links
Gov.UK Education Pages: www.gov.uk/browse/education
Local Authority Schools Website: www.leics.gov.uk/index/education.htm