Test week in May of Year 6 is shorter and quieter than most families expect. The learning has been done over years in the classroom; by the time the papers arrive, the most useful thing a parent can do is keep home calm, predictable and kind. This guide covers what the week looks like, how to set up each test morning, what to say before and after, and what comes back to you in July.
What the week looks like
The Key Stage 2 tests (the SATs) are statutory in England and are taken on paper in May of Year 6. There are six papers across three subjects, and none of them is longer than an hour:
- English reading: one paper, 60 minutes.
- English grammar, punctuation and spelling: paper 1 (45 minutes) and paper 2, a 20-word spelling test of about 15 minutes.
- Mathematics: paper 1, arithmetic (30 minutes), and papers 2 and 3, reasoning (40 minutes each).
If the school has not told you which paper is on which day by the start of May, ask the class teacher, and make a note of the days for yourself so there are no surprises.
Writing and science are assessed by teachers, not by a paper, so there is no test for them in the week. Your child’s teacher already knows a great deal about how they are doing, and the tests add one snapshot to that picture.
The week before
- Keep the routine. Bedtimes, mealtimes, clubs and screen rules can all stay as they are. A normal week tells your child that this is a normal week.
- Nothing new. Test week is not the time to start a new topic. If your child likes a few minutes of practice because it helps them feel settled, a short game in the course or a lesson watched again is plenty. Leave full practice papers for earlier in the year.
- Ask about access arrangements if you think your child needs them. Schools can apply for arrangements such as extra time, a reader for the maths papers (an adult who reads the questions aloud) or rest breaks for children who need them. The school arranges these, not the parent, so the sooner you speak to the teacher the better. Even late on, it is worth asking what is already in place for your child.
- Sort the practical things. Ask the school whether your child should bring anything, and settle who is doing the school run each morning.
Each test morning
Sleep
Aim for the usual bedtime rather than a much earlier one; children sent to bed early often lie awake, which helps no one. A calm wind-down the night before, with screens off a little earlier than usual and a book or a chat instead, is more useful than extra sleep.
Breakfast
Something your child normally eats and likes; there is no special test-day breakfast, and an unfamiliar one can sit badly. A drink of water before leaving is sensible, and if your child cannot manage much, a small snack is fine.
Getting there
Leave a few minutes earlier than usual so the walk or drive is unhurried. A rushed morning is the one thing that is easy to avoid.
What to say before
Keep it short and warm. Children take their cue from the adults around them, so the calmer you sound, the calmer they feel. Things that help:
- “Read each question carefully, and have a go at every one.”
- “If a question is hard, move on and come back to it.”
- “Do your best, and that is enough.”
Things to leave out: how important the day is, what happens if it goes badly, and last-minute quizzing on the way to school. Your child cannot learn anything new between the front door and the classroom, but a quiet walk in helps them arrive settled.
After each test
Ask about the day, not the paper. “How was it?” and “What did you do at lunch?” are better than “What was question 12?” Going over questions afterwards changes nothing, and the next paper is easier to face without it.
If your child says a paper was hard, believe them and keep it light: “Some of the questions are meant to be tricky, and that is true for everyone in the room. It is done now.” Then do something ordinary together: a walk, a kick-about, a favourite tea. The usual bedtime and the same routine the next morning, and on to the next one.
At the end of the week, mark the finish in a small way if you like, for the effort rather than the result: a film at home, a trip to the park, their choice of pudding.
What comes back in July
Schools receive the results in early July and share them with parents before the end of the summer term, as a scaled score for each tested subject.
- The marks your child gets on a paper are the raw mark. Each subject’s raw mark is converted into a scaled score from 80 to 120.
- 100 or more means your child has met the expected standard in that subject.
- 110 or more is reported as a high score.
The Standards and Testing Agency publishes the conversion tables each summer after the tests, and the raw mark needed for 100 changes from year to year because each year’s papers differ. Our guide Scaled scores explained goes into the detail.
When the results arrive, share them with your child plainly and without drama, whatever they say. A scaled score is one snapshot from one week in May; their teacher’s view, their reading habit and the way they handle numbers every day say more. If a result surprises you, the class teacher is the right person to talk it through with.
A note on Courselo in test week
The course is built for the years before May, not the week itself. If your child wants a bit of familiar routine, lessons are always free and can be watched again, and the Practise again list on their home screen offers a short, gentle go at topics that would benefit from another look. The practice papers in the Papers tab are best used earlier in the year; their scores are approximate, because the papers are objective-only, so treat them as a rough guide rather than a prediction of May. In test week, less is more.
Last checked: October 2026.