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Important update from TheSchoolRun

For the past 13 years, TheSchoolRun has been run by a small team of mums working from home, dedicated to providing quality educational resources to primary school parents. Unfortunately, rising supplier costs and falling revenue have made it impossible for us to continue operating, and we’ve had to make the difficult decision to close. The good news: We’ve arranged for another educational provider to take over many of our resources. These will be hosted on a new portal, where the content will be updated and expanded to support your child’s learning.

What this means for subscribers:

  • Your subscription is still active, and for now, you can keep using the website as normal — just log in with your usual details to access all our articles and resources*.
  • In a few months, all resources will move to the new portal. You’ll continue to have access there until your subscription ends. We’ll send you full details nearer the time.
  • As a thank you for your support, we’ll also be sending you 16 primary school eBooks (worth £108.84) to download and keep.

A few changes to be aware of:

  • The Learning Journey weekly email has ended, but your child’s plan will still be updated on your dashboard each Monday. Just log in to see the recommended worksheets.
  • The 11+ weekly emails have now ended. We sent you all the remaining emails in the series at the end of March — please check your inbox (and spam folder) if you haven’t seen them. You can also follow the full programme here: 11+ Learning Journey.

If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you for being part of our journey it’s been a privilege to support your family’s learning.

*If you need to reset your password, it will still work as usual. Please check your spam folder if the reset email doesn’t appear in your inbox.

Key Stage 2 SATs testing - what's involved?

Multiple choice exam paper
Not sure what your 11 year old will be tested on in their SATs? Read on to find out more, along with examples of the questions they may come up against.

English and maths KS2 SATs are taken at the end of Year 6. They are marked externally and your child will receive a separate score for grammar, punctuation and spelling, reading and maths. You will also be told whether your child has reached the national standard for tat subject.

KS2 English SATs

Reading in the Year 6 English SATs looks at the understanding of:

  • significant themes
  • ideas
  • characters
  • events
  • ‘between the lines' meanings

Questions will be asked to assess a range of reading skills, such as the ability to interpret information and comment on writers' use of language. Your child will also be asked to spell words and show they understand the rules of grammar and punctuation in the KS2 Grammar, punctuation and spelling paper.

When it comes to assessing children's writing, markers will look for how well your child:

  • engages the reader
  • uses accurate punctuation
  • extends the range and sophistication of their vocabulary.

For the test, they may have to write a story or some non-narrative form like a poem or a report. One recent task required children to write a page on the Tongo Lizard for an information book about endangered species. Also included was an explanation of the word ‘endangered' and a picture of the lizard. Possible areas for content development – habitat, eating habits, appearance, and reasons for the creature's endangered status – were also suggested.

KS2 maths SATs

There are three separate tests for maths: an arithmetic test of 30 minutes, and two reasoning tests of 40 minutes each. The skills tested include:

  • knowing all times tables and using them to divide and multiply
  • using a protractor to measure angles
  • calculating the perimeter and area of shapes that can be split into rectangles
  • solving problems by collecting and using information in tables, graphs and charts
  • solving problems involving ratio and proportion.

An example of the kind of problem your child may be faced with is, ‘If it is 130km from Exeter to Bristol, another 215km from Bristol to Derby and a further 106km to York, how far is it from Bristol to York?’ When solving problems that involve more than one step encourage your child to do it in steps, to persist and to check their answer is reasonable in the context of the problem. Some marks are given in these tests for working out.

KS2 science SATs

Science is no longer tested at KS2 level according to a sampling system, as in previous years, so children do not currently sit a science SATs test. Your child's science skills will be assessed by the teacher. They may look for your child to know the following: 

  • the major body organs and know where they are
  • classify materials by their different properties
  • comment on the design of a simple experiment
  • make changes to and draw simple electrical circuits.