Reception Baseline Assessment
Schools must complete the reception baseline assessment for each child in the first 6 weeks after they enter reception.
The assessment does not have to be done all at once and practitioners may pause any time they feel appropriate. The assessment is intended to be short and take less than 20 minutes to complete. It is designed to be interactive and practical and covers early mathematics, language, communication and literacy. Children will use practical resources to complete tasks and practitioners will record the results digitally, using a laptop computer or tablet.
Key Stage 1
It is recommended that the key stage 1 tests (optional) are administered during May 2025.
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| May 2025 | Key stage 1 test recommended period (optional) |
| Week commencing Monday 9th June 2025 | Phonics screening check week |
Children in Year 2 will complete the following optional assessments:
- Reading
- English grammar, punctuation and spelling
- Maths
Unlike the KS2 SATs, these tests are not strictly timed as the ability to work at speed is not assessed.
Teachers will have the option to stop the test at any point that they feel is appropriate for a particular child.
The check (otherwise known as the “Year 1 Phonics Screening” or “Phonics Test”) is a short phonics assessment initially for children in Year 1. If however, a child does not obtain the expected score of 32 out of 40 (previous academic year expected score), they will be required to take the assessment again as a Year 2.
More information and support materials can be found at:
www.phonicsbloom.com/uk/article/phonics-screening-check
Key Stage 2
The key stage 2 tests are timetabled from Monday 12th May to Thursday 15th May 2025.
|
Date |
Activity |
| Monday 12 May 2025 | English grammar, punctuation and spelling papers |
| Tuesday 13 May 2025 | English reading |
| Wednesday 14 May 2025 | Mathematics papers 1 and 2 |
| Thursday 15 May 2025 |
Mathematics paper 3 |
Multiplication tables check
Schools must administer the multiplication tables check within the 2-week period from Monday 2nd 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.
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.