What Are the Key Primary Assessment Dates in 2025?
Ensuring that you've got all your ducks in a row when it comes to the different types of assessments carried out in primary schools can be a real challenge, especially as assessment dates and windows change every year.
In this blog, we'll outline in simple terms what the assessments are, when the key dates and deadlines fall and where you can find the official DfE information for each type of test, including the:
- Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA)
- Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP)
- Phonics Screening Check (PSC)
- Optional KS1 SATs
- Multiplication Tables Check (MTC)
- KS2 SATs
Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA)
What is the Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA)?
The RBA is an assessment of early mathematics, early literacy, communication and language for pupils starting in Reception. It has two components, each consisting of practical tasks using physical resources. There is an online scoring system for the practitioner to use as the pupil engages with the tasks.
The data gathered from this is used to create school-level progress measures that will show the progress of pupils from reception until the end of key stage 2.
What are the key dates for the RBA in 2025?
⏰ September - mid-October 2025 - Deliver the RBA to new pupils in Reception. This should be delivered within the first 6 weeks of a pupil starting Reception.
Your school will also receive an RBA confirmation form via email that requests updated RBA contact details. This email will also contain a deadline by which the confirmation is to be submitted. At the time of writing, the date for receiving this email has not been released but in 2024, the email was sent in May with confirmation needed by mid-June.
Where can I find the official DfE information about the 2025 RBA?
At the time of writing, the reception baseline assessment: assessment and reporting arrangements has not been released yet, but you can access the 2024 version here:
👉 2024 Reception Baseline Assessment: Assessment and Reporting Arrangement
Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP)
What is the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP)?
The EYFS Profile or EYFSP is a statutory assessment of children’s development at the end of the academic year in which children turn 5 (usually Reception).
Each child’s level of development is assessed against 17 early learning goals (ELGs) across all seven areas of learning in the EYFS. For each ELG, teachers must assess whether a child is meeting the level of development that is expected at the end of the EYFS, or if they are not yet reaching this level and should be assessed as ‘emerging’.
This provides a summative assessment of each child’s development at the end of the EYFS and supports children’s successful transitions to year 1.
What are the key dates for the EYFS Profile in 2025?
⏰ During the Summer Term 2025 - Complete the EYFS Profile for each child. (Note that the EYFS framework states that the EYFSP must be complete in the final term of the year in which a child turns 5.)
⏰ 30th June 2025 - Submit the EYFSP data to your local authority.
Where can I find the official DfE information about the 2025 EYFSP?
This can be found in the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile Handbook - key dates are for the EYFSP are listed on page 6.
👉 Early Years Foundation Stage Profile Handbook
If you're looking for further support with your EYFS, why not explore our resources for EYFS leaders? We can help you with the seven areas of learning, recruitment of EYFS practitioners, staff development, EYFS leadership, EYFS deep dives and more.
Phonics Screening Check (PSC)
What is the Phonics Screening Check (PSC)?
The phonics screening check is designed to confirm whether pupils have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate standard. The assessment consists of 20 real words and 20 pseudo-words that pupils read aloud to the check administrator, who is often their teacher or a member of the KS1 staff.
The check is carried out for all pupils who have reached the age of 6 by the end of the academic year - the vast majority of these will be in Year 1. Most pupils who have not met the expected standard in Year 1 will resit the check in Year 2 but some pupils are exempt from the phonics screening check. Heads and leaders should check the details about participation in the Phonics Screening Check Assessment and Reporting Arrangements for further information.
What are the key dates for the Phonics Screening Check in 2025?
⏰ 10th January 2025 - Deadline for academies to have a written agreement for monitoring the phonics screening check in place. This could be with their geographical local authority or a different local authority, in which case the STA should be advised.
⏰ March 2025 - test administration guidance will be published. This will be found here: Key stage 1: phonics screening check administration guidance.
⏰ 22nd April 2025 - Deadline for braille versions of the PSC to be ordered, if required.
⏰ 19th May 2025 - 23rd May 2025 - Schools to receive Phonics Screening Check test materials.
⏰ 9th June 2025 - 13th June 2025 - Deliver the Phonics Screening Check. The following week (16th June - 20th June 2025) can be used as a timetable variation week for any pupils who were absent during the previous week.
⏰ 23rd June 2025 - PSC threshold marks are released.
⏰ 20th June 2025 - Deadline for the headteacher's declaration.
⏰ 18th July 2025 - Deadline to submit data to the local authority.
Where can I find the official DfE information about the 2025 phonics screening check?
This can be found in the 2025 Phonics Screening Check Assessment and Reporting Arrangements - key dates are for the phonics screening check are listed in section 3. You may wish to keep the test administration guidance page bookmarked too.
👉 2025 Phonics Screening Check Assessment and Reporting Arrangements
👉 Phonics Screening Check test administration guidance page
If this has got you thinking about primary literacy, we've got support for English subject leaders and improving literacy in primary as well as specific resources to support reading and writing across the primary age range.
Optional End of Key Stage 1 Assessments
What are KS1 SATs?
Since the 2023-2024 academic year, end of key stage 1 assessments - known commonly as KS1 SATS - have been optional. However, teachers may still use these assessments to inform their own judgements, if required.
What are the key dates for the optional KS1 SATS in 2025?
⏰ March 2025 - Optional KS1 Test Administration Guidance is released.
⏰ 24th March - 28th March 2025 - Optional KS1 modified test materials will arrive in school if these were ordered.
⏰ May 2025 - recommended KS1 optional SATs test administration window.
⏰ 24th May 2025 - raw score to scaled score conversion tables released.
Where can I find the official DfE information about the KS1 Optional SATs?
The 2025 optional key stage 1 tests guidance is useful place to start and it contains all key dates needed in section 3.
👉 2025 Optional Key Stage 1 Tests Guidance
Other useful DfE links for the KS1 SATs include:
👉 Optional Key Stage 1 Teacher Assessment Guidance 2025, which explains how teacher assessments and judgements can be formed using the tests
👉 Optional KS1 Test Administration Guidance for 2025, which is due to be released in March 2025.
Multiplication Tables Check (MTC)
What is the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC)?
The MTC is a statutory test for all year 4 pupils. Its purpose is to determine whether pupils can recall their times tables fluently up to 12 x 12. The test is administered using a laptop, PC, tablet or similar technology and contains 25 questions, with pupils getting 6 seconds to answer each calculation. Full details can be found in the Multiplication tables check: administration guidance.
What are the key dates for the optional Multiplication Tables Check in 2025?
⏰ 28th April 2025 - schools can access the MTC via the DfE Sign-In service and MTC Test Administration Guidance will be published. The 'Try It Out' check is also available for pupils so that staff can assess whether adjustments or adaptations will be needed.
⏰ 2nd June - 13th June 2025 - two-week test administration window for the MTC. The following week of 16th - 20th June can be used to administer the test to any absent pupils.
⏰ 20th June 2025 - headteacher declaration for the MTC is due.
Where can I find the official DfE information about the Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check?
The dates for the Year 4 MTC can be found with the 2025 Key Stage 2 Assessment and Reporting Arrangements in section 2 - note that these are mixed in with the dates for the KS2 SATs. Further separate guidance on the MTC can also be found.
👉 Multiplication Tables Check Administration Guidance, which is due to be published in April 2025.
👉 Multiplication Tables Check: IT Guidance, which can support schools with the technical requirements needed to administer the check.
👉 2025 Key Stage 2 Assessment and Reporting Arrangements, which contains information for all KS2 statutory assessments, including the MTC.
Whether maths is an improvement priority for your school this year or you just want to explore how effective your maths provision is, we can help:
National Curriculum Assessments - Key Stage 2 Tests
What are Key Stage 2 SATs?
National curriculum assessments for key stage 2 - most commonly known as KS2 SATs - are administered to pupils towards the end of Year 6 and assess their attainment against the end of key stage 2 requirements for English and Maths. These are broken down into six separate tests, including two papers on English grammar, punctuation and spelling (commonly known as SPAG or GaPS), one paper on English reading and three papers on Maths.
The requirements for administering KS2 SATs are the most complex out of all the statutory primary assessments, so headteachers, school leaders and those involved in administering the tests should ensure that they are fully briefed on the all of the guidance.
What are the key dates for the KS2 SATs in 2025?
There are many dates associated with KS2 SATs so we have listed the key dates in this section. Be sure to check the full list of dates published by the DfE for further details, such as when various forms become available on the primary assessment gateway.
⏰ 10th January 2025 - Deadline for academies to have a written agreement in place for monitoring and external moderation for the KS2 SATs. This could be with their geographical local authority or a different local authority, in which case the STA should be advised.
⏰ 10th February 2025 - Forms become available on the Primary Assessment Gateway (PAG) for pupil registration and for applications for early opening, compensatory marks for spelling, additional time and timetable variations.
⏰ March 2025 - Test administration guidance and special consideration guidance is released.
⏰ 7th March 2025 - Deadline for pupil registration and early opening requests.
⏰ 17th April 2025 - Deadline for additional time and compensatory marks requests.
⏰ 28th April - 2nd May 2025 - Schools to receive KS2 test materials.
⏰ 6th May - 20th May 2025 - A sample of schools are selected for a local authority monitoring for test administration.
⏰ 12th May - 15th May 2025 - Test administration period, known commonly as SATs week. Forms for aid notification, special consideration, pupil cheating and the headteacher declaration also become available on the primary assessment gateway this week.
⏰ 16th May 2025 - Local authorities will begin to contact schools for external writing moderation.
⏰ 22nd and 23rd May 2025 - Deadlines for submitting timetable variations (22nd), whole-cohort special consideration (22nd), notifications of scribes, transcripts, word processing and electronic/technical aids (23rd), and individual pupil special consideration (23rd).
⏰ 30th May 2025 - Deadline for headteacher declaration and deadline for pupil cheating notification to the STA.
⏰ 2nd June - 27th June 2025 - Local authorities will conduct external writing moderation.
⏰ 27th June 2025 - Deadline for submission of KS2 teacher assessment data.
⏰ 8th July 2025 - KS2 test results available on the primary assessment gateway. Raw score to scaled score conversion tables are also released.
⏰ 18th July 2025 - Deadline for marking review applications to be submitted.
Where can I find the official DfE information about Key Stage 2 SATs?
The starting point for all of the DfE information about KS2 SATs can be found here on their National Curriculum Assessments: Key Stage 2 Tests Page. All of the dates for the KS2 SATs can be found with the 2025 Key Stage 2 Assessment and Reporting Arrangements in section 2.
The following pages may also be useful:
👉 Key stage 2 tests: test administration guidance (TAG), which is due to be released in March 2025.
👉 2025 Key stage 2: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA)
While SATs assess pupils' knowledge of spelling, grammar and punctuation, SATs scores alone can't give a full picture of a child's writing abilities. Moderation is a key part of making robust teacher assessments in writing, not just at the end of Year 6, but for all year groups. We've written a handy blog on how to get the most out of moderation meetings, and our Primary Writing Moderation Pack can support any teacher who's assessing writing.
