Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department made of the effect on children of his decision to continue with Key Stage 1 SATs examinations in 2022 prior to the announcement of that decision.
The decision to return to a full programme of primary assessments in 2021/22 was considered carefully and consulted many, including teachers, school leaders and unions.
The department recognises that pupils will have missed a critical period of their learning due to partial school closures in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic years. It is vital that the department knows the impact of COVID-19 on this cohort of pupils nationally, including at the end of Key Stage 1, and can give support to schools that need it the most.