Sats to face a review after tough tests left pupils ‘in tears’

THE schools minister has said he does not want Sats to be “too hard for children” after claims that an English paper left some pupils in “tears”.

Nick Gibb said he will “look at concerns” that exams sat by 10- and 11-yearold children last week were too difficult.

Parents and teachers have complained that last week’s reading exam was too difficult and a head teachers’ union said some staff also struggled “to understand the questions”.

Kerry Forrester, the head at a Cheshire primary school, warned about the “negative impact” of the Sats exams on the mental health of her pupils and she said some were reduced to tears.

Mr Gibb said: “I will certainly look at this because I know that there has been concern expressed by some schools. The Standards and Testing Agency have tested this ... before the pandemic. They tested it last year with a large group of children... they found that 85 per cent enjoy taking the test.”

However, The National Association of Head Teachers has expressed concerns over the Sats reading paper and said it plans to raise the issue with the exam regulator Ofqual and the Standards and Testing Agency.

Sarah Hannafin, the union’s head of policy, said members had reported that the difficulty of the reading paper “was beyond previous tests” and upset children. She said that some staff struggled to understand the questions.

Last week, the Department for Education said “the tests are designed to be challenging” to measure attainment across the ability range.

Earlier this week, Mr Gibb said: “We have psychometricians and practising teachers who put a lot of effort and time into making sure these tests are right for children.”