Information for primary schools on how to submit details of pupils who are eligible for key stage 2 (KS2) national curriculum tests (commonly called SATs) in 2020.

Pupil registration requirements

Pupil registration opens on the Primary Assessment Gateway on Monday 17 February. Pupil registration ensures that you receive the correct quantities of test materials and your test attendance registers are accurate.

To access the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form for the first time, log in to the Primary Assessment Gateway, select the ‘My Activity’ tab, then ‘Outstanding activity’. Independent schools and pupil referral units will find the form in ‘Available activity’.

We have produced the following short video that demonstrates how to complete pupil registration. Section 6.2 of the 2020 KS2 assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA) also includes further guidance.

Video

By 11:59pm on Friday 13 March, you must confirm that all your pupils are registered and that their details are complete and accurate. This means:

  • indicating any pupils who are working below the standard for one or more of the tests
  • indicating any pupils who are taking any of the assessments in a future test year, or have taken them in a previous year
  • indicating any pupils who have left the school
  • adding pupils who are not on your school’s ‘existing pupils’ list
  • marking any pupils as ‘unregistered’ who appear incorrectly in your school’s ‘existing pupils’ list
  • correcting pupils’ details, such as their name or date of birth

Once you have checked your pupils’ details you must submit the form.

You must still complete pupil registration by submitting the form, even if you do not have any pupils at the end of KS2 who will take the tests.

It is important that pupil data is correct so that when you submit teacher assessment data in June, it matches the data already held. It also ensures that the results data we return to your school matches the pupil data held in your management information system (MIS).

If you submitted your 2020 spring school census data to the Department for Education (DfE), your pupil list will be pre-populated. However, you still need to check that the data is accurate.

Your data will not be pre-populated if you:

  • are a pupil referral unit
  • are a non-maintained special school that did not place a test order by the deadline in November 2019
  • did not submit your 2020 spring census to DfE

In these cases, you will need to upload your pupil data. You can do this by adding pupils individually to the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form. Alternatively, you can use the ‘Manage pupil registration – upload multiple pupils’ template. This can be found in ‘Available activity’.

Independent schools

You will only be able to register pupils for the tests if you:

  • placed a KS2 test order in November 2019
  • have a written agreement in place with the local authority (LA) that will monitor your KS2 tests
  • informed us of your LA monitoring arrangement on the Primary Assessment Gateway in December 2019

You should add pupils’ details individually on the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form or by using the ‘Manage pupil registration – upload multiple pupils’ template. Then, complete pupil registration by submitting the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form.

If your school does not intend to administer every test, you should unregister pupils for the tests you are not planning to administer.

Independent schools that do not upload their pupils’ details and complete pupil registration by Friday 13 March will not be able to participate in the tests.

Access arrangements

Schools should register pupils who need access arrangements for the KS2 tests, regardless of whether they go on to take them.

You should complete pupil registration before making applications or notifications for access arrangements. This is because you no longer need to manually enter pupils’ details in the application forms. Instead, you will select the pupil from a drop-down list.

Pupils with English as an additional language

You should register pupils with English as an additional language for the KS2 tests, regardless of whether they go on to take them.

Amendments to pupil registration

It is important that you amend pupil registration after the deadline to reflect any pupils who leave or join your school until the end of test week. If you add a new pupil to the attendance register during test week, you must also add them to the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form on the Primary Assessment Gateway. This is so that we have a record of their unique pupil number.

This includes new pupils:

  • who are working below the standard of the tests
  • who are working at the standard of the tests but who are unable to access them
  • whose performance in relation to the national curriculum programmes of study cannot be established because they have just arrived in school

If you want to make additional changes after you have submitted the form, you can amend the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form and re-submit it.

Published 18 February 2015
Last updated 17 February 2020 + show all updates

  1. Updated for the 2020 test cycle.

  2. Updated for the 2019 test cycle.

  3. Updated for the 2018 test cycle.

  4. Updated for the 2017 test cycle.

  5. Updated to reflect 2016 dates and guidance.

  6. First published.

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