Do SATS MATTER?
By Tom Grimwood 12th May 2026
Around this time of year, every year, I was asked the question, “Do SATs matter?”
As a teacher, I like to think that I was able to give the impression that I was honest with the children so that question came as no surprise to me. For children seeking an honest answer and a bit of reassurance, it’s a no brainer question.
Now, if I were asked that question today, I would answer a little differently from how I used to.
What are you hoping I’ll say?
I expect they’re hoping that I’ll say they don’t matter, that they can breathe a sigh of relief and feel a little bit less pressured by the challenge before them.
What I want them to do by asking them this is acknowledge that – yes – SATs are a frightening prospect for any ten or eleven-year-old.
Sitting formal exams which are then assessed externally with an official result that gets attached to your name is a frightening thing for someone so young; it certainly was for me.
The trouble is, that in life the things that build character and confidence are rarely the things that are easy.
Putting to one side the argument about whether formal exams are the best way to assess learning or not (they’re here to stay for now regardless), we risk doing children a disservice if we do not encourage them to try their best to do as well as they can even when things are hard or scary.
In life, the things that build character and confidence are rarely the things that are easy.
Do SATs actually matter in the grand scheme of things?
Not really.
They’re used to help assess the effectiveness of primary schools based on how much progress children make in Key Stage 2 and they are used as the children’s starting points when assessing how secondary schools have performed.
It can create a bit of a perverse incentive for schools. It’s not about how well everyone does but which children make enough progress to make the school look good.
If you’re one mark off age related in Year 6 and don’t quite make the grade at GCSE, that’s fine; however, if you do make the grade, it makes the secondary school look better because you’ve made ‘accelerated progress.’
Not that I want to suggest my secondary colleagues are like to game the system that way! Only the worst schools would think like but that doesn’t mean the incentive structure isn’t there.
The best schools seek the best for all of their pupils.
The best schools seek the best for all of their pupils.
Why should we encourage ten and eleven-year-olds to try in SATs then?
Because they’re hard.
Because they are an opportunity to teach the child that they can do hard things and get through them.
Because, when harder things like GCSEs come along, they will have prior experience having done similarly hard things already.
When I was preparing for my GCSEs, wondering if I would make the grades I wanted and falling JUST short in mocks, I was able to look back on my experience in Year 6.
I remembered that I had the exact same thoughts and concerns then and that I had continued to work hard and things ultimately turned out ok.
Remembering that, it gave me the confidence to continue plugging away at my GCSEs and I came away with the results I had hoped for. And when the next set of exams came along, I was ready and confident to face them.
When harder things like GCSEs come along, they will have prior experience having done similarly hard things already.
As I write this, thousands of Year 6 pupils across England are sitting the reading paper, and GCSE and A-Level season is just beginning to enter full swing and many thousands will be feeling the weight of the challenges before them. Here are some practical tips to help prepare children for tougher exam seasons and help them get through them:
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Some teenagers welcome all the help and support they can get; others find the idea of a parent telling them how to study to be more onerous than the act of studying.
Tell and show your children that you are there for them if they need you to be but don’t offer them any ideas, thoughts or advice unless they explicitly ask for it.
They don’t care what worked for you if you didn’t ask before telling them.
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The human brain has a limited capacity to learn each day. Once you’ve hit that capacity, no extra amount of work will help – and often makes the next day harder.
Even during exam season where it is reasonable to expect your children to study longer hours than normal, they still need to rest and recharge. That includes having time to listen to music, take a warm bath, speak with friends, play sports or video games or whatever it is that gives their lives meaning.
Yes, they should be prepared to do a bit less of what they love than normal but they should not be pushed past their limit.
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The mind and body are connected. A healthy, rested body leads to a sharper mind, able to store and recall more information.
Most importantly to note, rest and sleep are separate from doing something they enjoy.
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By all means, ask how they think it went, but I speak from experience here when I say there is little else worse than leaving an exam and realising that you made a massive mistake on question ten.
Once the exam is over, it is over. It is impossible to do anything about it at that point.
Unless they’re feeling great about how it went and that is energising them for future exams, they gain nothing from thinking back over the exam.
You have limited energy and resources at the best of times; don’t waste it on things that can’t be controlled or changed now. Direct it to where it is useful.
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Children, especially teenagers, are often far more sensitive to parental approval than adults realise.
High expectations are not necessarily harmful but children need to know that they are loved, valued and respected regardless of what grade appears on a piece of paper.
The message should always be: “I want you to try your best because I believe in you,” rather than, “I will only be proud of you if you succeed.”
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This applies to life generally too but is especially useful in exam season.
Despair can easily set in when it feels like hardship has no end. Having something specific and real to look forward to on a set date is a real source of energy.
Humans can put up with a lot when they know something good will come of it.
The trouble for teenagers? Most things they have to look forward to today are quite abstract. A stable future? Can they really picture that? A long summer holiday? That works for some but not for others.
My suggestion – have a specific thing planned. Going to the cinema, a family movie night, a big party, a weekend at the seaside.
Whatever works for you, but something that you can sit down with your child and plan for now so they know that it’s coming once that last exam is taken.
Exams are rarely pleasant experiences, whether they arrive at ten years old or eighteen. But difficult experiences are not always harmful ones.
With the right balance of challenge, support, perspective and recovery, exam season can become more than just a set of grades; it can become part of how young people learn that they are capable of facing difficult things and getting through them.
Every child responds to pressure and challenge differently. Some naturally need more support learning how to manage nerves, build confidence and approach difficult situations calmly and positively.
If you would like to learn more about how coaching can help children develop confidence, resilience and emotional awareness, you can read more about the process here.
About the Author
Tom Grimwood is a children’s mindset coach and the founder of Identity Coaching. With over a decade of experience working in schools, he helps children develop confidence, resilience and self-awareness so they can face challenges and grow into the best version of themselves.
He still occasionally remembers messing up the final question on his GCSE Maths paper and losing about five marks.
