KS2 SATs access arrangements: extra time, readers and rest breaks explained
If your child has dyslexia or other additional needs, the right access arrangements can make a real difference in the Year 6 SATs. Here’s what’s available in 2027, who decides, and when schools need to apply.
When are the 2027 SATs?
The KS2 tests run from Monday 10 May to Thursday 13 May 2027. The maths papers are on Wednesday 12 May (Paper 1 arithmetic and Paper 2 reasoning) and Thursday 13 May (Paper 3 reasoning).
Do you need a diagnosis?
No. A formal diagnosis isn’t required. Schools decide based on your child’s needs and their normal way of working in class. A specialist report can help, but it isn’t essential.
That “normal way of working” matters. If your child gets a reader or rest breaks in tests, those should already be part of everyday class life, not something new on the day.
Extra time
- Children with an EHC plan automatically qualify for up to 25% extra time in all the tests. No application is needed.
- Other children can get up to 25% extra time if the school applies. The school answers a short set of questions about how your child works, and the Standards and Testing Agency decides.
- The application window is Monday 8 February to Thursday 20 May 2027.
With 25% extra time, the 30-minute arithmetic paper becomes 37½ minutes, and each 40-minute reasoning paper becomes 50 minutes.
Readers
A reader can read the maths tests aloud to a child who has difficulty reading. They can read words and numbers, but not mathematical symbols. The rules say this is so a symbol’s meaning isn’t accidentally explained by saying its name. They can clarify instructions, but can’t explain maths words.
Readers are not allowed in the English reading test, except for general instructions.
Rest breaks, prompters and scribes
- Rest breaks: schools can give supervised breaks without asking permission, as long as it’s normal practice for your child. The clock stops during the break, and the test must be finished the same day.
- Prompters: a familiar adult can help your child stay focused, for example by tapping the desk or saying their name. They can’t help with answers.
- Scribes and word processors: for children who can’t write their answers independently. The school must tell the Standards and Testing Agency between 26 April and 21 May 2027.
Key dates for 2027
- 8 February to 5 March: early opening applications, for example to photocopy papers onto coloured paper
- 8 February to 20 May: extra time applications
- 26 April to 21 May: scribe, transcript and word processor notifications
- 10 to 13 May: test week
Late applications are only accepted in exceptional circumstances, so it’s worth raising this with your child’s school in the autumn or early spring term.
Questions to ask the school
- What access arrangements do you think my child needs?
- Are they already using them in class and in practice tests?
- Will you be applying for extra time, and when?
- Can my child practise a paper with their arrangements in place before May?
How Steady Sums can help
The practice papers in Steady Sums follow the real SATs format, and grown-ups can switch on extra time, a reader and rest breaks that stop the clock, to match your child’s school arrangements. That way, the arrangements feel familiar long before May. There’s also an untimed option for children who just want to practise.