Less than one in 10 primary leaders want SATs kept as they are, new IPPR research finds

• Just 7 per cent of primary school leaders think SATs should stay in current form 

• Vast majority want primary school assessments scrapped or reformed, finds IPPR survey of teachers

• Teachers say tests do not allow their disadvantaged pupils to demonstrate what they know and can do 

New IPPR research finds that England's end of primary school tests are not working well for disadvantaged children, with primary leaders warning that SATs are narrowing the curriculum, increasing teacher stress and failing to capture what many pupils know and can do. 

The progressive policy think tank finds that just 7 per cent of primary senior leaders believe SATs should be kept in their current form. Around one in eight (12 per cent) say SATs should be replaced, while 39 per cent say they should be reformed, and 40 per cent say they should be removed and not replaced with any other formal assessment. 

The report, which draws on new YouGov polling conducted on behalf of IPPR of primary senior leaders in England and IPPR's in-depth interviews with teachers and school leaders, finds that SATs are not meeting their stated objectives well for disadvantaged pupils. 

Almost all (93 per cent) say SATs do not support disadvantaged children well. IPPR warns the tests can compound disadvantage by narrowing the curriculum in the run-up to exams by squeezing out subjects such as art, music, sport as well as trips that poorer pupils are less likely to access outside school. 

In IPPR's interviews, teachers said SATs can fail to capture disadvantaged pupils' progress or potential. Some test content assumes background knowledge and experiences not all children have had, while the blunt expected standard label can leave pupils who have made significant progress feeling they have failed primary school. 

The authors also found that SATs play a significant role in the recruitment and retention crisis in schools. Half (52 per cent) say SATs play a significant role in influencing teachers' decision to quit, while 93 per cent say that preparation for and administration of SATs increase stress levels of teachers and 71 per cent say that SATs have a negative impact on day-to-day school life. 

The report does not call for SATs to be abolished. Instead, IPPR says the findings should prompt a wider debate about how primary assessment and accountability can be reformed so that it is fairer, broader and better able to support disadvantaged children. The think tank will be publishing a report with recommendations later this year.  

Conor Carleton, author of the IPPR report, said: 

Primary school should be about more than preparing children for a week of tests. Assessment matters, and schools should be accountable for the education they provide, but the current SATs system is not working well enough for the children who most need it to. 

The system too often narrows the curriculum, intensifies pressure on teachers and gives disadvantaged pupils a label that may say more about their circumstances than their potential. 

This is not an argument for abandoning standards or accountability. It is an argument for designing them better. We need a primary assessment system that measures what matters, recognises the context schools are working in, and supports every child to thrive. 

Ellie Harris, principal research fellow at IPPR and co-author of the report, said: 

The current system asks schools to do one thing while judging them on another. Primary schools are responsible for children's learning, wellbeing, personal development and transition to secondary school, but SATs capture only a narrow slice of that work. 

For disadvantaged pupils, the trade-offs are particularly sharp. When SATs preparation squeezes out art, music, PE or enrichment, the children who lose most are often those who cannot access those opportunities elsewhere. 

ENDS 

NOTES TO EDITORS  

• YouGov conducted a representative online survey, designed by IPPR, of 215 senior teachers at primary schools in England  (aged 18+), excluding independent schools, between 17 May and 4 June 2026. Results were weighted by age, gender, and region. 

• IPPR conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with a total of 20 teachers and senior leaders from primary schools across England. Participants included primary school headteachers and executive headteachers as well as Year 6 classroom teachers.