Guidance

Key stage 2: guide to registering pupils for the tests

Information for primary schools on how to submitregister details of pupils who are eligible for key stage 2 (KS2) national curriculum tests (commonly called SATs) in 2023.2024.

From:
Standards and Testing Agency
Published
18 February 2015
Last updated
168 February 20232024 — See all updates

Introduction

Pupil registration actionsmust be completed for all schools with pupils reaching the end of KS2. This includes registering pupils who are working below the standard or are unable to access the tests.

Pupil registration opens on the the Primary Assessment Gateway (PAG) on on Monday 1312 February 2023.and Pupilmust be completed by Friday 8 March.

Schools must continue to update their pupil registration ensuresdata thatafter youthe receivedeadline - for example, when pupils join or leave the correctschool. quantitiesSchools can do this until Thursday 23 May.

Pupil registration data is used to ensure the:

  • pupil lists within access arrangements forms are accurate
  • quantity of test materials andprovided youris sufficient
  • test attendance registers are accurate.accurate
  • list of expected pupils for teacher assessment (TA) is accurate
  • results data returned to your schools matches the pupil data held in your management information system (MIS)

We produced the following video demonstrating how to complete pupil registration:

YouTube video: Key stage 2 tests - registering pupils for the tests

Checking your pupil data

To access the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form form for the first time, sign in to the PAG,PAG, select the ‘My Activity’ tabtab, then ‘Outstanding activity’. Pupil referral units will find the form in ‘Available activity’.

TheIf Standardsyou andsubmitted Testingyour Agencyschool (STA)census produceddata to the followingDepartment videofor demonstratingEducation how(DfE), toyour complete pupil registration:

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By 11:59pm on Friday 108 MarchMarch, 2023, you must:

  • check your pupil list to ensure pupil data is correct, including full legal name, date of birth and unique pupil number (UPN)
  • edit information if required
  • add pupils who are not on youyour school’s ‘existing pupils’ list
  • ifensure required,the correct pupils’pupil detailsregistration suchcode ashas theirbeen nameassigned to each pupil

When making changes to your pupil data, we recommend selecting ‘save’ after each pupil amendment. 

Your data will not be pre-populated if you:

  • are a pupil referral unit, secure unit or dateindependent ofschool
  • are birtha non-maintained special school that did not place a test order by the deadline in November
  • did not submit your school census data 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 or by using the bulk upload template available in the ‘Manage pupil registration – upload multiple pupils’ form. You can find this in ‘Available activity’.

Uploading multiple pupils

You will not be able to upload multiple pupils if you have a ‘Manage pupil registration’ form in your ‘Outstanding activity’. You must complete this outstanding activity first, submitting a blank form if needed, before you can successfully upload multiple pupils.

Select the ‘Manage pupil registration – upload multiple pupils’ form and follow the steps below:

  1. Select ‘Download’ to download the template.
  2. Populate the template with your pupil data.
  3. Ensure you have not changed any headers within the template.
  4. Ensure your pupil information is entered in the required order and format – examples can be found on the form.
  5. Save the file as a ‘comma delimited’ (.csv) file.
  6. Upload your file by selecting ‘Select file’.
  7. Locate your saved file.
  8. Submit.

The person who submitted the data will receive on-screen confirmation of completion and an email to confirm they have successfully uploaded the pupil data. A copy of this email will also be available in the ‘Completed activity’ section of the PAG.  

If there are any errors when uploading the data, such as an incorrect UPN format, the user who submitted it will receive an email advising what actions are required to resolve this. They will need to resolve the error in the file and upload it again.

After you have successfully uploaded your pupil data, you still need to complete pupil registration using the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form, which will then be available in your ‘Outstanding activity’.

Pupil registration codes

All pupils will automatically show as ‘registered’‘Registered’ for each test subject. You can change a pupil’s status for each subject by selecting ‘edit’ and selecting one of the following codes from the drop-down list:list.

Code Description
Registered Pupil is expected to sit the test or will later be recorded as ‘just‘Just arrived’ or ‘unable‘Unable to access’ on the attendance register
Below Pupil is working below the overall standard of the test subject
Future Pupil is taking one or more, but not all, assessments in a future year
Left Pupil has left the school
Previous Pupil took one or more, but not all, assessments in a previous year
Unregistered Pupil appears incorrectly in ‘existingyour pupils’existing pupil list

Once you have checked that your pupils’ details are correct, you must submit the form.

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Independent schools

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

  • placed a KS2 test order inby NovemberFriday 202217 November
  • have a written agreement in place with the local authority that will monitor your KS2 tests
  • informed us of your local authority monitoring arrangement on the PAG by Friday 98 December 2022

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Further information

If you have any further questions about how to register a pupilpupil, or require support completing pupil registration, you can contact the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013 or email assessments@education.gov.uk.

Published 18 February 2015
Last updated 168 February 20232024 + show all updates

  1. Updated information and video content for the 2024 tests

  2. Added further clarification to the 'Independent schools' section

  3. Updated information for the 2023 tests.

  4. This has been updated for the 2022 test cycle.

  5. Updated for the 2020 test cycle.

  6. Updated for the 2019 test cycle.

  7. Updated for the 2018 test cycle.

  8. Updated for the 2017 test cycle.

  9. Updated to reflect 2016 dates and guidance.

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