KS2 SATs 2025: Appearances aside, it’s another pandemic year  

The headline takeaway from the results that dropped this morning is that even as we consider ourselves five years past the pandemic, learning progress doesn’t quite agree. Attainment still hasn’t hit pre-pandemic levels, and it’s evident that we’re looking at another cohort of learners whose learning was hugely adversely impacted by the pandemic and school closures.  

And it’s no surprise: the current Year 6 were between the ages of five and six when the pandemic hit, and school closures cut many students off from their optimum learning environments. That’s a vital time in the literacy skill acquisition process that was spent outside of school, under great stress and learning from a screen – so it’s not surprising that these learners, despite the herculean efforts of their class teachers and themselves, are coming up short on the pre-pandemic cohorts that came before them.  

That said, it’s definitely a year that indicates we’re headed in the right direction. Here’s the breakdown of KS2 SATs 2025. 

...Only got time for the facts? Look for the ✔️ emoji for our KS2 SATs 2025 top teacher talking points. 

The key takeaway from KS2 SATs 2025 is that things are getting better. 

When we crunch the numbers, KS2 SATs 2025 reveal a very small, but very important increase in overall attainment. It’s not a paradigm shift, and it’s certainly not an indicator that we have little to worry about when it comes to this cohort’s learning futures, but it is evidence that the programme of post-pandemic recovery and support is working. 

✔️ The collated data, released on .GOV earlier this morning, reveals that 62% of students have met the benchmark in reading, writing and maths in KS2 SATs 2025. That’s up from 61% in 2024, and 600,000 in 2022, the first SATs results to come out post-pandemic. 

Readers led the pack in terms of overall subject attainment…  

✔️ 75% of students met the expected standard in reading, which is up 1% from 74% in KS2 SATs 2024. It’s only 1%, but that’s around 6,000 extra learners achieving the expected standard, and setting out on the path to real reading confidence!  

✔️ 74% of students met the expected standard in maths, which is up 1% from 73% in KS2 SATs 2024.  

✔️ Things do slip a little when we come to writing, however, where only 72% of students met the expected standard. That’s still up 0.5% from 71.5% in KS2 SATs 2024, though, and not wholly surprising in a year where the National Literacy Trust reported the lowest-ever writing enjoyment level in primary school aged students.  

✔️ 73% of students met the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling, which is up 1% from 72% in KS2 SATs 2024. Again, it’s a big bonus for about 6,000 readers, who’ll be headed to high school this September with a far more nuanced and adaptable set of reading skills and the ability to tackle more complex texts.  

✔️ And it’s a real stormer of a year for science again, where 82% of students met the expected standard, up 1% from 81% in KS2 SATs 2024.  

Where’s the demographic analysis? 

We don’t have an in-depth demographic breakdown of KS2 SATs 2025: unlike GCSEs, we get extended data a little later on. So, we’ll have to wait until early September to see national-level data that includes pupil characteristics breakdowns like free school meal eligibility, special educational needs (SEN), the disadvantage gap index, and school type.  

These will be released in a provisional publication on .GOV with more information on KS2 SATs 2025, around the time that everyone heads back into the classroom.  

Results are up… but it’s not time to celebrate just yet. 

Just kidding – we know how much effort educators have put in this year, and how much you’ve faced. From pandemic learning loss and a rise in challenging behaviours to having to do far more with far less when it comes to staff, funding and resources, it’s the efforts of teachers and SENCos that have secured us passage on this road to learning recovery. If you want to celebrate with an extra cup of coffee today, we’ll allow it: KS2 SATs 2025 is showing us these positive signs all because of you. 

…But there’s still a way to go.  

✔️ These results show us that almost 190,000 students in the UK came in below the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in KS2 SATs 2025. This means they’re not ready for secondary school learning, and they’ll be going to their new high school at a disadvantage.  

✔️ This is especially concerning in reading, because it’s the key to the curriculum that unlocks every other subject. Without it, attainment suffers across the board… meaning KS2 SATs 2025 are just the beginning. 

What happens when a whole cohort has weaker reading skills than the ones that came before it? 

KS2 SATs 2025 have revealed a slight increase in reading attainment. It’s cause to feel proud of the journey we’ve been on as a sector since those first schools locked down in 2020 – but when 75% of students achieve the expected standard, it means that 25% aren’t at that standard. And that is very likely to spell trouble for them further down the line if they don’t get the intervention and the support they need. 

When 25% of students aren’t strong enough readers for secondary school, 25% of GCSE results are at risk. That same 25% face barriers to A-Level and T-Level courses, job and training opportunities, and university places. Weak reading skills don’t just impact grades – they limit futures. The ripple effect is striking, and a quarter of students are looking at a more difficult learning and working future than they should be.  

We already know that young people are finding it far harder to find first jobs and secure careers than generations before them due to economic contraction, increased business pressures, and the rise of AI automation in the workplace. A literacy gap like this could be devastating in terms of their learning and working futures, future income potential, and the literacy culture in which they raise families of their own.  

But students who didn’t meet the expected standard in KS2 SATs 2025...

...don’t have to be students who didn’t achieve their full potential in 2030’s GCSE season. 

All over the UK, secondary school teachers will be heading back into class to meet a new cohort of Year 7 learners, and KS2 SATs 2025 has told us that around 25% of them will be weaker readers than they need to be in order to thrive in KS3.  

And we know that early intervention is key when it comes to supporting struggling readers, those with low literacy confidence, and those who have come to the classroom speaking first languages other than English. But that doesn’t mean that if students are past the age of five or six that there’s little point in interventions – what really matters is intervening as early as you can.  

Empower KS2 SATs 2026 with C-Pen Reader 2!  

Scanning Pens has been empowering learners with the award-winning C-Pen Reader 2 as a classroom reading aid for years. It’s a clever little thing: shaped like a pen but equipped with out-of-this-world functionality for learners, it all begins when they move the tip of the pen along the page to listen to the words… 

✅ Reach for reading independence 

Watch reading and confidence soar as students tackle texts independently with the support of Reader 2’s clear text-to-speech voice, taking learning multi-modal and boosting their comprehension skills.  

✅ Instant dictionary definitions 

Expand student vocabularies and boost understanding by checking any word’s definition with built-in dictionaries.  

✅ Save text and audio 

Students can save everything scanned, and record voice notes for revision in C-Pen Reader 2’s internal memory.  

✅ Practice skills  

Improve confidence and gamify literacy skill growth with word practice mode, and hone pronunciation skills and spelling too! 

✅ Navigate with ease  

C-Pen Reader 2’s simple menu and setup wizard makes it as easy to navigate as a smartphone or tablet, even for young learners or those with limited English proficiency. 

✅ Read wherever, whenever  

One charge means enough power for an uninterrupted day of scanning, and learners can benefit from Wi-Fi-free text-to-speech support wherever the need to read arises. 

The stakes are still high for a reading recovery, and on this scale, we know that educators don’t have the extra time or bandwidth to support each and every learner at their point of need. That’s what makes C-Pen Reader 2 so special: it gives learners a tool – or even a toolbox – full of supports that they can use to rescue themselves, and develop the confidence to read independently and unlock the whole curriculum. 

And it can unlock exam success, too…  

When Reader 2 is in its Exam Lock mode, it’s also approved for use by JCQ during Year 6 SATs tests except for the reading paper as a centre-delegated access arrangement. So, when it’s used in class as a Normal Way of Working, it ensures that learners can experience the same high level of reading support in the exam hall as they have done all year – taking the pressure off, levelling the playing field, and supporting students to a brighter secondary start.  

Need a little more information? 

We get it – even off the back of KS2 SATs 2025, parting with budget as a teacher, SENCo or support professional is difficult at the best of times. It must go a long way these days. And when learner futures are at stake, you and your school need to be able to say with absolute confidence that the reading support solutions you’re choosing are going to work, and deliver the results that unlock good grades and brighter student futures. 

That’s why our team of reading pen experts is on-hand five days a week, every week, ready to help you work out which reading pen and purchase options are the right ones for you. 

There’s never been a better time to take back control of your budget and make sure it’s working as hard as you do for the learners in your care.  

Drop us a line today, and find out about how C-Pen Reader 2 can change your learners’ futures for the better! 

📧 Email us: ukinfo@scanningpens.com 

📞 Call us: +44 (0) 207 976 4910 

Want to find out more about empowering the transition to high school? Check out our latest blog on supporting learners through the switch to secondary with a brand-new reading pen, C-Pen Reader 3! ➡️