A head teachers’ union has expressed concern over this week’s Sats exams for 10 and 11-year-olds amid claims that an English paper left some pupils “in tears” and damaged their “mental health and wellbeing”.
Hundreds of parents and teachers have complained online about Wednesday’s Year 6 reading exam, with one saying on Mumsnet that her daughter had found the paper “really hard and awful”.
The National Association of Head Teachers, which represents heads at the majority of primary schools, said it plans to raise the issue with the exams team at schools regulator Ofqual.
Sarah Hannafin, the union’s head of policy, said: “We are very concerned about reports from our members about the Sats reading paper.
“Members have told us that the choice of texts was not accessible for the wide range of experiences and backgrounds children have and the difficulty was beyond previous tests, leaving children upset, and with even staff struggling to understand the questions.
