Key Stage 2 SATs data for Secondaries

Welcome back for 2026! We have a NEW system, now the Primary Assessment Gateway has gone the way of the dinosaurs (or, at least, Capita).

Inspired by @resourceaholic's blog post on how secondaries can learn from the Key Stage 2 SATs papers, this is a guide for Heads of Maths and English (or their chosen minions) on downloading test data, both on the day results are released, and in the Autumn when QLA (Question Level Analysis) data is available.

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PART ONE: JULY 

To get the raw scores and scaled scores, you have to download the data before 31st December 2026.

What you need:
1) a login for the National Curriculum Assessments Portal ("The Portal")
2) a list of the UPNs (Unique Pupil Numbers) for your Year 7 intake
3) Excel
4) a cool head and a steady hand

This year's information is taken from https://www.gov.uk/guidance/key-stage-2-tests-how-to-access-results-and-test-scripts which will be kept updated

Each secondary school has a "Super User". This is the person who gives you school data access on The Portal. It may be the Exams Officer. It may be the Data Deputy. It may even be the Head's PA. But you need to find out who. They will be able to add you to the list of users.

Once you are on the list, The Portal is at https://www.ncaportal.education.gov.uk/

You are registering for the DfE Sign In website. This will also be useful for lots of other DfE stuff, including the Question Level Analysis in November.

You should register with a school-based email address (not Gmail, Hotmail or other web-based email).  
Your password must have uppercase, lowercase, numeric and a special character (eg ! $ %).

Don't try to use the same login you have for SATs marking or anything else - this one needs to be linked to your school.

When you have registered and then first open the portal you will see

This means you need to switch to last year's data. In the top right hand corner, use the drop-down to select 2025-26.

Now your dashboard will have the right data.

Each new student will have a UPN created by their primary school. Whoever handles transition in your school will have these in a database. You need to be emailed them in a Word or Excel document.
While every student has one, some will not have KS2 scores, if they were educated abroad, or attended an independent school.

Click on the 'KS2 results for new pupils'.

Read the instructions, then click on the 'KS2 results for new pupils'.

Click on "Generate template" and it downloads a blank CSV file that looks like this:

Paste your UPNs into Column A below the heading.

When you save it, you need to save as a CSV - so don't just click Save, choose Save As, and look for this in the options (especially if you are on a Mac):

Now you are ready to upload your file:

But STOP! If you have more than 150 UPNs in the file, it won't allow it.

So make sure you create a separate CSV for each set of 150 UPNs, you will download them separately but can recombine them at the end.

Click "Submit" and you will get this message.

And then, as if by magic, the email instantly appears. FAR quicker than on GCSE Results Day!

Open the email(s) and download the CSV file(s).

Open the CSV file with Excel and save as an XLSX version. This will save you a LOT of hassle later on.

It will show if any UPNs are not recognised (this could mean an error in your list, or just that they didn't do the SATs at a prep school or abroad).

You get data that looks like this:

The first number is the raw score (eg for Maths it is from 0 to 110) and the second number is the scaled score (for all subjects this is between 80 and 120)

But beware! For the scaled scores, 100 is neither the mean nor the median - it's scaled but not standardised like CATs - the standard deviation is not 15 either!

For each subject you have codes.

• AS means 'at the expected standard' (for Maths, Reading and GPS)
• NS means 'not at the expected standard' (for Maths, Reading and GPS)
• EXS means 'has met the expected standard' (Writing and Science only)
• WTS means 'working toward the expected standard' (Writing only)
• GDS means 'greater depth than the expected standard' (Writing only)
• HNM means 'has not met the expected standard' (Science only)

Any other codes mean the student did not do the SATs or have a teacher assessment.

Anyway, now it's up to you!

If you have any questions, feel free to email me or contact me on Bluesky or X.

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PART TWO: NOVEMBER

What you need:
1) a login for the DfE Sign-in website
2) a lot of patience with Government websites

So with perfect logic, the Question Level Analysis site is on a totally different system to the Portal.

It's called VYED - "View Your Education Data".

You can use the same DfE Sign In email address and password.

However you need to be added to a NEW list of users that can access VYED for your institution.

I will get this typed up soon, once I can get more than just 2 students' worth of data!!

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Now it's up to you! If you have any questions, feel free to email me or contact me on Bluesky or X.

I'll be adding more notes here in 2026 as I explore the data in more detail.

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** In fact there is a work-around. But it means submitting each student's UPN one at a time, then looking at the question-level analysis. Nobody in their right mind would do this. Just pretend I didn't mention it.