When Should I Start SATs Preparation? The Answer Might Surprise You

If you have a child in Years 3, 4 or 5 and you're reading this, you're probably doing the right thing already — thinking ahead. Most parents don't start thinking about SATs preparation until their child is in Year 6. Some wait until January of Year 6. A few wait until April. All of them wish they had started earlier.

Here's the number that changes the conversation: according to data from Learning by Questions, 49% of primary school teachers begin SATs revision in Autumn 1 of Year 6 — the very first half-term, starting in September. A further 17% begin in Autumn 2, and 10% more start in January. That means 76% of teachers are in active SATs revision mode by January of Year 6.

The children who find that revision easiest — who feel confident rather than panicked, who already know the material and just need to sharpen their exam technique — are almost always the ones who have been practising consistently since Year 4 or Year 5.

This article explains why, what the right approach looks like at each year group, and what you can realistically do at home without turning every evening into a battle.

The Mistake Almost Every Parent Makes

The most common SATs preparation mistake is not starting too late. It is treating preparation as a separate, distinct activity that gets switched on in Year 6 and switched off after May.

SATs do not test Year 6 content. They test Key Stage 2 content — everything from Year 3 to Year 6. Fractions introduced in Year 3. Times tables consolidated in Year 4. Ratio and proportion first taught in Year 5. Inference skills built across every year of KS2 reading. Statutory spelling words that children are expected to know by the end of Year 4 and Year 6 respectively.

A child who has not secured their Year 3 and Year 4 Maths content before they reach Year 6 cannot fix that gap in a few months of revision. The content was not revised away — it was never properly learned in the first place.

This is why Year 6 teachers start revision in September. They know exactly which Year 3, 4 and 5 content will appear on the papers. They also know that some children will arrive in Year 6 with gaps from earlier years that need addressing before they can even start Year 6 content.

The parent who starts in Year 5 gives their child a year to close those gaps comfortably. The parent who starts in January of Year 6 has four months and a child who is already feeling the pressure.

Here's what that looks like in practice, year by year.

Year 3 — Build the Habit, Not the Pressure

SATs are three years away. This is absolutely not the time for revision books, mock papers or anything that feels like exam preparation.

What Year 3 is the right time for is building the daily practice habit — the single most valuable thing any parent can do for their child's long-term academic outcomes.

Ten to fifteen minutes of focused Maths and English practice, four or five times a week, feels like nothing in Year 3. There is no pressure, no approaching deadline, nothing at stake. The child just practises a bit of maths and reads a bit. Done.

That same child in Year 6 has practised more than 600 times before SATs week. They have encountered every topic across the KS2 curriculum repeatedly. Their practice is not revision — it is just what they do. There is no panic because there is nothing unfamiliar.

• Times tables — 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10 by the end of Year 3
• Column addition and subtraction
• Fractions — unit and non-unit fractions, simple adding
• Reading for pleasure — fiction, non-fiction, poetry, anything
• Statutory Year 3/4 spelling words — introduce them gradually

You can find the full Year 3/4 statutory spelling list on GOV.UK. 100 words. Three years to learn them. That's fewer than three words per month.

Scholaria covers Year 3 Maths and English with sessions designed for 7-8 year olds — short, calm, and following exactly what school teaches each week. See Year 3 practice →

Year 4 — The Most Underestimated Year

Year 4 has one specific statutory assessment that most parents do not think about until it is almost too late: the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC), taken in June of Year 4.

Every child in state-funded primary schools in England must sit it. 25 questions, 6 seconds each, all tables from 2 to 12. The questions are weighted toward the harder tables — 6×8, 7×9, 8×12. Children who are still working out their tables by counting up from the beginning will not score well under time pressure.

The MTC is not the reason to focus on times tables in Year 4. The reason is that every single topic in KS2 Maths builds on multiplication fluency. Fractions. Division. Ratio. Algebra. Multi-step word problems. A child who does not know their tables fluently in Year 4 will find every Maths topic in Year 5 and Year 6 harder than it needs to be.

Ten minutes of times tables practice per day from September of Year 4 to the June MTC is everything needed. Not an hour. Not intense drilling. Just ten minutes, daily, with spaced repetition so the harder tables get more practice than the easy ones.

• All times tables to 12×12 — every day until fluent
• Equivalent fractions and introduction of decimals
• The Year 3/4 statutory spelling list — must be secure by end of Year 4
• Reading inference — begin asking "how do you know that?" when reading together

Scholaria's Year 4 sessions include dedicated times tables practice using spaced repetition — more practice on the tables your child finds hardest, less on the ones they already know. See Year 4 practice →

Year 5 — This Is the Real Answer to the Question

If you are reading this article because you have a child in Year 5 and you are wondering when to start — the answer is now. Not in September of Year 6. Now. Here is why Year 5 is the most important year for SATs preparation.

First — Year 5 content is heavily tested in SATs. Ratio and proportion, introduced in Year 5, appears in every SATs Maths reasoning paper. It is consistently one of the topics where children lose the most marks. Long multiplication and long division — formal written methods consolidated in Year 5 — underpin the entire arithmetic paper. Complex fractions, algebra basics, area of compound shapes. All Year 5 content. All directly assessed in Year 6 SATs.

Second — the Year 5/6 statutory spelling list begins in Year 5. One hundred words including accommodate, exaggerate, prejudice, parliament and rhythm. Children have two years to learn them — Year 5 and Year 6. Those who begin in Year 5 have twenty-four months. Those who begin in Year 6 September have eight months before the spelling paper.

Third — inference is built over years, not months. The KS2 SATs reading paper is the most commonly underperformed paper relative to children's actual ability. The main reason is inference — the ability to read between the lines, identify what an author implies rather than states, and justify answers with evidence from the text. This skill develops slowly through consistent reading practice. A child who begins practising inference questions in Year 5 arrives in Year 6 with a year's head start on one of the most dropped skills in the entire SATs.

• Fractions, decimals and percentages — the most failed SATs topic cluster
• Ratio and proportion — introduce it early, return to it often
• Algebra basics — make it familiar before Year 6
• Year 5/6 statutory spelling list — begin now
• Reading comprehension with inference questions — at least three times a week
• The PEE framework for written answers — Point, Evidence, Explanation

Scholaria gives Year 5 children a SATs Readiness Score after their first session — so you know exactly where they stand right now, not in April of Year 6 when there is less time to act. See Year 5 SATs preparation →

Year 6 — Focused, Not Frantic

If your child is in Year 6 and you are starting preparation now, do not panic. Nine months is enough time to make a genuine difference — just not with a vague plan of "doing some revision."

The children who find Year 6 manageable are almost always the ones who practise consistently and calmly across the year — not the ones who do six hours on a Sunday in April. Short, daily practice in September is worth far more than the same total hours crammed into the final few months.

The specific areas to focus on in Year 6 are the topics where marks are most commonly dropped: fractions and ratio (the most failed Maths topics), inference in reading (the most dropped English skill), GPS terminology like subjunctive form and passive voice, and multi-step word problems where children complete the first step but miss the second.

SATs 2027 dates: Monday 10 May to Thursday 13 May 2027. That is the deadline. Everything before it is time to prepare.

Scholaria's Year 6 sessions include full SATs-format mock papers with score reports showing exactly where marks are being lost — updated after every session. See Year 6 SATs practice →

The One Thing That Matters More Than When You Start

Starting early is better. But starting early and stopping after three weeks is worse than starting in Year 6 and practising every day until May.

The research on learning is unambiguous: short, frequent, consistent practice produces stronger and more durable outcomes than any alternative. Ten minutes four days a week for twelve months is dramatically more effective than an hour once a week for three months, even though the total hours are similar.

This is why the daily habit matters more than the start date. A child who practises for fifteen minutes every school day — regardless of year group — is building the kind of deep, automatic familiarity with KS2 content that no amount of intensive revision can replicate.

The children who sit in the exam hall in May 2027 feeling calm and prepared are not the ones who revised hardest. They are the ones who practised most consistently, over the longest period, in short sessions that never felt like a battle.

Practical Advice — What Daily Practice Looks Like at Home

• Keep it short. Fifteen minutes is the sweet spot for primary-age children — long enough to practise meaningfully, short enough to actually happen every day. Sessions longer than twenty minutes produce diminishing returns for most children and create resistance.
• Same time every day. The habit forms faster when practice happens at a consistent time — before school, immediately after school, or after dinner. Varying the time makes it easier to skip.
• Don't make it feel like punishment. The moment extra practice becomes associated with failure or disappointment, the battle begins. Frame it as just what happens — "time for your Scholaria session" is as neutral and matter-of-fact as "time to brush your teeth."
• Don't ask about results every session. Check the parent dashboard weekly, not after every session. Children who feel watched and evaluated tend to become anxious. Children who feel the practice is just a normal part of the day tend to engage with it naturally.
• Read together. No amount of comprehension practice substitutes for genuine reading for pleasure. Children who read widely — fiction, non-fiction, poetry, anything — consistently outperform those who do not on the reading paper. This is the single highest-impact thing a parent can do that costs nothing and takes no planning.

The Bottom Line

The surprising answer to "when should I start SATs preparation?" is not Year 6. It is not even Year 5, though Year 5 is genuinely the ideal starting point for focused, curriculum-aligned daily practice.

The honest answer is: whenever you are reading this, now is the right time. A Year 3 child who starts a daily practice habit today has a three-year runway before SATs. A Year 6 child who starts today still has nine months — enough time to make a real difference if practice is consistent and well-targeted.

What makes the difference is not when you start. It is whether you keep going.

Scholaria gives Year 3-6 children personalised daily Maths and English practice, following exactly what school teaches each week. There's a free tier with no card required, or a 3-month full-access trial if you want everything unlocked from day one. Start at scholaria.co.uk →

Related reading: KS2 SATs 2027 — the complete parent guide, Year 5 SATs preparation, Year 6 SATs practice.

Sources: Learning by Questions SATs revision timing data, GOV.UK KS2 statutory spelling list, GOV.UK KS2 SATs information.