Commenting on this morning's Key Stage 2 SATs results, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“Children, teachers and school leaders have worked incredibly hard throughout the year and deserve huge credit for their achievements.

“However, these tests take up a disproportionate amount of time and place enormous strain on children and school staff for little obvious benefit – and this has been compounded by another unacceptable delay in delivering results this year.

“SATs tell teachers nothing they don’t already know from working with pupils every day and are instead unfairly used to judge and compare school performance.

“The curriculum and assessment review was a missed opportunity to reduce unnecessary primary school tests – but given the misguided weight that continues to be attached to them, the very least children and schools deserve is for the process to run smoothly and results to be returned on time.

“School leaders and staff have been landed with the unenviable task of processing results right at the end of term – after the end of term in some areas. 

“Downloading and scrutinising the data, identifying anomalies, preparing communications for parents, and ensuring that results are distributed appropriately, is an enormous undertaking - and there is also a knock-on effect when it comes to requesting reviews of marking, even with the extended deadline for this.

“These delays must not be allowed to happen again, and the government must ensure Pearson and STA, which are responsible for delivering these tests, are held accountable for this shambles.

"NAHT will participate in the independent review announced by government and make sure our members’ experiences and views are represented in the strongest possible terms."