Statutory Assessments Administration

Best practice for administering the Phonics Screening Check

Secure storage and materials handling 

• Always have two staff members involved when accessing and handling the assessment materials. Never leave materials unattended or in the care of one individual to avoid vulnerability. 
• Ideally store assessment materials in a non-private, secure location (locked cupboard or filing cabinet) e.g. school office preferable to headteacher's office. 
• Keys to the locked storage should be stored separately e.g. in a key box, to the staff members who will access the assessment materials, if possible. 
• On arrival, open and check the delivery of the Phonics Screening Check materials carefully and sign the Delivery note. The delivery note will be required as evidence that the consignment was checked for the purposes of a Monitoring visit.  
• Any damaged or missing materials contact immediately  the National Curriculum Assessment Helpline (0300 303 3013).  
• Maintain a written log kept on the inside/outside of the locked storage, where the assessment materials are kept. Record all entry and exit dates/times from the secure storage of materials (who accessed it, when, for what purpose, number of blank papers returned). This is good practice and useful evidence during Monitoring visits.  
• Ensure Phonics Screening Check materials are stored securely, until Friday 19th June 2026.    

Testing environment and staffing 

• Conduct the Phonics Screening Check on a 1:1 basis
• Do not prompt, support, or encourage beyond the approved wording in the administration guidance. 

Preparation and training 

• Deliver a training session for all involved staff in the Phonics Screening Check, watch the administration video. Keep a record of attendance at training and/or signatures of read Guidance. This is useful evidence during Monitoring visits.  
• Ensure all staff know what constitutes maladministration, including examples.
• When conducting any practice  checks, ideally treat them with the same procedural expectations as the live version e.g. sit pupils in the separate room. 

For links to official guidance and deadlines please refer to Deadline dates - RBA, EYFSP, PSC, MTC & KS2. 

Best practice for administering the Key Stage 2 tests

Secure storage and materials handling 

• Always have two staff members involved when accessing and handling the assessment materials. Never leave test papers unattended or in the care of one individual to avoid vulnerability. 
• Ideally store assessment materials in a non-private, secure location (locked cupboard or filing cabinet) e.g. school office preferable to headteacher's office. 
• Keys to the locked storage should be stored separately e.g. in a key box, to the staff members who will access the assessment materials, if possible. 
• On arrival, open and check the delivery of KS2 Test materials carefully and sign the Delivery note. The delivery note will be required as evidence that the consignment was checked for the purposes of a Monitoring visit.  
• Any damaged or missing materials contact immediately  the National Curriculum Assessment Helpline (0300 303 3013).  
• Maintain a written log kept on the inside/outside of the locked storage, where the assessment materials are kept. Record all entry and exit dates/times from the secure storage of materials (who accessed it, when, for what purpose, number of blank papers returned). This is good practice and useful evidence during Monitoring visits.   
• Spare Test materials should be stored securely until Friday 22nd May 2026

Distributing and collecting papers 

• Open KS2 test papers in the main central location where most pupils will sit the test and distribute from there to other staff members if they are going to other rooms with pupils. 
• Count papers before distributing and immediately on return, confirming numbers match the storage log. 
• It is best practice for two staff members, at the end of each test, to collect all completed test papers from each room where the test has taken place.
• Completing the test register and packing test papers should be completed in pairs, ideally in a secure room e.g. headteacher's office, before returning all materials to the secure storage. STA have advised that for each Test register, this may take up to one minute per pupil to complete.  

Testing environment and staffing 

• Ensure wall displays are covered before the day of the test. 
• Avoid isolating children alone in rooms with one member of staff - where possible, group children receiving support (e.g. additional time) together, as this will reduce the pressure on number of staff required. 
• If individual spaces are required, ensure rooms are not fully isolated from other parts of the school: keep doors open and position staff to reduce vulnerability. 
• Have a floating member of staff available to cover toilet breaks, emergencies or needs in separate rooms without leaving pupils unsupervised. 
• Best practice is for two staff members to be present if one child working in a separate room.
• Check clocks are visible and synchronised in all rooms being used for the tests. 
• Keep a log of any rest breaks, for pupils needing them. This helps to ensure the correct time allocation for the test is given and there is evidence in case of a maladministration investigation.  
• Best practice is to clearly label the outside of the room door with the start and end time for pupils in separate rooms or with additional time. This helps the staff members collecting test papers to not disturb the pupil until they are finished. Note: If you receive a Monitoring visit, evidence will be required to support the NCA Portal application for each pupil receiving additional time.  
• Avoid sitting pupils requiring additional time with pupils not requiring additional time.  

Preparation and training 

• Deliver a training session for all involved staff in the KS2 Tests and what can/cannot be said, you may also want to watch the administration video. Keep a record of attendance at training and/or signatures of read Guidance. This is useful evidence during Monitoring visits.   
• Ensure there are enough trained staff for the KS2 Tests to cover any absences or changes in pupil circumstances. 
• Ensure all staff know what constitutes maladministration, including examples. 
• Ensure all staff involved the KS2 Tests, understand the rules on reading questions aloud, as these differ for each paper. 
• When conducting any practice tests, ideally treat them with the same procedural expectations as the live e.g. sit pupils in the hall or separate room. 
• Ideally there should be at least one other person in school in addition to the headteacher with a NCA Portal log-in. In order to complete the test registers and any other administration on the NCA portal. 

Additional administrative top tips for KS2 tests 

• Provide on each pupil's desk, a small pupil information sheet which matches the box of details on the front cover of the KS2 Tests. Including: first name, middle name, surname, date of birth, school name, and centre number. 
• Consider encouraging governors to conduct Monitoring visits to provide confidence in the school systems and procedures during the test period.  
• Check the seating plan and room layout in advance of the day, ensuring pupils are spaced appropriately, access arrangements pupils have the right location, there are minimal distractions for all pupils, rooms being used are not secluded. 
• Ensure a test-day timetable is visible for all staff, showing when tests start and finish, which staff are allocated where and where SLT are stationed or spare invigilators if required. 
• Prepare test equipment packs (black pens, pencils, rubbers, rulers) in transparent pencil cases. 

For links to official guidance and deadlines please refer to Deadline dates - RBA, EYFSP, PSC, MTC & KS2. 

With thanks to Glenn Russell, Executive Principal at Broad Horizons Education Trust, for his support in developing this.