In short
Performance Learning's SATs support helps Year 6 children, and younger pupils in Years 4 and 5, build the skills beneath test performance: organising and memorising information, recall, time management, exam technique and staying calm. It does not re-teach the SATs curriculum or replace school preparation. It starts with the £50 Foresight assessment, which shows how your child learns and what may be holding them back.
What are Year 6 SATs?
Year 6 SATs are the Key Stage 2 national curriculum tests taken in England each May. Children sit papers in English reading, English grammar, punctuation and spelling, and maths, which includes an arithmetic paper and two reasoning papers. Writing is assessed by teachers rather than in a test.
Results are reported as scaled scores, where 100 or more means your child has met the expected standard. Schools share results with parents before the end of the summer term. To understand how SATs fit into the wider picture, read our guide to the national curriculum.
Why can SATs feel stressful?
For a school, SATs are a measure of progress. For a ten- or eleven-year-old, they can feel like a verdict. Children pick up on the attention around practice tests, and some start to worry that a score says something about how clever they are.
Others find the timed conditions harder than the content. A child who understands the maths may rush the arithmetic paper, freeze on a reasoning question or run out of time in the reading test. Good results don’t always mean a child feels fine, either: some pupils who do well are quietly anxious about tests, maths or reading aloud.
What children believe about learning in their earliest years shapes everything that follows. That’s why how your child feels about SATs matters as much as how they score.
How does Performance Learning help with SATs?
Performance Learning teaches children how to learn, so the preparation they do at school sticks and shows up on test day. It is not SATs tutoring. Performance Learning Primary helps Years 4, 5 and 6 identify early barriers to learning, prepare for SATs or the 11+ and move confidently to secondary school. Coaching focuses on:
- Memorising and organising: simple ways to sort, remember and understand what they learn in class.
- Recall: short, low-pressure self-testing, so knowledge such as times tables and spelling rules is there when needed.
- Time management: pacing timed papers and moving on from a tricky question.
- Exam technique: reading questions carefully, showing working and checking answers.
- Calm and confidence: recognising worry and using practical steps to stay steady.
- Sleep and routine: healthy habits in the weeks before the tests.
How does SATs support work?
- Book a call. Talk to the Performance Learning team about your child, how they feel about school and what you have noticed at home. There’s no obligation.
- Take the Foresight assessment (£50). The Foresight assessment takes about 25 minutes online. It looks at learning behaviours, wellbeing and attainment factors such as recall. You receive one-page action plans for your child and for you, plus a 35-page in-depth report you can share with your child’s teacher. An optional 30-minute review call costs £45.
- Choose a coaching route. The team will advise which suits a primary-age child:
- SOAR Online Learning, £10 a month: Foresight plus unlimited access to an adaptive platform with personalised pathways, on-demand coaching and monthly progress monitoring.
- Virtual Classroom with PL, £295: two live, interactive 2-hour masterclasses in a small group, with a Foresight assessment included.
- Academic Transformation with Dr Tej, application only: year-round one-to-one coaching and mentoring with Dr Tej Samani.
What can parents expect?
You can expect to understand how your child feels about learning as well as how they perform, and which skills will make the biggest difference before the tests. You get your own action plan, with ways to support your child at home without turning SATs into a source of stress.
We won’t promise a particular score. We will give you an honest view of whether coaching can help, and the skills your child builds carry straight on into Year 7. For worries that are already affecting your child, read Dr Tej’s advice on exam anxiety in children.
What is the evidence behind Performance Learning?
Students using Performance Learning improved by an average of 2.4 grades against their predicted grades (Thomas et al., 2024, an analysis of 940 students led by Birkbeck’s Centre for Educational Neuroscience). That figure is an average, not a promise for any child, and Performance Learning does not publish a separate figure for SATs results. The approach is grounded in Dr Tej Samani’s research into how pupils learn, which you can read on our research page.
Performance Learning has also worked with primary schools, including Topcliffe Primary School in Birmingham, whose work with Performance Learning was featured in an i News long read.
Frequently asked questions
Does Performance Learning teach the SATs curriculum?
No. Performance Learning does not re-teach the Key Stage 2 curriculum or set SATs practice papers, which is the job of your child's school. It teaches the skills underneath performance: how to organise and remember what they learn, recall it under time pressure, read questions carefully, manage time in a paper and stay calm. These skills help your child get more from the preparation they already do in class.
Do SATs results affect which secondary school my child goes to?
No. In England, secondary school places are offered before Year 6 SATs are sat, so SATs results do not decide which school your child attends. Schools use the results to measure progress, and secondary schools may use them as one piece of information when your child starts Year 7. Knowing this can take some of the pressure off, for you and for your child.
How can I help my child feel calm about SATs?
Keep the message simple: SATs show what your child can do now, and they are not a judgement of how clever they are. Protect sleep and normal routines, keep any practice at home short and low-pressure, and praise effort rather than scores. If worry is affecting your child's sleep, mood or school day, the Foresight assessment can help you understand what is driving it.
What age is Performance Learning's SATs support for?
Performance Learning Primary works with children in Years 4, 5 and 6. Year 6 is when SATs are sat, but starting in Year 4 or Year 5 gives your child time to build learning skills and confidence before the pressure of the tests, and before the move to secondary school. The Performance Learning team can advise on the right route for your child's age.
How much does SATs support cost?
Every route starts with the Foresight assessment, which costs £50, with an optional £45 live review call. After that, SOAR online learning costs £10 a month including Foresight, the Virtual Classroom with PL costs £295 for two live 2-hour group sessions plus an assessment, and Academic Transformation with Dr Tej Samani is by application only. Full details are on the Performance Learning pricing page.
Is the Foresight assessment suitable for primary-age children?
Yes. The Foresight assessment is designed to be calm and child-friendly and is built for children aged 8 and over, so it suits pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6. It takes about 25 minutes online. Rather than testing what your child knows, it looks at how they feel about learning, alongside factors such as recall, time management, sleep and stress.