Supporting SEND pupils through SATs: A wellbeing-focused guide for year 6 teachers

For pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), KS2 SATs can be particularly challenging, not because of their ability, but because of the emotional, cognitive and sensory pressures the process often creates. As we move into SATs season, it is important to acknowledge that these assessments do not affect all children equally.

Protecting emotional wellbeing, fostering self-belief and creating psychologically safe classrooms during this period is not optional. It is a core part of inclusive practice. When schools are clear about what SATs are designed to do, and just as importantly what they are not, they are far better placed to support pupils with SEND to navigate this period with confidence, dignity and care, whatever the outcome.

This blog sets the wider context around SATs and SEND before offering five practical strategies that year 6 teachers can use immediately in the classroom. These approaches are not about avoiding statutory assessments or lowering expectations. They are about removing unnecessary harm, reducing anxiety and ensuring pupils with SEND feel safe, understood and valued during one of the most pressurised points of primary education.

If you’d like an explanation for the wider purpose of SATs, read Learning by Questions’s Ultimate guide to KS2 SATs.

Key points for supporting SEND pupils through SATs

• SATs can disproportionately impact pupils with SEND due to sensory, cognitive, and emotional pressures, not lack of ability.
• Teacher priorities should shift towards psychological safety, predictability, and self-belief as core components of inclusive SATs preparation.
• Five actionable, evidence-informed classroom strategies can make a significant difference:

1. Use visual timetables and calm spaces to establish predictability and reduce anxiety.
2. Maintain a broad curriculum including creative subjects to protect engagement and self-worth.
3. Adapt teaching with chunking, scaffolds, and multi-sensory approaches to lower cognitive load.
4. Embed proactive wellbeing check-ins and regulation strategies into the daily routine.
5. Communicate positively with families and children to manage pressure and redefine success.

The ultimate goal is for every pupil, especially those with SEND, to navigate SATs with confidence and dignity, irrespective of outcomes.

Understanding the impact: SATs, SEND, and wellbeing

There is now a well-established national conversation about the impact of SATs on children’s wellbeing, particularly for pupils with SEND. Families, teachers and campaigners have been clear that, for many children, the current system creates pressure that far outweighs any educational benefit.

Campaigns such as More Than a Score have highlighted that around three quarters of pupils with SEND do not meet the expected standard in SATs. For children who already experience barriers to learning, repeated messages about “falling behind” or “not meeting expectations” can be deeply damaging. Parents consistently report increased anxiety, reduced self-esteem and, in some cases, disengagement from school altogether during the run-up to tests.

There is also growing concern about the narrowing of the curriculum in year 6. Creative subjects, play, exploration and relational time are often reduced in favour of relentless test preparation. Public advocates and SEND parents have spoken powerfully about children leaving primary school believing they are “not clever enough”, despite thriving in other areas of learning and life.

This context matters. It reinforces that wellbeing is not an add-on or a soft focus. It is central to equitable education, particularly for pupils with SEND, and it should shape how we approach SATs preparation in our classrooms.

5 evidence-based strategies for inclusive SATs support

SATs are statutory, but the way we prepare pupils for them is a professional choice. Below are five strategies I return to repeatedly because they are realistic, evidence-informed and genuinely make a difference to pupils with SEND during this period.

Alongside these classroom strategies, ensuring you are fully informed about statutory access arrangements for SATs is a critical component of equitable support.

Read our guide to access arrangements for KS2 SATs

Understand the key access arrangements for KS2 SATs: extra time, readers, scribes, evidence-based advice.

Read the blog

1. Establish Predictability to Reduce Anxiety

For many pupils with SEND, anxiety is driven by uncertainty rather than the test content itself. Predictability reduces threat and increases a sense of safety.

In the weeks leading up to SATs, visual timetables for test week are essential. Pupils should be able to see clearly when tests will take place, when breaks are coming and what familiar activities will follow. Knowing that something safe and enjoyable comes after a test can significantly reduce anticipatory anxiety.

A preparation or regulation space within the classroom can also be powerful. This should be a calm, neutral area, not a reward or a sanction. Effective preparation zones are uncluttered and intentionally soothing. They may include soft seating, weighted items, sensory tools, calming visuals or ear defenders. Crucially, access to this space should be normalised. Pupils need to know that regulating themselves is acceptable and encouraged.

Be cautious with countdowns. While adults often believe countdowns help pupils prepare, for some children they simply heighten anxiety. Instead, focus on gentle rehearsal. Practising the routines of a test morning, without papers or performance pressure, builds familiarity and confidence and reduces fear of the unknown.

2. Maintain a broad, meaningful curriculum

An over-focus on SATs can strip learning of meaning, particularly for pupils with SEND who may already struggle with confidence or engagement.

Test preparation should sit alongside rich, purposeful learning, not replace it. Literacy and numeracy can be embedded through real-world contexts, creative projects, discussion and collaborative tasks. These approaches allow pupils to experience success in ways that traditional test practice often does not.

Creative subjects matter, especially at this time of year. Art, drama, music and practical learning are not distractions from “real work”. For many pupils with SEND, they are protective factors that support emotional regulation, motivation and self-worth. Removing them often increases stress rather than improving outcomes.

Equally important is explicit work on emotional literacy. Pupils need language for nerves, frustration and self-doubt, and strategies to manage these feelings. Normalising anxiety and teaching pupils how to talk to themselves kindly counters the damaging narrative that SATs measure intelligence or value.

3. Adapt teaching to reduce cognitive load

During SATs preparation, cognitive load is high. For pupils with SEND, this can quickly become overwhelming if teaching is not carefully adapted.

Chunking learning into short, structured segments helps pupils with working memory or attention difficulties to stay regulated and engaged. Clear models, visual scaffolds and step-by-step guidance reduce cognitive strain and increase confidence.

Multi-sensory approaches are particularly effective. Combining visual prompts, verbal explanation, physical resources and opportunities for talk allows pupils to process information in different ways. For some pupils, talking through an answer before writing can significantly reduce anxiety and improve accuracy.

Where possible, allow pupils to demonstrate understanding in alternative ways during preparation. Using manipulatives, diagrams or oral explanations ensures that difficulties with recording do not obscure genuine understanding. These adjustments are not about advantage. They are about access.

Implementing adaptive teaching at scale can be a challenge. This is where technology designed with inclusivity at its core can make a tangible difference. Platforms like Learning by Questions (LbQ) are built to support the strategies discussed above. Its unique format provides immediate feedback and allows pupils to work at their own pace within a structured framework whilst reducing the marking burden. The question-level scaffolding and visual presentation are intentionally designed to lower cognitive load and build confidence, making it a powerful tool for inclusive SATs preparation that aligns with wellbeing-first principles.

Find out more how Learning by Questions could help support your pupils with SATs.

4. Embed proactive wellbeing check-ins

Wellbeing cannot be bolted on during SATs season. It needs to be built into the daily rhythm of the classroom.

Simple check-ins are often the most effective. A short morning conversation or circle where pupils reflect on something they feel proud of, something they are finding tricky or something they are looking forward to helps shift the focus from performance to connection.

Regulation strategies should be used proactively, not just when pupils are distressed. Breathing exercises, movement breaks, stretching or grounding activities can be used before and after test practice to support emotional regulation. These strategies benefit all pupils, but are particularly important for those with SEND.

Teaching assistants play a critical role here. Regular communication between teachers and TAs about emotional cues, behaviour changes or increased anxiety allows support to be responsive. Many pupils will not articulate stress directly, but their behaviour will communicate it clearly.

5. Foster positive communication with home

Parents of pupils with SEND often carry a significant emotional burden during SATs. Clear, honest and compassionate communication can reduce anxiety for both families and children.

Be explicit with families about your priorities. Talk about confidence, emotional wellbeing and resilience alongside academic progress. Offer practical guidance for home that reduces pressure, such as reading for pleasure, short informal maths games or maintaining calm routines around sleep and downtime.

Pupils also need clear messages. They need to hear, repeatedly, that SATs do not define their intelligence, their future or their worth. They need to know that results do not follow them into secondary school and that they are valued for far more than a test score. For pupils with SEND, these messages are not reassurance once; they are reassurance often.

Conclusion: Redefining success for SEND learners

Year 6 SATs do not have to become a wellbeing crisis for pupils with SEND. When teachers prioritise calm, predictability and relationships, maintain a broad and meaningful curriculum, and adapt practice thoughtfully, classrooms can remain places of safety and belonging even during high-pressure periods.

SATs may be a milestone, but they should never define what success feels like for our most vulnerable learners.

For resources that help embed these inclusive practices seamlessly into your daily teaching, explore how Learning by Questions supports every learner.