School refusing access to exam results

@LittleWhiteRabbit so OP has final data for the year. She had final data for Y1 in the year report. So can see progress. For a 7yo does a parent really need more info than that? What is she going to do with it? The child is at greater depth

Surely a meeting some time in the new term if OP is concerned is the way forward so can talk about actual things the child is doing (assume they will have a parent evening at some point in that term).

The test results data will almost certainly be entered onto a school-wide electronic Class Data Tracker, used by teachers and management to monitor sub-levels or flight paths for each child. This is very likely to link to the individual Statements for standards as a measure of progress for each subject.

The class data tracker is subject to disclosure in a Subject Access Request, for the information held on an individual child. It will give a very clear and detailed account of the child's progress - usually half termly, or termly progress.

I was saying this to my partner a couple of days ago, the reports are all so positive & "copy/paste". There were only a couple of sentences that stood out as being personal to my child, due to their health & support needs, otherwise could have been any other peer! That said, the teachers are brilliant about giving feedback at end of day collection, so I'm aware of most issues as they come up.

I much prefer old-school reports that picked up on specific issues, especially if they had to get creative with the phrases used for particular behaviours 😂

Also... you've just reminded me I need to clarify with my child's teacher whether he is "working towards expectations" or "exceeding expectations" in one particular subject, as both were ticked off!

If Primary schools administer the optional Year 2 test papers, the teacher marks them using official national mark schemes.
The complete criteria used by primary schools to determine if a Year 2 child has reached the Expected Standard (EXS) are outlined in the official UK government's 'Non-Statutory teacher assessment frameworks for the end of Key Stage 1'.

The teacher tallies the total correct answers to determine the raw score, which is then is converted using government tables into a scaled score between 80 and 120. Once the teacher combines the test data with day-to-day book marking, they allocate one of three final progress grades for reading, writing, maths and science.

It's not a question of just allocating 'below, meeting or exceeding expectations' by the teacher.
The Statements for the standards in each are specific and detailed. They would provide a very clear evidence and guidance to a parent about the progress their child is making in each subject.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-assessment-frameworks-at-the-end-of-key-stage-1/non-statutory-teacher-assessment-frameworks-at-the-end-of-key-stage-1

Depending on what a parent wants a SAR can be very time consuming. I sometimes sit on permanent exclusion panels, which won’t include all information on a student but a fair amount. The packs can run to hundreds of pages and will need to be redacted before sharing with a parent

Exactly, if a school already has good data protection processes then a DSAR is quick

I work at a school and we receive a handful of DSARs a year, most of them are in fact for getting students exam and class results honestly

Alternatively the school could just give her the results she asked for initially.

But parents should be grown ups, capable of exercising common sense and proportionality. Both of which would be sadly lacking if a DSAR were submitted in this case.

This isn’t the parents’ fault or problem. It is a statutory right.

But that it probably how they mark it - not A,B or C but below expectations, meets expectations or exceeds expectations. That is effectively the grade and the result.

And I wouldn’t expect a returned marked exam paper - you don’t get that at GCSE etc!

DSAR compliance takes time and money. Not exactly a great use of school resources. The kid is doing fine, she has a supportive mum. It doesn't matter one bit whether she got 78%, 84% or whatever in an internal school assessment. Am a big supporter of parental involvement in education but this would just be a bloody ridiculous over-reaction.

I would suggest that, given the "wishy washy" information you've been provided, you research the curriculum and, with the support of your teacher mum, focus on the areas where she is currently performing below expectations.

IMO you are being pushy, if your daughter will just blend in, you can support her more at home, especially as you have your own "in house" teachers!

You could do a DSAR and request them

Blaming parents for teacher burnout over minor interactions is shifting responsibility to make them feel guilty for wanting standard communication.

The OP is not responsible for the structural collapse of UK teacher retention. She is simply being a supportive and engaged parent.

Shes year 2. Relax

Wait until she gets to high school and they do you give the students grades. But you don’t know what they really mean and nor. seemingly, do the teachers

@LittleWhiteRabbit might be the final straw after the teacher has input all the data they have to input and written all the school reportts, giving sufficient information for the parent

Yes, there is indeed a crisis in teacher retention.

Recent research would indicate the main drivers are:

-Crippling workload and unpaid overtime with Primary school teachers particularly affected due to the overloaded curriculum planning, data entry requirements, and meticulous marking policies;
-The pressure of the Ofsted Framework;
-Escalating poor pupil behaviour and managing severe emotional outbursts and disrupted classrooms without adequate funding, internal support staff, or specialised interventions;
-Severe funding cuts and SEND pressure - in primary, a loss of critical Teaching Assistants and managing an increasing number of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in larger classes, without the necessary support staff.
-Erosion of real-term pay, down 14% in real terms from 2010-23.

A parent asking for a test result would be a negligible consideration against the very real issues involved.

(TES Institute 2026 Wellbeing Report).

I would also add schools have been under additional pressure this week as KS2 SATs results were delayed by a week, so all reports etc have had to wait. They will be reviewing papers to see if any need appealing etc

I have not said you are a vexatious complainant, OP. It is clear you are not.

Our job as parents is to truly educate them - to lead them out and nourish them.

Totally agree.

As someone who works with children and young people I would be absolutely horrified at the thought of a 6 /7 year old sitting exams and I would be more concerned about how they had been spoken about in school. I would be super pissed off if a school discussed end of year ‘exams’ with a child so young. I still vividly remember the questions from my private school entrance exam when I was 7, and the inherent sense that there was an expectation that I ‘perform’ in some way, even though my parents were very supportive of me generally.

I wonder whether the school require a method to assess somehow but also recognise that children that age are so impressionable and that putting pressure to perform academically , or to compare themselves to peers is not ethical so therefore use these (presumably non-standardised) ways to measure performance for the year group, because they need to know which children need a little bit of support.the OP probably knows more about that coming from a teaching background.

I think it makes a lot of sense not to share those results in such an ‘exam’ way because they can’t control how this is spoken about or presented at home. Yes, most people would obviously not talk to a 7 year old about exam performance, but some would. And some children would have comments made about their performance , good or bad, which then sets a standard and pressure as they grow older, and also teachers them that their value (in school, but also what else are kids ‘tested’ on) is measured by their academic achievement rather than other things like their relationships with others or kindness ,for instance.

It’s weird that you are describing them as exams. They’re not exams. They’re assessments and children will do them all the time.

@Rainbowstarssunlight i think you are reading more into these tests than you need to. It’s just one part of the teacher assessment for your DD. They are not the mandatory tests they used to be. If there were areas of concern for your DD school should raise them to you. You can see from her books what work she has done.
Be mindful that not all work will have a mark or have written corrections.
Schools prefer live marking (so discussing in class) as this has been shown to be more impactful.
There might be a marking policy on the school website.
I assume if you have not raised a question before that you are pretty satisfied with the school and more importantly your child is happy there and doing well both academically and socially

I am not suggesting OP is vexatious. Far from it. I introduced the vexatious complainant notion only to build on the idea of where responsibility in this context could lead.

To rewind to my original point on this thread, I think there does have to be trust by a parent that a school is competent. That at least should be the starting point, and it does not preclude the parent making measured interventions from time to time.