“This is nothing short of a complete shambles. The marking system has clearly been beset with problems, but it is hugely disappointing that this has resulted in such a long delay to Sats results being released. Parents and children now face an increased wait for these results, with all the anxiety this entails, through no fault of their own.

“School leaders will be equally frustrated. A significant number of schools will have finished for the summer by the time the results are available, and those that haven’t will be on the verge of doing so. This will inevitably mean staff working through holiday periods to finalise end of year assessments and reports, which has implications for their wellbeing and really is the last thing needed at the end of a busy academic year. We do not think giving schools eight days to apply for reviews of marking is long enough, particularly as relevant staff members could be on holiday during this period. This deadline should be moved back further to ensure all pupils have the best possible chance of success.

“Children, parents and teachers all deserve so much better. There needs to be a full inquiry, with the outcomes made public, to ensure that lessons are learned and nothing like this ever happens again. Bearing in mind the problems that have plagued this exam series, how costly and time-consuming Sats can be, and the proposed introduction of additional tests at KS3, we also need to think about what place, if any, KS2 tests should have within the wider landscape going forward.”