A 10-Week Year 6 SATs Revision Plan

SATs week typically falls in the second week of May. Working back 10 weeks from there brings you to early March — which is the ideal time to begin structured home revision alongside whatever the school is doing. This plan is designed to spread the work sensibly, avoid overwhelm, and make sure all three subjects receive adequate attention.

Each day, aim for 20–30 minutes of focused practice. That is all that is needed — quality and consistency matter more than volume.

Weeks 1–2: Diagnosis and Arithmetic

Before diving into revision, it helps to know where the gaps are. In the first two weeks:

• Do a quick diagnostic across all three subjects — what does your child find hard? What are they confident in?
• Maths: Focus on arithmetic — the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, long division), fractions of amounts, and percentages. Paper 1 is pure arithmetic and can be significantly improved with daily practice
• Times tables: Make sure all tables to 12 × 12 are secure. Five minutes of daily drilling is enough
• Reading: Start reading a challenging book together each evening — this builds fluency and comprehension simultaneously

Weeks 3–4: Maths Reasoning and GPS

• Maths: Shift to reasoning — word problems, multi-step questions, and unfamiliar contexts. Encourage children to show their working; partial marks are available in the reasoning papers
• GPS: Begin GPS work — punctuation first (apostrophes, commas, inverted commas, colons and semi-colons), then grammar (sentence types, word classes, relative clauses, modal verbs)
• Spelling: Start working through the Year 5/6 statutory spelling list — 10 words a week, tested by a family member

Weeks 5–6: Reading Comprehension Focus

• Reading: Practise comprehension questions across a mix of text types — fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The SATs reading paper includes all three
• Teach the key question types: retrieval (go back to the text), inference (what is implied), vocabulary in context, language effect
• Practise writing complete answers — many children lose marks by answering too briefly
• Maths: Continue daily arithmetic — 10 minutes of written calculations keeps this sharp
• GPS: Continue with passive/active voice, formal language, and practising whole GPS papers

Weeks 7–8: Mixed Practice and Gaps

• Alternate between all three subjects each day — variety prevents fatigue and keeps all skills active
• Revisit the gaps identified in Weeks 1–2 — have they improved? What still needs attention?
• Work on Maths reasoning paper questions — timed practice (40 minutes) is useful to build exam stamina
• For reading, practise reading quickly but carefully — the SATs reading paper is 60 minutes for a full booklet, and some children run short of time

Weeks 9–10: Consolidation and Confidence

• Ease off the intensity — this is consolidation, not cramming. Maintain the daily routine but keep sessions calm
• Focus on the topics your child feels least confident in — targeted short practice is more efficient than re-covering everything
• Review common mistakes from previous practice — understanding why an answer was wrong is more valuable than just doing more questions
• In the final week: keep sessions short and reassuring. Remind your child that they have worked hard and are well-prepared