Motherland star’s urgent plea about ‘devastating’ impact of Sats on SEND children

Homeland star Anna Maxwell Martin, backed by a coalition of parents and campaigners, has issued a stark warning about the “devastating effects” of primary school exams on children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The group, which includes 22 major organisations, is calling on Education Minister Bridget Phillipson to rethink primary Sats reforms.

The open letter, which is due to be delivered on Tuesday, argues that the current Sats system is “actively harming” children with SEND, often leading to them being disengaged from school during the transition to secondary education.

Ms Maxwell Martin has previously spoken about her personal experiences of the SEND system as a parent.

Ms Maxwell Martin said: “The government needs to look much more carefully at how it can make things better for children in schools, especially children from Send.”

He called for a more inclusive approach that takes into account children’s mental health and individual needs.

“This is a systematic failure in our assessment system, it is not the fault of any teacher or headteacher,” he said.

In 2025, around 24 per cent of Send children will pass the Sats exam, meeting expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics.

The open letter stated that the majority of Send children who fail Sats “spend the whole of year 6 believing they are not smart enough”.

“They feel like they don’t belong. They try harder every day, but the odds are stacked so heavily against them that the weight of it all eventually breaks them down,” he said.

In its response to the curriculum review last week, the government said it had “no plans to fundamentally change the pattern” of primary exams.

There will be some changes to how the writing will be evaluated, grammar and punctuation. More support would be given to children with Send to access phonics in year 1 to improve their reading, but only minor changes were recommended in year 6 Sats.

Those who signed the letter said the current Sats system narrows the curriculum and encourages test-oriented teaching.

A survey by Omnisis for campaign group More Than A Score of 520 Send parents whose children were not reaching the expected standard in Sats found that two-thirds (67 per cent) said their Sats results had a negative impact on their child’s desire to go to school.

Half also said their child’s self-esteem had been damaged and they believed Sat would have a lasting negative impact.

“Forcing children into a system that actively harms them is not the solution. Changing the system so that our children want to participate is the solution,” the letter said.

“The transition to secondary school is already a sensitive period. Just when we want to work with schools to build self-confidence, Sats eliminate this, shattering self-confidence and nervous systems.

“Too many children leave primary school disengaged from learning and carrying only a failure badge despite their best efforts.”

The government was expected to announce reforms to the Delivery system as part of the Schools White Paper this autumn.

But Education Minister Bridget Phillipson recently announced this would be delayed until 2026 to allow more time for reform proposals to be tested with parents, as well as teachers and experts.

Send parent Kirsti Hadley, of consultancy and campaign group Generation Alphabet, said: “Ahead of the Schools White Paper, Bridget Phillipson said she wanted to listen to parents, especially parents of children from Send.

“So we say it loud and clear: Think twice about Sats. Forcing children into a system that actively harms them is not the solution. Changing the system so that our children want to go to school is the solution.”

Sarah Hannafin, head of policy at school leaders’ union NAHT, said there was an “urgent need” for the Government to rethink the value of Sats.

“If statutory exams are to become permanent, they must be designed to be accessible to the vast majority of students, recognize the achievement and progress of all children, and not undermine children’s confidence or cause distress,” he added.