Guidance

Key stage 2: registering pupils for the tests

Information for primary schools on how to register pupils for key stage 2 (KS2) national curriculum tests in 2024.

• From: Standards and Testing Agency
• Published: 18 February 2015
• Last updated: 8 February 2024 — See all updates

We will update this page with guidance on how to register pupils for the 2025 KS2 tests in January 2025.

Introduction

Pupil registration must be completed for all schools with pupils reaching the end of KS2. This includes registering pupils who are working below the standard or are unable to access the tests.

Pupil registration opens on the Primary Assessment Gateway (PAG) on Monday 12 February and must be completed by Friday 8 March.

Schools must continue to update their pupil registration data after the deadline - for example, when pupils join or leave the school. Schools can do this until Thursday 23 May.

Pupil registration data is used to ensure the:

• pupil lists within access arrangements forms are accurate
• quantity of test materials provided is sufficient
• test attendance registers are accurate
• list of expected pupils for teacher assessment (TA) is accurate
• results data returned to your schools matches the pupil data held in your management information system (MIS)

We produced the following video demonstrating how to complete pupil registration:

YouTube video: Key stage 2 tests - registering pupils for the tests

Checking your pupil data

To access the ‘Manage pupil registration’  form for the first time, sign in to the PAG, select the ‘My Activity’ tab, then ‘Outstanding activity’. Pupil referral units will find the form in ‘Available activity’.

If you submitted your school census data to the Department for Education (DfE), your pupil list will be pre-populated with the latest available data. However, you still need to check that the data is accurate.

By 11:59pm on Friday 8 March, you must:

• check your pupil list to ensure pupil data is correct, including full legal name, date of birth and unique pupil number (UPN)
• edit information if required
• add pupils who are not on your school’s ‘existing pupils’ list
• ensure the correct pupil registration code has been assigned to each pupil

When making changes to your pupil data, we recommend selecting ‘save’ after each pupil amendment. 

Your data will not be pre-populated if you:

• are a pupil referral unit, secure unit or independent school
• are a non-maintained special school that did not place a test order by the deadline in November
• did not submit your school census data to DfE

In these cases, you will need to upload your pupil data. You can do this by adding pupils individually to the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form or by using the bulk upload template available in the ‘Manage pupil registration – upload multiple pupils’ form. You can find this in ‘Available activity’.

Uploading multiple pupils

You will not be able to upload multiple pupils if you have a ‘Manage pupil registration’ form in your ‘Outstanding activity’. You must complete this outstanding activity first, submitting a blank form if needed, before you can successfully upload multiple pupils.

Select the ‘Manage pupil registration – upload multiple pupils’ form and follow the steps below:

1. Select ‘Download’ to download the template.
2. Populate the template with your pupil data.
3. Ensure you have not changed any headers within the template.
4. Ensure your pupil information is entered in the required order and format – examples can be found on the form.
5. Save the file as a ‘comma delimited’ (.csv) file.
6. Upload your file by selecting ‘Select file’.
7. Locate your saved file.
8. Submit.

The person who submitted the data will receive on-screen confirmation of completion and an email to confirm they have successfully uploaded the pupil data. A copy of this email will also be available in the ‘Completed activity’ section of the PAG.  

If there are any errors when uploading the data, such as an incorrect UPN format, the user who submitted it will receive an email advising what actions are required to resolve this. They will need to resolve the error in the file and upload it again.

After you have successfully uploaded your pupil data, you still need to complete pupil registration using the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form, which will then be available in your ‘Outstanding activity’.

Pupil registration codes

All pupils will automatically show as ‘Registered’ for each test subject. You can change a pupil’s status for each subject by selecting ‘edit’ and selecting one of the following codes from the drop-down list.

Code	Description
Registered	Pupil is expected to sit the test or will later be recorded as ‘Just arrived’ or ‘Unable to access’ on the attendance register
Below	Pupil working below the overall standard of the test subject
Future	Pupil taking one or more, but not all, assessments in a future year
Left	Pupil has left the school
Previous	Pupil took one or more, but not all, assessments in a previous year
Unregistered	Pupil appears incorrectly in your existing pupil list

You must complete pupil registration and submit the form, even if all your pupils are working below the standard of the tests.

Pupils who are learning outside their chronological year group for all subjects should be included in your pupil registration data at the end of the academic year in which they complete the relevant KS2 programme of study. If they have been incorrectly included, you should use the ‘Unregistered’ code.

If you are unsure how to record a pupil within pupil registration, section 6.2 of the 2024 KS2 assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA) includes further guidance on pupil participation in the end of KS2 tests.

Submitting pupil registration data

Once you have checked that your pupils’ details and pupil registration codes are correct, you must submit the form.

You will receive on-screen confirmation of completion and an email to confirm you have completed pupil registration. A copy of this email will also be available in your ‘Completed activity’.

Independent schools

You will only be able to register pupils for the tests if you:

• placed a KS2 test order by Friday 17 November
• have a written agreement in place with the local authority that will monitor your KS2 tests
• informed us of your local authority monitoring arrangement on the PAG by Friday 8 December

Independent schools that do not upload their pupils’ details and complete pupil registration by Friday 8 March will not be able to participate in the tests.

Keeping pupil registration data updated

You can make updates to your pupil registration data up to Thursday 23 May. 

If you need to make any changes, you can amend the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form and re-submit.

It is important you update your data if:

• any pupils join or leave your school
• a pupil’s registration code changes – for example, if a pupil was registered as ‘Below’ for a test subject but you later decide the pupil can take the test

Pupil registration data is used to determine your school’s expected TA pupil data. If you do not keep this up to date, it will cause errors when submitting your TA data in June.

If you open the form to view your pupils but do not make any changes, you should still re-submit the form to ensure you do not have any outstanding activity. If you do not complete this action, we may contact your school to request outstanding data.

Updating your attendance register

If you add a new pupil to the attendance register during test week, or the following timetable variation week, you must also ensure you have updated your pupil registration data so that we have a record of their UPN. This includes adding pupils working below the standard of the tests.

The attendance register also allows you to record pupils as ‘Unable to access’ and ‘Just arrived’. These pupils should be recorded as ‘Registered’ within the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form.

Pupils who need access arrangements

Schools should register pupils who need access arrangements for the KS2 tests, regardless of whether they go on to take them.

Pupil registration must be completed before making applications or notifications for access arrangements, because these forms will ask you to select the pupil from a drop-down list.

Pupils with English as an additional language

You should ensure pupils with English as an additional language (EAL) are included in your KS2 pupil registration data, regardless of whether they go on to take the tests. Section 6.3 of the 2024 KS2 ARA provides further guidance on EAL pupils.

Further information

If you have any further questions about how to register a pupil, or require support completing pupil registration, you can contact the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013 or email assessments@education.gov.uk.

Published 18 February 2015
Last updated 8 February 2024 + show all updates

1. 8 February 2024

   Updated information and video content for the 2024 tests

2. 16 February 2023

   Added further clarification to the 'Independent schools' section

3. 9 February 2023

   Updated information for the 2023 tests.

4. 11 February 2022

   This has been updated for the 2022 test cycle.

5. 17 February 2020

   Updated for the 2020 test cycle.

6. 18 February 2019

   Updated for the 2019 test cycle.

7. 19 February 2018

   Updated for the 2018 test cycle.

8. 16 February 2017

   Updated for the 2017 test cycle.

9. 19 February 2016

   Updated to reflect 2016 dates and guidance.

10. 18 February 2015

    First published.