KS2 TA Guide 2026

LA should ALWAYS check for updated DfE guidance. 

Welcome to the Nexus guide for Key Stage 2 TA in 2025/2026

• Find out what the KS2 TA process looks like in 2026 and what it means for you, your colleagues and your schools.
• Understand the data collection process for KS2 TA in 2026, including key dates.
• Find out how you and your schools can benefit from NCER National figures.

Jump to..

• 2026 Timeline for KS2
• KS2 TA Data
• Nexus Reports & Features
• Your questions answered

 

2026 Timeline for KS2

Unlike other Key Stages, KS2 TA files can take two routes to get to NCAP (National Curriculum Assessment Portal - which replaces Primary Assessment Gateway):

1. The school can submit their file directly to National Curriculum Assessment Portal (this is the majority of LA /schools)
2. The school can submit their file to their geographic LA, who in turn submits it to National Curriculum Assessment Portal (this is the minority of LA/schools)

This year, schools have seven weeks to submit their KS2 TA files, from Monday 11 May until Friday 26th June 2026. The files will be CTF XMLs.

During the same period, National Curriculum Assessment Portal will be open to accept the XML returns LAs will be producing using Keypas in Nexus.

The DfE will release their initial KS2 statistical publication in early-September. Thanks to Nexus, your LA has access to NCER National figures, much earlier than DfE published statistics. NCER National figures are subject to change as they are updated with each importing LA, but historically have been accurate and extremely useful in giving LAs a strong indication of emerging national trends.

LAs can download any TA data that schools have directly submitted to National Curriculum Assessment Portal after 26th June 2026. Please download this data to help build up an accurate NCER National picture in Nexus, this will benefit you and all LAs, however all the TA data will be available at 7th July from the DfE publication of results (also including test data). 

 

The Data

There are changes to the Key Stage 2 TA data collection in 2026. 

There is a range of performance categories for writing and science.

For writing, the target is for every child to be working at the Expected Standard (EXS) or at greater depth (GDS), but there are also categories for those working lower than the expected standard (WTS, PK1–PK6, EM).

For reading and maths, schools are no longer required to assess children who have been entered for the Key Stage 2 tests, the only categories that may be awarded are PK1–PK6 and EM.

The table below shows the data items collected for each child.

 

Key Nexus Reports and Features for KS2 TA

Once your KS2 TA data is imported into Keypas, you can make use of valuable Nova reports and Keypas cleaning reports. Some examples of these are below.

	Keypas: Data Errors Quickly identify the issues that need resolving within your data by reading the data errors report that lists each pupil record that has failed a validation check and the reason why. This report is best used alongside the data cleaning grids for rapid resolution of errors.
	Nova: KS2 TA Summary (School, LA, Regional & National) View schools, the LA, regional or the NCER National picture in a report that neatly summarises the cohort's achievement in all subjects. School improvement colleagues who have access to Nova can use this as a real time report to get a good overview of how the school is comparing to the LA and NCER National.
	Nova: KS2 TA Pupil List Quickly list each pupil per school. This report is ideal for supporting your quality assurance processes. You can let schools check what data they have submitted before it gets sent to the DfE by sending the report back to the school through Perspective Lite.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Local Authorities collect this data?	Local authorities do not have a statutory duty to collect KS2 TA from their schools. It is now a minority of authorities that opt to do so by agreement with some or all of their schools.  Schools may upload their data directly to National Curriculum Assessment Portal or ask their geographic LA to upload it on their behalf. Data that is uploaded to National Curriculum Assessment Portal by a school is available for a geographic LA to download immediately. We request that Local Authorities download this TA data from National Curriculum Assessment Portal as soon as it is available to ensure that schools who have sent data directly to National Curriculum Assessment Portal are factored in to NCER National figures, however this is also available from the DfE results file in mid-July.
Where is the import?	Nexus > Keypas > Imports > Import New File > KS2 TA
When will the 2026 TA import become available?	May 2026
What areas does it update?	Nova Reports and Batch Reporting. Insight Headlines and Intelligence Attainment Trends & Attainment widgets on the Nexus home page. Schools module data tabs in Nexus. Real Time data trends, Nova reporting and Insight in Perspective Lite (if enabled).
Where is the return process?	Nexus > Keypas > DfE Returns > KS2 TA CTF Export for   DFE
What is the Returns destination?	National Curriculum Assessment Portal
What are ‘NCER National’ figures?	The NCER National figures displayed in Nexus are calculated by harnessing the strength that comes from all LAs in England uploading their data into Nexus’ Keypas module. As more LAs load in their data, the figures become more robust. These figures are provisional and unpublished indicators of national benchmarks, however NCER National figures have been robust when compared to official DfE National data over the past 6 years.