Outsourcing giant Capita will no longer manage SATs tests after exam board Pearson won the contract worth up to \u00a3180m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A government review <\/a>had found Capita\u2019s first year overseeing the tests, in 2022, caused \u201csignificant frustration and inconvenience\u201d to schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Exams regulator Ofqual had to step in<\/a> after thousands of tests went missing, wrong marks were awarded and the helpline went into meltdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But in correspondence sent to schools today, seen by Schools Week<\/em>, the Standards and Testing Agency said Pearson has been selected as the preferred supplier from September 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A previous tender<\/a> document said the contract could be worth up to \u00a3180 million over seven years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Capital will still manage this year and next year\u2019s SATs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The STA said \u201call parties concerned will work hard to make this a positive experience for schools and local authorities\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, Capita also lost its contract <\/a>to administer the Teachers\u2019 Pension Scheme (TPS) after 27 years to Indian IT company Tata Consultancy Services. It also withdrew <\/a>from delivering the flagship early career framework. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In an end of year report<\/a>, Capita said losing the TPS and SATs contacts will \u201chave a dampening impact on revenue growth\u201d. They said both were \u201clost on price\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Capita won the \u00a3107 million contract in 2018, but Covid meant its first exams series was not run until 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Schools Week<\/em> investigations<\/a> revealed problems that year included thousands of papers going missing, excessive helpline waiting times and markers locked out of online training<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The outsourcer\u2019s fee was slashed by \u00a31.3 million<\/a> as a result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2018Lost on price\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n