Newbie - feeling stressed please help

[salsa]

Great advice. Are you going for a super selective? Do you just need a pass?

[PurpleDuck]

Would you suggest I did anything with him this summer hols? Or keep it relaxed with no work? I was thinking maybe just carry on with reading and get him to keep a diary to keep his writing going? That's not too much..thanks again.

Definitely the latter! Diary is a very good idea, so worth encouraging; it may be just 2-3 sentences daily, or perhaps a bit longer entry twice a week, say - whatever works best and does not feel like a chore. A lot of people on here have also suggested using holiday outings for practising maths without children noticing, e.g. 'if the car goes at 60mph, how long will it take us to get to gran's?' etc. He is only in year 4 and a bright boy, let him have a lovely, lazy summer - you don't want him to burn out!

[Ilovecats]

Thank you so much everyone - I really really appreciate it. I'm definitely going to take all your suggestions on board. Myself and my husband work full time and I admit I don't listen to my son read at all because the time we do have in the evening is taken up listening to his younger sibling read. I'm off in the summer holidays so I will listen to him every day and ask questions etc and discuss vocab. For the same reason home tutoring in year 5 is not possible and I also think he responds better to someone else. I will of course do papers and help him with any homework the tutor recommends. The tutor said he'd be given mock tests throughout the year with her and she mentioned speed etc so I'm very confident he'll be prepared fully.
Thanks daogroupie I will definitely get the DVD when he's finished reading..he doesn't love reading (not in the genes!!) but will read for 30-40 mins every night. He does enjoy reading First News. He really lacks confidence so I think some of his reluctance with comprehension and creative writing is that he doesn't want to get it wrong.
Salsa- no I've not considered a super selective, we live opposite a boys grammar, he could literally be in a lesson from our front door in 2 minutes so he will go there if he passes, be silly not to?
Interesting about the comment re. Year 6 being easy if the work is put in during year 5, I hadn't thought of it like that.
He does enjoy learning and comments in his reports are always 'he wants to do well and put effort into everything he does'. Comments at parents evening are always that he has an excellent attitude to learning, he teacher in Feb said that was quite rare for an 8 year old boy so that's positive.
Thanks again. I feel a bit better now..still a bit guilty about the year ahead but I'm sure it won't be as bad as I'm thinking!

[salsa]

Well, if you are not going for a super selective and are in catchment then he just needs a pass. It does look like he's heading to one anyway and you have a tutor with a good track record. I wouldn't worry. The tutor will indicate weak areas and you can work on them.
The only issue about the Kent test is that children must pass the three individual tests. So, the tutor, I'm sure will be aware of that.