Continue practising papers after the 11+ or not?

[ginx]

My dd has (hopefully) scraped a place to gs.

Her parents consultation was a little disappointing; her teacher said she's doing well but "approaching" a level 5 for summer.

I suppose I had thought that since she'd passed the 11+ she was brilliant! OK, not brilliant, but that her work must be ok.

My dd thinks her teacher doesn't like her. I don't know exactly why. In one of her books, I was surprised to see not a single "Well done", or tick, or house point, or even "good try". It was full of criticism. Poor punctuation. Poor paragraphing. Topic doesn't link. And so on. My dd has in the past done very well with teachers she likes. I am sure this teacher is good and ambitious. She said she didn't care about SATS but I don't believe her.

Anyway, back to the heading. Should I get my dd to practise SATS papers - or not? I know it can't hurt, but my dh would rather she had a broader experience than just doing SATS papers. Should I get her to do GCSE foundation maths ... or what? Or just buy papers and make her do them?

If she didn't get a level 5 (I'd be shocked), would the gs she hopefully attends worry? I had thought; she's doing quite well, she's top of class for literacy and not much lower for maths; she's passed the 11+; surely I don't need to do any more this academic year.

I bet all you pushy/ambitious/conscientious/caring parents probably are still working with your dc. Should I start working with my dd - or not?

[Long Journey]

I bet all you pushy/ambitious/conscientious/caring parents probably are still working with your dc. Should I start working with my dd - or not?

I think I am all those things but no we stopped working as soon as the 11+ was over. I think they do need the break, though I suppose that depends on how much work was done as 11+ prep. Mine did a fair amount so I don't think we'll do any other work now that that's out of the way.

Since you have a concern about your DD though I would try and address those specific areas that need it. The teacher sounds very negative. I hope your DD knows what her targets are and she's working towards acheiving them in school. I have no experience about these SATS (yet!) so have no idea if people prepare for them. The school seems to be trying very hard though after years of not trying at all

[Okanagan]

We're not explicitly practising SATs - but after a couple of months off post exam have just started doing a bit of out of school maths again - more because I don't want him to get out of the habit of working than because there are SATs on the horizon. And because I don't consider 5 minutes of maths homework, and not every week at that, really enough! We're not doing a lot though - 30 minutes to an hour once a week.

[yoyo123]

i'm sure she will get plenty of sats practice at school, just let her enjoy herself!

[Bromleymum1]

Hi ginx,

Your dd's teacher should be setting her targets and then praising her, when she reaches them. My son's year 6 teacher gives them targets, ie, in English - use 3 wow words and 3 adjectives in a piece of writing. She uses green and pink pens to show them www (what went well) and ebi (even better if). I'm not sure which way round they are though!

My ds has just passed the 11+, we have stopped doing papers. Instead we have just started using nrich.maths.org for maths, just one question every other day. He also loves going on BBC Bitesize Key Stage 2, which is great for English, Maths and Science. Finally, we are really encouraging to read - not his favourite thing. We read together, taking it in turns, plus, he is reading his own book. He gets to choose the reading material.

Hope this helps. Try and keep an eye on teacher's comments.

[Twinkle]

i'm sure she will get plenty of sats practice at school, just let her enjoy herself!

I agree entirely. After the 11+, Year 6 is about having fun. Don't worry about the SATs. My DS' GS don't take any notice of them

[ginx]

Thanks for all your comments.

I think you will agree (?) that it is very difficult to approach a teacher and say "my daughter thinks you don't like her and pick on her", although I could point out the total lack of praise in her work, and ask why. I repeat I think this is a good teacher (new to year 6, though, and quite young - that means 30 - to me!) but I did not think my dd's work was that bad. How can she be on the top table for literacy and get nothing but criticism?

Thanks for all your comments. Yoyo 123, I'm tempted to let her just get on, you're right and they will be doing lots of SATS practice at school (whatever her teacher says). She's very unhappy at school at the moment, with the teacher, and the fact her friends who didn't pass the 11+ are ignoring her. Lots of tears after school. I don't know whether it's her diabetes, hormones, her own temperament (she can be awkward!) or what. But she isn't happy. It is upsetting for me to see her like this after school. I think her friends are jealous and they are sticking together because they are going to the same school. She is not, she is going to the gs (hopefully).

She said she would do some work so maybe I will try one of your recommended web sites - one question a day is her sort of style (which is why Bond's 10 minutes a day suited her! she is naturally lazy!) but perhaps not do SATS papers. Long journey, she knows her targets; they are clearly set out in her books and she's reached some already.

I thought once the 11+ was over (pass or fail), life would be easy! Passing the 11+ is, for my dd, the worse thing she has done. She's lost her friends. Her teacher says her work isn't great, although I'm not sure where the problem actually was (apart from learning to paragraph!) and read non fiction. I'll try doing a little bit of maths, if she is willing, and see how it goes. Thank you for your advice, everyone.

ps I didn't mean to insult you all by calling you pushy!!!!!!!!!!!! Is it possible we're all pushy by being on here?

Sorry, missed the comment that GS' aren't bothered by SATS results. Surely they will be if she only gets level 4's?

[Twinkle]

Sorry, missed the comment that GS' aren't bothered by SATS results. Surely they will be if she only gets level 4's?

I doubt it. The entry criteria are passing the 11+ together with the other admission criteria . SATs results come out well after March 1. The GS cannot take your daughter's place away if she doesn't score highly in her SATs. There is always a range of ability even in the SS GSs. There is no reason why your daughter shouldn't flourish at GS providing she works hard.

[ginx]

Thanks, Twinkle.

My dd isn't stupid. She got level 3's at KS1. She's always suprised teachers. They were surprised she even bothered looking round a gs!

She did well in the 11+ and her teacher did admit she was sure my dd would easily cope with the work at the gs. Especially as she hadn't had extensive coaching like some girls. One good comment! (Not that there's anything wrong with coaching, I just never consider myself a "coach/tutor" and the amount of work we did was - minimal.)

Maybe we'll just leave doing any more work, I just want her to try and enjoy this year. She'll do plenty of work at school.

She'll be fine. Fingers crossed, anyway!

[scary mum]

I would let her have some fun. I never considered getting mine to do any further work for the SATs other than what they do in school. In fact I deliberately ignored the suggestions forom the school, about doing some extra work. SATs are all about the school, not about your DC. The secondary school will use them for "value added", so would probably be delighted if a few went in with level 4s!

If you really want to do some extra (or she does!), why not brush up on mental maths skills - they will serve her well for the rest of her life. Also, lots of reading, with chats about the books (ie comprehension), again something that will serve her well for the rest of her schooldays