SATs taking over!!

Key Stages 1-2 and SATs advice

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onebigdilemma
Posts: 232
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2013 4:58 pm

SATs taking over!!

Post by onebigdilemma »

I thought my boys school was quite laid back....maybe why it is in special measures!! It is really pushing the SATs tests this year. Lower ability children come into school early, level 6 children separated from the rest of the class. This week my boys have said they have no outside PE one afternoon or science on another day until after SATs because it has to be more work towards SATs.

So much for a rounded education!!

Do all Primary schools push it like this. Luckily my boys don't mind tests but for those that do, the next few months are going to be very tough/stressful.
moved
Posts: 3826
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:42 pm
Location: Chelmsford and pleased

Re: SATs taking over!!

Post by moved »

We do maths and English in the mornings - two classes split into three groups and taught by class teachers and deputy head. PE carries on as before.
Intervention groups straight after lunch time taught by deputy head and head.
Afternoon for foundation subjects.
wonderwoman
Posts: 511
Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:07 pm

Re: SATs taking over!!

Post by wonderwoman »

No schools don't always do this - but a school in special measures will be under huge pressure and league tables add to this.
At the school I used to work at we did hardly any SAT prep, but parents still complained about the amount of time put into it. We used to do some practice questions building up to papers, giving exam tips and identifying areas that needed further work - only between Easter and SATs. The preparation only took place in during English and maths lessons and all other lessons and trips went on as normal.

The results were always excellent - however we once got a letter stating that we were a complacent school as our SAT results for level 4 (and above) had not improved. It is hard to get more than 100% to level 4!
optimisticmom
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2011 12:09 pm

Re: SATs taking over!!

Post by optimisticmom »

I don't remember my daughter telling me about SATS prep at our school in 2010 but then she had just finished the 11 plus so we were not paying that much attention as we felt she was in a good place after all that 11 plus preparation. My son is now in year 6 of the same school and they have had a SATS evening for the parents, a SATS folder for the kids which includes CPG books on Maths, Eng and SPAG. They do tests in class every week on these subjects using the past SATS papers that can be found online. They have also given the kids that are more able extended level 6 SATS work. They have also started booster classes once a week after school.

So yes onebigdilemma they seem to be doing plenty. It is one of the best primary schools in the borough and always has been.

I thank God that they are doing all this because it means I can chillax a little and to my amazement, my son seems to be quite compliant. I did tell him that all this hard extra work should not be a big deal for him seeing as he has also done the 11 plus preparation.

Optimisticmom
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: SATs taking over!!

Post by mystery »

The national curriculum sets out some basics that children will be tested on at the end of year 6 in maths and English. So I guess we would hope that they would always be doing some work that was heading towards being successful in these basics alongside the fuller curriculum. If the fuller curriculum suffers though, that's a shame.
MmeOgg
Posts: 153
Joined: Sun Oct 28, 2012 4:44 pm

Re: SATs taking over!!

Post by MmeOgg »

DD has just finished a week of mock SATs tests. She is exhausted, and dreading having to do it all again in a couple of months. I'll be very glad when it is all over.
J50
Posts: 296
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 10:35 am

Re: SATs taking over!!

Post by J50 »

DS is sick of hearing his teacher come out with comments all the time like, --If you don't work hard you won't do well in your SATS etc. etc. etkinc...

I see the KS2 SATs are listed for a week in May. What happens if you miss them either through genuine illness (always possible) or through fake illness (seems like a plan to me, may just take DS out of school for the week)??? Do they have to do them when they come back from being 'ill'?
loobylou
Posts: 2032
Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2014 5:04 pm

Re: SATs taking over!!

Post by loobylou »

That's sad. My dd did year 6 SATs last year and did the level 6s in the afternoons as well. The school was brilliantly laid back about it all, she loved doing the extra papers because they got extra snacks provided by the school and they didn't seem to notice any stress at all.... I guess it is school dependent.
(I think the ones that were absent due to illness just did them as soon as they came back. No one was off the entire week; I think a couple of people were off for 1 or 2 days).
J50
Posts: 296
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 10:35 am

Re: SATs taking over!!

Post by J50 »

They've already had two weeks of mocks, in September and January where he did all the Level 6 papers too. It just seems too much. But maybe that's from our perspective of sitting the January Indie exams also. Hard enough these days getting DS to go to school as he has the place for Sep and is learning nothing new and is totally bored and wants to quit. If they didn't have a great week away coming up in June I might be tempted to do that...
mitasol
Posts: 2756
Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:59 am

Re: SATs taking over!!

Post by mitasol »

There is some information about illness here https://www.gov.uk/key-stage-2-tests-ho ... or-illness" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
llness

Pupils who are ill on the day of a test are not expected to sit them. You should consider using a timetable variation if it is a minor illness and a pupil is not able to take the test later that day.

Timetable variations may allow a pupil to take a test up 5 school days after the published test date.

If a pupil doesn’t take a test because of illness, the pupil should be entered as absent on the attendance register.

Pupils who were ill but still took the test do not qualify for special consideration as they shouldn’t have taken the test if they were unwell.
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