Are your year 6 children doing any Maths or English?

[AChickenCalledKorma]

DD2 reports that they have had "about 2" maths lessons since half term. They are having a good time doing all the things that they didn't do while they were being beaten over the head with SATs papers, from January to May. She's having a great time but for the first time ever I'm feeling concerned that she's going to have forgotten a lot of important stuff over the holidays.

What's going on in other year 6 classes? Are they all the same or do I need to contemplate some stealth maths over the summer??

[NaughtToThreeSadOnions]

None parent or teacher view, but in my experience as a Trainee TA and God parent.
Unless it is all craft and sport it's amazing how much stealth English and maths in to lessons.

Writing reports about the year 6 residentals, trail days at secondary schools etc is English, they should be applying the rules they've learnt.
Maths comes in when working out times for sports day etc, in other ways helping the teacher.

That's just my oppinion anyway

[LadyPenelope68]

I'm a Year 6 teacher. If you asked my class they'd probably tell you the same, that they aren't doing any maths lessons. What they haven't realised is the Murder Mystery Project and all the other projects they've been doing after break every morning are actually all maths! Just not formally learning and not writing in their books. Your DD is probably doing similar!

[AChickenCalledKorma]

Hm - good thoughts. I shall now change the line of my subtle questioning and try and work out whether her teachers have also embarked on "stealth maths". (They did have a business enterprise project last week ...)

Not too worried about english, because she reads and writes stories off her own bat. But maths has been a struggle for a long time and she was beginning to make some real progress. This school used to be very good at keeping the learning going right up to the end of term, to help with transition to secondary school. This year feels different.

[bojorojo]

Where I am a governor, we are still doing normal lessons! There are special days and events too. Sports Day, inter-school competitions, the week away to PGL, preparations for the leavers' concert and preparing for the school fete where Y6 children help with stalls. We do not keep total "nose the grindstone", but the timetable has not gone out of the window either! The last few weeks of Y6 is about the only time that there is an "end of term feeling" for children these days and I love that they are given special treats and their horizons are widened by our enrichment activities.

[PatriciaHolm]

I could write it all out again but - what bojorojo said ;-)

[misscph1973]

My DD in Year 6 has not done any maths or English since SATS at all. They are doing a play, they have PSHE, they are going on day trips and they have no home work. I think they deserve it after their hard work for SATS, and I am not worried.

[NaughtToThreeSadOnions]

Well miss the play is English so your daughter has done some English. You'll be suprised what the teachers get in as maths on day trips.

[AChickenCalledKorma]

I just wonder whether doing a bit of practical maths on field trips etc is really enough to keep skills ticking over till September. In the long term, the maths ability that DD is able to display in September is going to be much more significant to the way her secondary teachers view her than the SATs tests she did a few weeks ago. But if everyone's doing the same I will try not to worry about it.

[ParadiseCity]

DS is doing bugger all really. Today they did the play and talked about the war. There is a part of me worried that he will get to high school and be behind everyone else - BUT he is having the best time ever at school, so I'm just going with it. If he gets to high school and they say he is rubbish with maths I will do something about it at that point. He has proved he can learn and revise etc having done 11+ and SATs so I'm sure he can knuckle down when needed.

[Rhubardandcustard]

It will be fun stuff but still learning. So in my dd year 6 did afternoon tea for parents, had to work out how much ingredients they needed, how long to cook etc. After all the stresses of SATs I didn't mind, knowing that serious work was to start again in senior school come September. She still rememberd it all as it had been drummed into them so well by the time she left, she didn't forget it over the summer.

[NaughtToThreeSadOnions]

It will be more than enough, project work is not only fun but it reinforces what has been learnt and even introduces new techniques without the children noticing.

The business enterprise project will encompass maths English design art so much of what's been formally taught just fermenting it in the kids brains the same with the murder mystery project that's also been mentioned.

Yes her performance in September is going to matter more than her SATS, but that's the case wether or not she's doing project work now or not, and I presume she's still going to have what 6 weeks off? Unless she has a history of forgetting stuff that's been repeatedly taught and reinforced not just for the last year but in reality the last 7 years she's been at school because especially maths one skill builds on another. You say she's a reader on her own accord well she doesn't forget her phonics and how to read every summer just because she's not being actively taught them does she?! ao it's unlikely she's going to forget her mathematics.

[tiggytwig]

My DS has done absolutely noting since they have finished SATS. What they have done though is going through the Yr 6 leavers play. I have asked what they did everyday and the reply was noting really, but they did one day some science but it wasn't much and as DS's school wasn't one of the schools to be picked to do the SAT's science the teacher hasn't really concentrated on any science, which meant me going through science topics that DS should know before the start of secondary school. Also have got DS to keep up with maths and english by getting him to go over old SATs papers so that he doesn't forget what he has learnt.