Ds not doing SATs. Anyone else?

[PeterAndJayne]

I had a meeting at the school tonight to review my sons IEP. Very little progress and they have told me they think it's best he doesn't do the SPAG, maths and Reading SATs in May. (he's year 6 for those that don't do SATs).

I spoke to him and he cried and said he is disappointed in himself I know SATs don't matter but the school is very high achieving and he feels a failure. However, I think the school are right in that he won't pass. In practice tests he's getting 3/30 on average or similar.

Has anyone had experience of this? How do we deal with it? I'd take him out and home school him but we are applying for a EHCP so I need him in the system as it were.

Background: Dyslexia working 3 years behind. Particulalrly bad at maths. Awful working memory. School didn't spot any of this until we paid for tests ourselves, 6 months ago despite that fact he failed every test they did in year 5. He had issues in previous years but no one ever said they were concerned.

I feel like a failure and whatever I say is wrong. I thought he'd be happy about not doing the SATs as he says he gets butterflies even thinking about them but it seems he considers himself as a failure for not doing them.

[malmontar]

The school aren’t allowed to not put him in just because they feel he won’t do well. They are worrying about their league tables and not your sons well being. They need to apply for access arrangements and let him sit the test as it will cause other problems in secondary school when teachers will say they can’t give him predicted grades because no sats (not that those matter but you don’t want the bother)

[bpisok]

Don't despair. SATs really don't matter at all....it's all down to trying what works best to help him.
It breaks my heart when you said he feels like a failure- my daughter was exactly the same. She could hardly read until she was 9. She has now finished her GCSEs with all As and A stars and has an academic scholarship for 6th form doing 3 essay based subjects including English (!!!) - she says that she wishes her 10 year old self could have seen how well she has done. Don't get me wrong, it's been an uphill battle, having to work twice as hard as everyone else and with many crisis of confidence along the way. She still can't spell and doesn't 'get' phonics at all.

SATs mean nothing in the real world.

Ps - get him using a laptop ASAP

[annie987]

The school are not thinking about their league tables as even children who are disapplied are included in any league table data at a minus value.
The SATs are statutory and the school can only disapply your son if he is working at a pre key stage level - i.e. year 2 level or below.
The school should really be doing the EHCP application, not you and they should’ve done it a long time ago by the sounds of it.