How does a secondary school deal with an incoming y7 who hasnt done sats?

Dd went in to year 7 with no SATS. They only set for maths for the first year & put her in the middle set, she was moved up to the top set within 2 weeks. It shouldn't be an issue for a competent school. They did CAT tests half way through the first term but said that their purpose was to indentify potential underachievers rather than for setting.

Dd is now in y7 & I was amused at a recent parent's evening when I noticed that they have gone back in time to give her L5s in her KS2 SATS no-one was willing to admit responsibility for that - maybe it was the computer!

DD's school uses the SATS results for data tracking and initial setting. But they get tested all the time at high school so they would be able to use those results. They just wouldn't have the same start point as the other students.

Our school does tonnes & tonnes of fun activities in yr6 before SATs, There were a dozen fun not-SAT things DD did that yr before May. But sounds like some schools are just exam factories. :( I wonder if our school is so great because it's not 'Outstanding' or high achieving, to keep our local kids engaged they have to have a diverse activity approach.

The only way my sons' secondary school uses KS2 SAT results is to set targets.

They use their own tests to decide setting for Maths etc.

I completely understand your position about the KS2 SATs, but my younger children (both in Y6) would be very disappointed to miss the post-SATs activities. Amongst other things, they do a history project, produce a yearbook, put on an art exhibition, and put on a play.

Sats are secondary to CATs in some schools. They don't set until the CATs have been taken (in the first week).

Oh and they use the sats for setting initially along with cat test results.

My children's school uses the year 6 sat results to set end of year /stage targets. So high sats results, high target grades. They use them for value added data too. So ensures students are kept on track? Late developers though end up with lower targets so danger of coasting although the teachers have told me they like children who overachieve their targets as it makes them look good.

DS went to a private school y6-7 & started yr8 with no KS2 SATs. I said he had been high ability previously in a transfer letter, but I honestly have no idea how they placed him except that CATs were not involved. A good school will soon move them if they are in a mismatched set.

We test before they arrive and don't go on the sats for setting.

In these parts they don't go to Secondary until Year 8 so the SATS were a year ago. So they use the results forwarded by the middle school at the end of year 7.

But in the first few weeks of Secondary they do test after test and any assessments in order to gauge where they are up to.

My DS had not done sats as at private school.

Not a big deal, they make them all do CATs anyway.

It was also trial and error, for English they put him in bottom set then after 3 weeks moved him to middle set.

Most schools have a degree of flexibility abd use their own judgement