Taking DS on holiday 2weeks before SATS 2020

[Beanybye]

We’ve booked a much needed family holiday to Florida for next April. It’s a once in a life time trip and the only way we could afford it is to go during term time.

DS is a bright lad,no concerns raised about his academic ability. I can’t remember the terms they use now but he’s ‘above’ where he ‘should be’ in maths and reading and at the ‘right’ level in writing. Not that any of that’s relevant.

Anyway, this holiday is 2 weeks after Easter so he’ll be off for a month then in school for a week and then it’s SATS.

At first I wasn’t bothered, DS gets stressed about these assessments so missing the build up to it (i think) will be a good thing. School don’t use it for secondary school streaming it’s used for league tables.

Being a goody goody myself I’m now a bit worried they’ll give me a hard time over it. Any experience? I don’t want to give you all a sob story but this holiday means a lot to us.

My DCs primary specifically requested us not to take time off before y6 SATS, it was in each halftermly class newsletter from the start of y6 so the DCs were fully aware of this, mine would have found it stressful knowing they were going against school request.

What do schools do if children are off ill during SATS?

If my DC were in year 6 I would boycott the SATs.

With respect, it’s not teachers who are answerable to the local authority, and ultimately the DfE, for unauthorised absences. They can adopt whatever “attitude” they want - it’s not their job on the line if the school is placed in special measures because of poor attendance.

Have you followed the teaching job vacancies after a school goes into special measure...very often a huge 'clear out' of teachers. Teaching jobs very much on the line.

(along with senior leaders).

Attendance and SATS results are used to beat us all, by the DfE and OFSTED.

I have a child in year 6. They do practice papers every single day! My DD who is very academic and loves school is sick to death of the daily mocks. She is tired and stressed.
For the record she is not shy of hard work and practiced and passed her 11+.
The amount of pressure school have put on the kids about their SATS is ridiculous!
When I did my SATs we did a weekly practice and it was so relaxed I never really felt stressed.

If I had the opportunity to take her away I think I would! Purely because of the stress she is going through.

She has other life stresses (her dad is extremely poorly and is in a bad state of health, the added pressure on her is just not ok! From what you have put in your OP it seems that things have not been easy for you! Just do it! I wish I had!

Family - that's fair enough for Headteachers and local authorities to be concerned about these things.

But, as I said, it's actually other parents who seem to get most riled in my experience. On MN and in real life.

And a two week term time holiday is not normally enough to trigger issues with school attendance. That comes from far greater issues generally and is a lot more complex and involved than a family deciding to go to Florida for a fortnight.

Im not going to get bothered about families taking a family holiday, and I'm not going to get worked up about SATs, which are on the whole a minor aspect of a young child's education, and had little bearing in their future.

Have you followed the teaching job vacancies after a school goes into special measure...very often a huge 'clear out' of teachers. Teaching jobs very much on the line.

I’ve worked in a school that was placed in special measures and my DC went to another. The heads of both were sacked. Teachers could choose to stay or go.

But my point was that a teacher can support term time absences all they like because their job doesn’t depend on meeting the government’s attendance targets.

If SATS are sigh a massive deal why don’t private schools do them?

I’ve noticed an increase generally in talk of SATS, businesses offering tutoring, parents doing extra homework, books being bought.

As a governor I understand that SATS are important to the school. If the school has done its job well then children shouldn’t be getting worked up, parents shouldn’t be anguishing. The Head and the SMT, all the staff in fact, put a lot of work into getting the best from the teachers and the curriculum. Parents judge the school on the results. That’s the job of the school. We also want to have happy children who enjoy school and benefit in all areas of their lives.

But, We also are seeing an increase in anxiety in children as well. We’re seeing more MH issues, particularly in Year 6.

Take your DC to Florida. Give them the time of their lives.

And a two week term time holiday is not normally enough to trigger issues with school attendance.

An unauthorised absence of two weeks at a time when parents have been specifically asked not to take their child out of school would definitely trigger a meeting with the head teacher in my school.

I’m still confused why the OP didn’t book the holiday for after SATs if she was set on a term-time holiday. Any thoughts on that, OP?

If SATS are sigh a massive deal why don’t private schools do them?

Presumably because
a) the paying customers (parents) don't want them
b) the schools are judged on destination of leavers

With state schools
a) the government pays
b) SATs the means to judge academic performance

If JC gets rid of SATs he still says he will replace them with other means of judging academics of schools. It will be interesting to see what that will be in a way that can't be biased by the individual schools/teachers.

I really don't think its ok for you to take it at that time. Yes, if he'd bright he'll almost certainly still do ok but his SATS, but what a poor life lesson.

The school will be preparing the children and telling them how important the build up is but you'll be telling your son that he can just swan off on holiday and ignore everything the school are telling him. Hardly setting him up to take work and responsibility seriously.

I say this as someone who doesn't think SATs should take place in year 6!

If you can't afford the holiday at any other time, then you can't afford it. I couldn't just bunk off work whenever I choose and then just tell my boss it was the only way I could afford the holiday I really wanted.

I’ve worked in a school that was placed in special measures and my DC went to another. The heads of both were sacked. Teachers could choose to stay or go.
*
But my point was that a teacher can support term time absences all they like because their job doesn’t depend on meeting the government’s attendance targets.*

As an education professional who works across many ( LA maintained) schools, including a huge focus on those in special measures, it is more complicated. High absence rates more often than not are another indicator of lax practice throughout, low expectations of all. In a rigorous system class teachers are held responsible for holding families to account for absence. Of course any resulting low SATS results are unfortunately an issue for the class teacher and for the school regarding league tables.

As far as teachers could choose to stay or go - certainly more complicated than that...HR policies, targets, timescales kick in for underperforming teachers who in SM school would be under significant scrutiny around standards of teaching, learning and outcomes.

I'm not saying I agree with the focus on SATS, but this government gives no choice. That isn't about the individual child but about a system with which to scrutinize teachers.

In a rigorous system class teachers are held responsible for holding families to account for absence.

That has never happened in any of the schools I’ve worked in in my LA, where the head teacher leads on attendance and I support her as a family support worker.

Teachers can - and do - communicate with parents about the importance of good attendance, especially during assessment periods and as a community school, we all play our part in whole-school issues.

But “holding to account” comes from the head teacher, and she and I work directly with parents, referring to the LA’s Education Welfare officers where there is a particularly intractable problem.

Whether there should be SATS or not is a separate debate but no school or teacher should be putting 10 year olds under pressure. Year 6 isn’t just SATS. The material should be taught throughout the year and in a good school there wouldn’t be this period of endless practice papers, homework over the holidays etc. There have been articles in the papers of schools holding extra lessons over the holidays and children coming into school early for extra practice time.

Either the children know the work or they don’t. Coaching in the last few weeks isn’t a true reflection of their ability.

FamilyOfAliens it’s a holiday with extended family, one of which can’t choose their annual leave due to the nature of their job. As I said in my OP, it’s a once in a life time trip and these were the only dates everyone could do.

Given the way that primary schools game SATS if he isn't going to do well the last four weeks before the exam aren't going to jump his grade that much/

I just want to reiterate the post upthread about the child who scored highly in SATs then being told he was a failure throughout secondary to the detriment of his mental health due to the excessively high targets he was then set. Over and over again, I have had hardworking and bright children distraught every single term when monitoring comes home and theirs is all red and orange despite their high attainment and engagement. It is so hugely damaging. I’ll say it again, it is far better for high ability students to underperform in SATs. Getting high marks in SATs is very likely to cause a lot of anxiety, frustration, misery and ultimately massive disengagement and disillusionment with education before they get to GCSEs. I think taking your child on a holiday of a lifetime before, or even better, during the SATs is one of the best things you can do for them. And, like Aragog, I would never criticise, judge or guilt trip a parent or child for doing this.

Eurgh. DD just had to do 2 weeks of Easter school in preparation for the SATs. She really resented it. It'll probably do him good.

Two weeks is a lot for any child to miss of school.

Rightly or wrongly, SATs results form the basis of Ofsted gradings and league tables which parents use to choose schools. Poor SATs results leads to falling rolls and less funding so there is huge pressure on everyone in school to get good results. That won't have much bearing on you, but that is why the school will be annoyed.

CaptainBrickbeard this message will stay with me as it’s something I’ve had direct experience of and I can see that it’s happened to DS in the past too.

@PhilomenaButterfly - why did your DD do school over the holidays?

Why Philomenabutterfly?

FamilyOfAliens it’s a holiday with extended family, one of which can’t choose their annual leave due to the nature of their job. As I said in my OP, it’s a once in a life time trip and these were the only dates everyone could do.

What a shame your extended family are happy for your child to be the one to make the compromise.

@FamilyOfAliens - I don’t think the OP’s DC is compromising - they are off on an amazing holiday - I imagine his classmates will be very jealous.