Does work drop off in year 6?

[fucketyfuckwit]

Dd (10) has recently gone into year 6.

She had the same teacher for 4 years in a row who seemed to work them really hard (which was a good thing, they loved him and worked hard for him).

Her new teacher for year 6 seems to like to just let them work from SATS revision books. Homework is just one page of maths and one page for English once a week. They have to read a chapter about 3 times a week.

My feeling is that the standard of the teaching has dropped at the time when they need it most.

I understand that it's SATS this year but it seems such an easy ride compared to previous years.

I would have thought they would be ramping it all up for secondary school?

Is this normal?

Mine are quite a bit older at 15 and 16 but I found they were worked hard in year 6 with extra afterschool classes and extra homework and then in year 7 it felt like they were abandoned.

That's what I have heard too so I was surprised that suddenly she is getting an easy ride.

She is going private next year and I'm half tempted to get her in now instead!

Anyone else? 😁

My DD is in Yr 6.

Her teacher eased them into things for the first week or so but things have ramped up since then. DD says that they are definitely doing much more work than last year.

The teacher is making sure that there aren't any gaps in their knowledge after the lockdowns but no SATs revision workbooks.

The teacher expects them to read at least 3 times a week at home (as well as the daily reading in class) but has said that it would be great if they could read more than that.

Homework has only just started but there are 3 pieces each week as well as spellings. It's also a lot more in-depth than it was last year. They have to work through set tasks rather than just complete a worksheet.

Year 6 has really ramped up for our DC. End of last year post lockdown was relatively relaxed but this year they are very focused on SATS but also plenty of other work too.

Sats IS a big deal in yr 6, and it's mentioned a lot, but actual prepping for sats doesn't usually start til after Christmas hols or Feb half term.

Surprised they're not still catching up from all the work missed/embedded due to covid lockdowns

We had extra maths and english lesson before and after school (DD only did maths) plus weekly homework for both, volume depended on the topic and how much they covered in school but normally enough to keep her going for an hour each evening as it was given out on Monday to be handed in on Thursday.

They were asked to read but the school was big into reading anyway and luckily DD is a bookworm.

They had holiday homework from October half term onwards, "voluntarily" but if they didn't do it it became suddenly additional homework.

Honestly, Y7 was a breeze after that.

Just out of curiosity, why are SATs such a big deal in yr6?
My children are in private education so we are oblivious of the world of SATS and dont have the same testing regime. I wonder if we are missing out on something.

@iwanttobeonleave

Just out of curiosity, why are SATs such a big deal in yr6? My children are in private education so we are oblivious of the world of SATS and dont have the same testing regime. I wonder if we are missing out on something.

Because schools are judged/measured on them.

@Rogue1001

Sats IS a big deal in yr 6, and it's mentioned a lot, but actual prepping for sats doesn't usually start til after Christmas hols or Feb half term.

Surprised they're not still catching up from all the work missed/embedded due to covid lockdowns

I don't think they missed much during lockdown. It's quite a small School and they were on it straight away with a full daily timetable.