Ds asking about sats dont want him upset.

[Autismds2098]

Ds just finished year 6 at the end of their leavers assembly. He spoke about the sats he told parents their had been some sort of error and parents would be able to collect tjem from the school in August on a certain day. He also said how fantastic they had done as a whole they got 90% which is one of the best the school has had.

Ds felt happy about that. But i didn't collect his results the reason being is because hes working at year 1 level and I didn't want him upset when he realised his score would have been very low. But hes asked me a few times about getting them. Maybe it wasn't the best idea not to get them. But i was trying to protect him.

I'm not sure if i should try and get them or not would I be able to even if I didn't go on the day? I think i probably can because it was after the children broke up from school and people could have already booked holidays etc

Just say he did as you expected he would and you’re very proud of him. He won’t really understand the results anyway.

They are his results, so he's entitled to know what they are. At his age, he'll be aware he's working on a lower level than his peers (I struggled at primary, and I knew my work wasn't at the same standard as everyone else)

He won’t have sat them. He may have done some Year 1 end of year tests alongside them..? Results were delayed but they came out just before term ended for most schools in England (except Leicestershire) and parents got the results shortly afterwards either with the delayed end of year report or on a separate slip/email.

Are you absolutely sure he sat the actual Year 6 SATs?

I had 2 boys in my class working at Year 1 level and when the other children were doing the SATs papers, they were in the room with a workbook that they could access which I collected up with the other papers.

Has he seen his end of year 6 report? If not, then I would show him that - it will have the ‘Working Towards’ or ‘Working Below’ grade, but it will also have lots of positive stuff about how hard he’s worked and what a lovely boy he is.

Does he know he’s going to a Sen school and why? I think you need to call the school and speak to them, check what he sat, get his results, as this just ignoring it and hiding away is really not a good plan of action

This makes me very sad and angry.

SATs are an absolute disgrace and I wouldn’t trust Pearsons to run a jumble sale let alone an exam.

Tell your DS he did very well and can start year 7 with pride.

It’s years since I worked in a school with year 7 starters but my understanding is that KS2 data is a mixture of teachers assessment as well as SATs and they’ll know what to do.

It’s a long time ago now but I offered my DS days off instead of SATs but he wanted to do them because he felt sorry his teachers having all that pressure and then him not doing the exams.

I can’t remember what he got . It’s utterly irrelevant!

You’d be able to go in the school and collect them. Families will be on holidays at all points throughout August or have other arrangements. There is likely to be someone in school so I’d drop them an email and arrange a time.

that said - their new secondary school will have all this data too.

He's been asking for them so i assumed he did. Unless he was given something different that looked similar. He did mention his 121 would read the questions for him. But now I'm thinking that doesn't mean they were the SAT questions.

Why wasn’t he disapplied? It would be very unusual if he wasn’t if working pre key stage. You should have been informed though so if you haven’t that’s a bit rubbish in the school’s part.

I haven't been told a thing.

My DD “failed” her SATS. She will never, ever know this.

The damage it would have done to her, when she already had low self esteem wasn’t enough to warrant sharing that information.

He knows hes going to a school for children with autism. That there will be children that work in a similar way to him. So he won't feel like the only one. That there's no home work and he gets to leave early on a Friday.

Sorry for your DD 💐

This is what I'm thinking to.

Controversial, but SATS don’t matter.

DD is now going into Year 9, is doing ok, won’t ever be top of the class, will probably just about pass her GCSE’s but she tries really hard and works really hard.

No one on a job interview will ever ask how were your SATS? So they don’t matter.

I can see why you’re thinking the way you are then as he already knows he finds things difficult.

I would approach it as the results won’t tell him anything he doesn’t already
know. However - he has to remember everyone learns differently. And he learns differently and will be going to a school that helps him learn his way. Tell him you’d much rather he focussed on how the new school will help.

It is hard when children become aware they are different.

From the beginning of talk around sats I made it clear to my DD that they were to check the school is teaching properly, and that it was no judgement on her. That as she know, her dyslexia means these sorts of tests aren't the right way of checking school is supporting her properly (she was withdrawn from the so called comprehension paper that she could have passed if read to her).

I did her a card etc for working so hard for them, and celebrated her sitting them at all as that wasn't a given. Then did my best to forget about them.

Could you tell him his new school says they don't matter and his old school said that he tried his best? Wave it away without lying as much as possible.
Id complain to the primary about the position they put you in. If he did an alternative test, you should have been told.

I’m wondering if the words/numbers on the result sheet will mean anything to him anyway- eg WT/scaled score /27. It’s not like it says pass or fail.
I suspect a glance at the sheet, a “ well done” from you and a celebration ice cream with a friend will be enough. If he’s working at a Y1 level he won’t be deciphering words like “ scaled score”.
Let him collect his sheet if it’s important to him.

I have 2 ds one did sats and the other did the Wales equivalent in year 6. Neither have sen but neither were told what their results were. I simply told them that did absolutely fine, i had been clear with them in the run up that these were for their next school and were not important. Others may feel that this was the wrong approach but they never asked about them other than did they do ok. I think you have to approach this now in a way that makes him feel ok without giving him actual scores, he obviously wants to know he did ok and he may have done for him.

We always went with the explanation that sats weren't important for the pupils, they were just there to check what the school and teachers were doing.

This makes no sense at all. If he is working at year one level then he wouldn't have sat the SATs. He wouldn't have been able to answer a single question or read the texts. He might know he needs extra help, but not understand the full extent. But he'd know if he sat in a room for an hour not writing a single thing. They wouldn't even enter him for it.

Tell him you got them and he’s made lots of progress in year 6. That’s the most important thing, progress really.
I can’t see a Y1 answering any Y6 SATS questions tbh. Are you absolutely sure he did them?

My children both have dyslexia/ dyspraxia/ ADD, and in their small school both could be picked out individually from the anonymous class results because they were at the bottom,by quite some margin.
But it wasn’t a good predictor of how they did at Secondary school, we didn’t talk about it, we knew how their learning was and SATs IMO are to look at what schools are doing.
I think that’s what I’d say to my DC now - we don’t need the exact results though some parents like to have them, they are for the school.We know the things you have worked hard at this year,and your new school will check what you are good at and what’s a bit harder so they can help you learn when you start in September.

I'm totally positive that he won't have actually been entered for the Y6 SATs if he's working at Y1 level. The school will most likely have given him something else to do and he thought that he was doing the same tests as everybody else.

I would tell him that the scores weren't important and just to check the school was teaching the work properly, and his new school won't need SATs results anyway. And that you're pleased with how hard he's worked.

Tell him that you’ve checked with the school, but his new school don’t need them like the other schools do so the school didn’t get his ready. If he persists, contact the school and ask them to make a certificate or something that says ‘Harry did his best in his end of year 6 tests’. They will do it, and he’ll be happy and it won’t be a lie.