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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not want ds2, (6) to do his SATS

91 replies

MsJamieFraser · 22/04/2016 21:02

Ds2 is below average in English and Maths, as we found out during a temper tantrum a few months ago, due to some kids being nasty and the teacher just stated "oh and and he's very behind where he should be" I started a thread about it at the time even tho his last report said he was above average...

ds2 will not pass his SATS, his teachers know this and I know this, I am angry his teacher has graded him a C in effort, even tho he does his best, goes to extra lessons, me and dh do extra lessons with him, and we even had a tutor until dh said fuck this, he fricking 6!

So I am wondering if I can demand that ds does not sit his SATS as we know he will not pass, so why put him through it when he is set to fail.

OP posts:

edwinbear · 22/04/2016 23:08

How can it be the case that all children have to sit them? DS (Y2) is at private school and none of them will take them.

AndNowItsSeven · 22/04/2016 23:10

In my lea if children are off sick they can't take them later.

Feenie · 22/04/2016 23:15

I'm a y2 teacher. I've taught for 20 odd years.

niddy · 22/04/2016 23:16

Sats are for the school and for political reasons only. Not about our children's education or well-being as a whole, sadly.
I can honestly say that a year later, I can't tell you what my child's results were. As important as it seemed at the time.

Feenie · 22/04/2016 23:16

I have ave very high standards.This curriculum surpasses them in many areas.

Feenie · 22/04/2016 23:18

That doesn't match the requirements of the ARA, andnowitsseven. Your moderators won't be able to justify that this year.

AndNowItsSeven · 22/04/2016 23:19

Sorry read it as year six days not age six

AndNowItsSeven · 22/04/2016 23:19

Sats not days!

Feenie · 22/04/2016 23:20

Have!

Feenie · 22/04/2016 23:22

Totally agree, Mrskcastle. Last night was a night of highs and lows - Prince died, then Spag was cancelled. Was convinced everything was a very strange dream.

CocktailQueen · 22/04/2016 23:23

Ds is in year 4. In year 2 he definitely knew they had SATS. For a week.

The teacher made a much bigger deal of them than she did 3 years earlier with dd. I've noticed a lot more pressure on dc in the past few years.

I hate it. It's totally ridiculous that 6yos are being tested. FFS. There must be more pressure on teachers too, and that's not fair on them either.

FearOfFlying · 22/04/2016 23:24

You have a right (I believe) to withdraw your child from SATS - but the school don't like it.

My dc are now at private school, and don't do SATS, but they do yearly 'tests' which seem to be done in a completely differnt way from SATS, and don't cause a flap at all. DS1 was at state primary school, did SATS - and oh, the fuss, the stress. Waste of time, and no good for the children.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 22/04/2016 23:27

I keep checking news sites for something we've missed. I still don't get why that announcement was made so late last night. I don't think the DfE usually release press statements after 9pm.

Feenie · 22/04/2016 23:28

But how can you remove your child for the whole of May, or remove your child from year long teacher assessment? Not possible.

Feenie · 22/04/2016 23:31

Yes, Rafa, as usual I agree. Have you seen the 'yours sincerily' stuff? The pressure is piling on. Good - now she knows what it feels like.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 22/04/2016 23:40

No, I haven't what's she done now?

YouTheCat · 22/04/2016 23:41

I showed dd some sample questions from the year 6 SPAG paper and she thought it was very, very difficult. She's 21 and has an English Language A level.

The reason schools pile it on over SATs is because if the required percentage don't get the grades OFSTED can put them in special measures and then force them to become academies. But that's all academic now as they're all going to be.

Now is the time to say 'no, fuck it, no more of this shit'. What the hell are they doing to these kids?

arethereanyleftatall · 22/04/2016 23:45

I really think, as parents, we should stop worrying about these tests.
No one will remember what the results were/are in a few years time, nothing will happen if a child fails (except possibly get more help, a good thing surely). There are y2 children who aren't even aware they're doing exams (as they shouldn't!) - dds friends span 4 different schools and none of them are aware. And also, I do t know how to write this without sounding like a twat, but would like to put forward the view that they might not be that difficult - as I asked dds teacher if she would pass, and she looked at me like I was bonkers and said yes.
Op - where you write - you know your ds will fail - is this what the teacher has said?

MrsKCastle · 22/04/2016 23:50

Are you a teacher feenie? Where you say it's a curriculum beyond this age group, is that from experience or from what you've read in the media?

Again, I agree with Feenie. I'm not as experienced a teacher, this is my 1st year in Y2, but I do have over 10 years experience.

For instance, any curriculum that expects 6 year olds to regularly write exclamation sentences such as 'What a wonderful day it was!' is expecting too much. They can do it; that particular example is pretty easy to teach, but it doesn't improve their writing, it's not a natural turn of phrase, it's just a complete box-ticking exercise. Exclamation sentences (with the strict official definition) are entirely inappropriate for children who should still be developing their vocabulary and their use of basic punctuation. A quick look at the writing exemplifications shows you that they're expecting too much. It's a similar story with maths. Surprisingly, I (personally) don't have a problem with the assessment framework being used this year for the reading, but I do have a real issue with the fact that the reading tests, which are supposed to help us make a judgement, bear no relation at all to the assessment framework.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 22/04/2016 23:51

It's not that's it's very, very difficult. Its more a question of whether it's necessary for children in year 6 to know all of that content. Some of it could easily be moved to ks3. And whether it's necessary to have a grammar test at 7 at all. (Leaving aside the thorny issue of exclamation sentences vs exclamation marks.)

Some of the subject vocab is awful and unnecessarily technical, but shouldn't be so much of an issue in future years as it is introduced more slowly.

MrsKCastle · 22/04/2016 23:53

And also, I do t know how to write this without sounding like a twat, but would like to put forward the view that they might not be that difficult

Have you looked at any of the sample tests, or the writing exemplifications online?

Effic · 22/04/2016 23:54

Feenie - what is the yours sincerily thing???

Andtherewere - glad your daughter is doing so well but trust me - these test are extremely difficult. The sample papers are available for everyone to see - just look it up on the gov website. What's a noun phrase, adverbial phrase and an exclamation sentence - for 6 years old who learned to write a year ago!
And the key stage 2 tests are a joke - Oxford PHD students can't do it all and are actually arguing over the answers to a couple. So yes - Feenie is right - they are way beyond most children

Feenie · 22/04/2016 23:58

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/22/big-red-mark-for-education-secretary-after-shes-caught-making-an/

arethereanyleftatall · 23/04/2016 00:08

Mrsk - I've just had a quick squizz. Yes, dd would have no problem with those. But the point I'm trying to make is that dd is not top of the class, she's doing well certainly, but only the same as plenty of others, it isn't out of their reach at all. And, most y2s are 7, not 6, or will be in May.
There are clearly lots of children who are not ready for these tests yet, but I think we shouldn't forget that lots of children are, they're hungry to learn.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 23/04/2016 00:10

There was a photo on twitter last night of a couple of pages from the DfE site, Including one containing the word 'achieveing' in a header.

I assume someone told them because that mistake has now been corrected.

Adding '-ing' is a KS1 suffix isn't it?
At this point I think they could do with a new proof-reader. Or possible just any proof reader.

Have you seen the TES article on the 14 grammar mistakes in the Education White Paper?

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