To want dc sat at on a proper chair for their sats.

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

Dc tells me this morning that she is sat at these tables for her SATS. The children are spaced out around the hall on various set ups, and I get that it's hard fitting everyone in, but surely this is unacceptable?

Uncomfortable and really not suitable for sitting for hours doing tests.

I dont think yabu AT ALL.

BUT...

I dont think the sjool have a practical alternative as they need to treat all students the same.

So YANBU, but I think you'll be told no or your child will be singled out and the parents might talk about you "making a fuss" for a one off thing.

On balance...unlikely to get a change, not worth the fuss.

Oh give over. We're not sitting SATs here, and "sat" instead of sitting is perfectly acceptable dialect in several regions and perfectly understood. Fuck off with your wannabe posh South East England dull hegemony over language, I want to hear accents and dialect when I talk to people in the UK and read dialect terms on Mumsnet.

Oh, I used sat as in "allocated". Clearly that poster had a more comfortable chair than me when learning SPAG.

Either way, the use of the word doesn't seem to have caused any confusion over the content of my posts.

I dont think the sjool have a practical alternative as they need to treat all students the same

But the majority of the class are sitting in proper desk chairs at proper desks. How is dd being treated the same if she is sitting on a stool instead?

@SunshineLollipopsAndRainbows who made you the SPaG police 😂

Lots of people use ‘sat’. Even those southerners you seem to hate. It’s technically not correct, though. For anyone.

Anyway, I’m not getting embroiled. I was just explaining that poster’s post as there was clear confusion.

Wouldn't you say "I'm at Jane's wedding next week and I am being sat at the kids table...." eg?

Can anyone improve the tongue twister?

“She is sitting SATS on stools not fit for sitting on for SATS sat on for years by school children.”

It is a known fact that some girls are hitting puberty earlier or hitting their growth spurt earlier and kids are getting bigger so it is a fair point. I think they should make allowances for next year and have a good think about it. Most schools want to do well by their children.

The SPAG jokes around SATS time, lighten up everyone.

I think if you kick up a fuss about the chairs you may become that parent.

The key factor here would have been that my child had raised it i.e. it's an issue for them.

If a parent made a fuss about the seating when the child wasn't at all bothered then that would be unnecessary (unless that child had a reason which required their parent to step in and advocate for them on the issue).

I can assure you, I have not "kicked up a fuss". I had a quiet chat with the teacher at drop off to say that dd was uncomfortable sitting on the stools during the test and could they arrange a proper desk chair to be provided instead. To which they said yes, they would sort it.

Unless your child has an illness or disability preventing them from sitting on a seat like that, they will be just fine. I promise you her life won't be ruined if she's sat on a round stool.

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz If it wasn't for the fact that my dd has a female teacher not male I'd swear I was the mother of the tallest girl in your dd's class. Your description of the children's height is so similar. You'd never believe some of the boys are old enough to be going to secondary they are so small.

For those questioning the height there are 4 girls of roughly the same height with my dd just being the tallest

Not sure why height is being questioned. I was 5 ft 4 in Y6 in 1991. I'm still 5 ft 4

I was the tallest for that one year...

I wouldn't be so dramatic as to suggest her life would be ruined. I just don't think this is suitable furniture to be used for a week of exams.

It's very bad for their posture. I don't really approve of these being used for lunchtimes either. But they are. Definitely not suitable for SATS.

And SATS scores are looked at later for some things so it's not fair on these children not to be able to sit at an appropriate desk/table with chair, as some of their peers in other schools will be. YANBU.

it's very bad for their posture. I don't really approve of these being used for lunchtimes either. But they are. Definitely not suitable for SATS.

Can you explain why please?

@TheOrigRights have you ever sat on those tables? They are not comfortable.

I think we had them when I was at school. I don't recall any discomfort.
I was asking why they are bad for posture though.

@TheOrigRights I have found the gap between stool and table is quite large - especially for younger children - so they have to stretch and learn across to eat/do work (rather than just being able to pull a chair in closer).
For children such as the OPs (ie the taller children) the seats are very low so they are scrunched down.
(You also have to do that undignified climbing over to get into the seats)

lean across - not learn

No option to pull the chair into the table, and no lumbar support.

Yup - I can picture it better now (it's been a while since I was at school!).
Yes, it's a problem that the seats are fixed. I like to be tucked right in.
I don't think the lack of lumbar support per se is an issue for a child sitting for about 45 mins. As long as the feet are on the floor and the desk is at the right distance then stool sitting should be OK I think. Aren't chairs generally pretty bad for backs, whereas a stool helps your core.

Your DD was uncomfortable- you raised it with the school - they made her more comfortable. Job done. Is thank the school and suggest they don't use these tables for next years SATS.

Having used such tables, even as an adult, I don't find them uncomfortable, but I was playing bingo, or eating lunch, not concentrating on a test.

Because if covid DD spent the whole of Y11 on science lab stools. She hated it and still talks about it as part of her hard school life