Or should school not be putting on extra lessons for the SATS?

[MHMIL]

Do all schools do this?

Child in Y6.

There's after school maths and before school english every week.

Is this why traditionally the school does well in the SATS in our area because it puts the kids under this extra pressure and others don't?

(My DC doesn't go to them. Exceeding in both anyway and already puts themselves under far too much pressure and has paid for clubs that I'm not willing for them to miss for tests that don't matter.)

My DC's primary put on extra lessons a couple of months before SATs. I think it's quite common. As long as they're not compulsory then what's the problem? Some children / parents will be happy to get the extra support.

They don't have to go. It is offered to parents for their child to attend if they wish extra, free, tuition for their child but it's not mandatory. SATS are not important, but if school was alerting me to the fact that my child may benefit from extra help, I would take them up on it.

Your child is exceeding in both subjects, so not important for you, but others may appreciate the help for their child.

This is the problem when schools are judged on results. Yr 6 teachers will also be judged on the results so of course they put extra lessons on etc.
Parents use SATS results as 1 way of choosing a school, in the same way as they use GSCE results to choose secondary schools.

Ours does. Two early mornings a week for maths.

Initial serting in y7 maybe done using sats.
Dc school has 4 sets of kids all exceeding on maths sats.
They have already moved a few higher scorers down. But it probably very hard to move up. Especially as lower sets move slower.
I do agree though school pushing them is probably unhelpful and is why a few have moved down.
I would say the sats arent difficult enough to differentiate who wull be able to do tricky maths

If your DC was struggling with maths/reading I would take them up on it, regardless of whether it helps them with SATS as will help them hit the ground running in Secondary school

Yes our primary did this.

It was a great school. My kids didn't feel pressurised by the school putting on the extra classes.

Only you as the parent know whether your child will benefit from them/feel pressured etc.

My sons school did. It wasn't compulsory, but it was recommended. I was happy for him to go as he struggled with maths and the extra time to go back over stuff was really beneficial.
During the exams the school opened up the breakfast club to all year 6 for free which my son liked even more as he got two breakfasts! He still eats like a hobbit.
He did pretty well in his SATS in the end.

Yes.

It's been done for at least 15 years.

I used to be against this sort of thing and yes it's supposed to be for the school.
However my dd did a short stint in an 11 plus school (different objectives and levels of course) and I was impressed at how her English comprehension came along when she was drilled in it.
She only did it for 2 months but it boosted her grades a lot.
So... Free extra lessons to help struggling children I think us a good thing

Unrealistically high sats scores will result in unrealistically high gcse target grades. Sats don’t benefit students in any way at all.

Our school does additional support lessons in maths and English from year 3 onwards; it's an hour after school once a week per subject. As far as I know (and I have one in y6 at the moment) they don't do anything additional for y6 SATS as they're offering that support from much much earlier. They're concentrating on exam technique at the moment, which is another important skill for them to learn.

Not all primary schools run booster sessions, compulsory or otherwise, no. I know some Y6 teachers who feel very strongly that putting on the pressure is counterproductive and offers no long-term benefit. Their results have always been pretty good.

Our school is doing an after-school SATS club. My DD is not going (exceeding so I’m really not bothered - she pressurises herself enough). I think the teachers have put some pressure on other children to attend (“you should be making this a priority” type questioning) which I think is not on.

Totally agree.

Our school doesn’t put on extra lessons but the children are drilled hard in lessons with extra daily homework. The school achieves great results. Unfortunately, the children then go on to secondary school and are put in to sets that are inappropriate and difficult for them.

My school does an extra morning session from 8-8:30 which nearly all children attend, it's very low pressure and the children love it. I wouldn't want to think I was putting them under undue pressure to perform.

I think the school is doing just fine.

Theyre providing extra classes free of charge for those who need it. It’s optional. No child wants to go up to secondary school not at the level that’s going to be expected when they get there.

The reason you don’t get it OP is that your child is exceeding. My first was like this. Massively exceeding, top of the class for everything. I would have thought “oh this isn't necessary, why cant they teach it in normal time" etc with her.

My youngest has ADHD and dyslexia and always gets "working towards" on his reports. We are lucky enough to be able to afford a tutor for him which has helped so much. I’ve seen the difference for other kids who can’t afford this too. If his school ran these sessions I’d be all over them.