Bad SATs Results

[Dramatic]

Our local school just released their SATs results, my friend has a child in year 6 and she shared a photo of her son's results and on the bottom it had the schools results with the pass rates for each subject in percentages.

Maths 32%
Reading 41%
Grammar 40%

Now I'm not one to think that test results are the be all and end all but these seem to be incredibly low. DH thinks I should just disregard them but AIBU to think about not sending our daughter there? It's just a Junior school so we have options to send her elsewhere in Year 3.

EHCP practice varies a lot though. The school I’m a governor at sits on the border between two counties and we have children resident in both. One LA pushes the school towards EHCPs and won’t fund anything without one. The other provides some funding without EHCPs so we have fewer children with EHCPs who live in that county.

And leaving that aside, cohorts can vary hugely, just at random. We have one class with six EHCPs but others with none.

Yes...I was thinking after I wrote my post that it might be a different type of plan.
About the third of the class had inhalers too.
I used to help on the class trips. The medical bag with the all the epi-pens, inhalers and vital medicines was a massive backpack.
Teachers are amazing people to have to deal with this and teach too 🙂

This years results were roughly 48% Maths, 51% Reading and 48% SPAG. This compares to 2024 results of high 70% Maths, low 80% reading and SPAG. 2023 results were similar to 2024. Next years results will likely be back up at levels similar to 2023 and 2024. 2027 will likely be another low year. This just proves my point that it’s not all about the teaching. The ehcps I mentioned are all high level of need, 4 of them on waiting lists for special schools.

Yep.

My son has an EHCP but no learning disability.

The other thing to remember as well, is that just like some posters on this thread, if some parents see those results they won't send their child there. If this means they have to go out of catchment, this will likely mean they have the means of getting their child there which possibly means they are not low level income,,have time and the means to help their child's education. Which leaves a certain demographic in the school.

An individual healthcare plan will be written with the school and parents (and possibly with input from healthcare providers)

An EHCP is via the local authority

It will be the 79% on free school meals, rather than just the EHCPs.

It is also a prime Covid cohort that was in Year 1/2 when school closures hit. That is prime foundation time for reading and basic maths for most children.

I would check the Phonics test results and the multiplication test results for the school to see if it is just this year 6 that is particularly low achieving.

I can tell you that in our top 100 nationally state primary for SATS and greater depth at over 60% in Maths/Grammar this year and over 50% GD in reading, it is the parents who do the supporting as much as the school.
There are massive differences in cohorts depending on how much reading, maths the parents do outside the school with their children. How often they go to the library, how much they limit junk food and screen time etc. Kids are only in school for 6 hours a day, they are at home for 18 hours, including holidays. Kids from advantaged backgrounds come back after the summer holidays full of experiences to write about and having read lots of books. Kids from deprived backgrounds often come back set back. Now imagine what Covid did to those kids and you have the poor results to show for it.

Thanks.
I realise now there's a difference.
It ironic really because many children that actually do need an ECHP don't get one at primary because they don't get a diagnosis of their needs/condition until secondary.

I would start researching other options for year 3 or before (if year 3 places are hard to come by in other schools). The scores are alarmingly low and indicate a cohort with low learning motivation. If I were you, I would compare these scores with previous years and other local schools and also attend an open event to find out how the school explains these results.

And that’s still much higher than the school posted in the OP. That’s the thing, results in the 50s/high 40s , with a tricky cohort, while slightly concerning, are understandable. Around half the class met ARE . I can understand and accept that (been there done that). We are talking low 30s here for Maths. Nearly 2/3 of the class didn’t meet ARE. The vast majority. Why are you and other posters pretending it’s not a big deal?

I work in a school in a deprived area with high numbers of FSM, PP , EAL and SEND kids. A lot of the time I’m in y6. Our results fluctuate between mid 50s to mid 80s. We had years where we had 8 kids in specialist provision on site , but still counted in the numbers, never mind the kids in the actual class with various needs. So yes, cohort can make a difference. Surely there is a point though where you can’t blame it all on the cohort.

@WhenYouSayNothingAtAll I suppose some of us were explaining that cohorts can make a difference, and looking at school context and previous results are a good idea. But I would be concerned by the maths results in particular.

I have seen results like that for local schools but that is usually because there may only be 3 pupils in Y6 and 2 of them had SEND or were disadvantaged, or were only just off 100.

That's going to have an impact on the results. If there are thirty in the class then 10 got as expected or above in maths, 12 in Reading and 12 in grammar.

But 28 in a class would change that to

Maths 9 children
Reading 11 children
Grammar 11 children

A child being off sick one day or a child with SEN would also skew the figures.

The most important things are is your child happy there and how will she progress?

My kids went to the local village primary. Tiny school - reception to year 6, and about 80 pupils in the whole school. It was a very nurturing school, big playing field, lots of forest school outdoor lessons etc. Also the SENCO was an excellent teacher, and word of her skills spread locally. So the school became the preferred option for a lot of kids with SEN. There’s also a nearby “showmen” site, fairground families, whose kids were away a lot.

It varied from year to year, but I always felt that the SATs results didn’t truly reflect the teaching standards at the school, because of the above extenuating circumstances.

Maybe a lot of kids in that year have SEN!

It can happen, especially if a school is doing really well and then everyone who has an EHCP puts it down

This is what worries me, surely even taking in to account children with SEN it should still be a lot higher than it is? I think I'll see how the results are next year and make a decision after that

What were their results for last year OP? If you put the school name in the gov website it will show you the 23/24 results.

You're absolutely right.

Another possibility, as other posters have suggested, is that the cohort might have far too many SEN kids. Cohorts can have a significant impact, and considering the school context along with past results is always a smart approach.

It says 32% passed Reading, writing and maths in 23/24

She’s only five, chill out. The range of ability is vast in KS1, especially reception. As long as you’re reading and writing with your child at home and are encouraging they’ll be fine.

That isn’t great…. to be honest, i would only stay in this school if it is indeed a “stealth special school” and my child fits the profile for this.
Some schools have amazing sends offers, and then are chosen by more parents of children with sends. But with such a consistently low rate of children reaching “expected “ i would be very careful with a non - sends child.