Sats week and Tonsillitis!

[STONER1]

Can someone give me some advice re Sats? My daughter is due to take them this year, but has been really unwell and is just suffering from her 4th bout of Tonsillitis and has missed some school. Her first date for a Tonsillectomy is 7th May, just before Sats! Do I let her have the op then or wait? She is getting Tonsillitis every 2 weeks, as soon as she comes off Antiboitics she gets Tonsillitis again, and seems to be getting more poorly each time. What will happen if she is ill during SATS week?

What ought to happen is that she stays in bed and looks after herself and leaves the SATS to look after themselves. She doesn't need them for anything.

This is what I wanted for my dd who was ill during SATS week. What actually happened was that her friend who was also ill got so hysterical at the thought of missing this (as she thought) important exam that her Mum rang the school to organise an examiner to come out to their house. So of course this person then did the rounds and dd had to dictate her SATS to her while lying flat in bed having done her back in as well as having a bad virus infection. I thought it was totally OTT, but couldn't really argue with the school as dd had had a lot of absences already and this other child was so desperately keen.

I still think your dd ought to be let off though.

When is SATS week?

They start 11th May, if that is the same across the country.
WE are told not to let the kids do any unnecessary activities during that week. but i certainly won't be abandoning the swimming lessons and football practice, it is a little ott. The sats results are used to stream the children going into year 7 this sept, but only temporarily as they then test them again and re set the groups some time after that. if your dd is not in year 6, I don't think the sats are as important. I believe they may be doing away with them anyway.But i wouldn't be postponing an op for them, It really wouldn't be the end of the world if she missed them, and certainly wouldn't cause her any educational disadvantage in the future.

I think SATs week will vary by school, cornsilk; ask at your school. Always sometime in May.

FFS, Stoner1, your DD's physical needs obviously come before school's SAT needs. Schedule what she needs, school can sod off if they don't like it (actually, you just inform them she's off for medical reasons and they will have to live with it). What are they going to do to her if they don't like it? I assume this is yr6, and she's out of there 7 weeks later anyway, they can hardly do much to either of you in the way of sanctions.

Most secondary schools ignore SAT results as some primary schools hot house are pushier than others. Quite often SAT results do not reflect a child's true ablity. Many secondary schools use CAT tests instead.

I think it would be best for your daughter to completely miss her SATS. Its not the end of the world and schools will have plenty of data available on her ablities.

Children who transfer from private schools/ home ed. / abroad do not have SAT results. Yet a good secondary school will slot the child into the right group.

Most secondary schools ignore SAT results as some primary schools hot house are pushier than others. Quite often SAT results do not reflect a child's true ablity. Many secondary schools use CAT tests instead.

I think it would be best for your daughter to completely miss her SATS. Its not the end of the world and schools will have plenty of data available on her ablities.

Children who transfer from private schools/ home ed. / abroad do not have SAT results. Yet a good secondary school will slot the child into the right group.

I agree with reallytired. We often don't get the SATs breakdown in time for sorting tutor groups or setting for Y7. Most schools re-test with CATs, as reallytired said (or something of similar ilk) and use this data anyway.

If your child is ill during SATs week, they're ill. It won't affect their sets as lots of kids enter without this data.

Hope she feels better soon.

If it is KS2 SATs, they will all be in the same week at every school in the country. If your duaghter is too poorly to take them, then she is too poorly! There are occasions when our HT has contacted parents to see whether a child is well enough to come in just to take a paper, but if they are not well enough, that's that!

Surely its better to use teacher assessment than to get a child who is unwell to sit SATS. A child who has a poor SAT result due to being ill is more likely to end up in the wrong set than a child who is setted by teacher assessment.

I hope your daughter is better soon.

The school have now informed me that they would like to send someone to our home on the monday so that my dd can sit sats at home! She only has the operation on Thursday and they want her to sit exams on the monday! Am i right in thinking that this is a little unreasonable!!!

Tell the school not a chance - shes recovering from an operation and they want her to take tests that have no effect on your dd whatsoever - tell them no way

I'm a secondary teacher. We ignore SATS. Not worth the paper printed on. May use them to get the vaguest notion of ability but would follow up with own assessments in school as usual for "bright" (high level SATS kids) to drop and "weak" (low level SATS kids) to start to shine in Y7. Kids coming to school with no SATS level would just be levelled on secondary school assessments which is a much more level playing field for the kids given some primary schools hothouse and some don't as much.

Also I missed my 14 year old SATS because of a migraine. Made no odds to me at all.
Tell the school to sod off.

I agree with everyone else, tell the school to sod off. They are not that important.

I would be absolutely furious about this. The SATS are for the school's benefit, not your child's.

How dare they suggest coming to your house. Your DD is not supposed to be exposed to infection for several weeks after the operation and will certainly not be feeling like doing exams!

Tell them this is not going to happen, in no uncertain terms!

I would politely tell them to shove it up their arse.

Alternatively offer to send someone round to their house 3 days after a major operation and ask a lot of meaningless, pointless questions.

How absolutely ridiculous! Tell them NO WAY.

Are they KS2 tests? If so, ring the secondary school your dd is due to go to in Sept and speak to someone sensible. Ask them how "essential" it is that they have a KS2 result for your dd. They will almost certainly say it matters diddly squat... and then you can tell the school to stick it where the sun don't shine.

Our school also largely ignore KS2 SATs. there are much more accurate results we can use.

Tell them to get stuffed.I thought the reason children were supposed to have 2 weeks off after a tonsillectomy was to prevent exposure to infection. You don't want some germy person from her school coming in and infecting her four days after surgery!

I missed SATS by about 20 odd years. It didn't affect me too badly.

I am deputyhead of a primary. SATS are for the benefit of the government. Schools want all their children to take them as absent children still count in their percentage (they have to otherwise teachers may keep less able children off school or prevent them completing the assessments to improve their results!) Keep your child off school and don't mention the dreaded S word to her. It is dreadful what they are doing! If the school ring up again tell them you will contact the national assessment agency regarding the matter! Hope your daughter gets well soon.

YANBU - tell school to forget it!

I am so sick of all this SATS crap. My daughter's school is excellent and hasn't been at all prescriptive - but some of the totally obsessive parents are getting into hyperdrive, banning sleepovers the weekend before and generally behaving in a totally over the top manner. I've just told dd1 to do what she can do and then come home and forget it. She is very bright, always has been, and I have a lot more faith in her ability to achieve and shine in a well rounded fashion than would be 'proved' to me by her flipping SATS results. They really won't tell me anything I don't know - or that isn't available to anybody who spends ten minutes with dd1. If I could exempt her I would without a second thought.

Well last year when my DS1 was in Yr6 he had a broken right arm and he had to have someone scribe for him and his friend who was off poorly with tonsillitis - the Head sent someone to the house with the papers towards the end of the week, although he really was not up to doing them.

bollocks to the SATS, whether ill or well, it matters not.

She shouldn't do them.
I don't think she's even allowed to do them at home. There are very strict rules about paper security and administration after cheating in recent years. I agree with happynewmummy that a gentle threat may be in order - 'I know someone who is a Primary Deputy Head and she was surprised you were suggesting this.' I like the idea of phoning the secondary school too.
They will use Teacher Assessment and anyone who cares about the results can look at those.
You could always accept the papers being sent round but then just say she was too ill at the time to do them.

Stoner - tell the school to fuck right off. How very dare they impose in this way?

Am I guessing that your daughter is at least average to above and so would boost the scores?

By the way, I am a teacher, a head of department and given targets to meet, but this stinks. Oh. And so do SATS.

Harrumph.

Agree with cory that you and your DD should worry about her health before worrying about her school's SATS results!