What to expect in assessments for reception?

[ricks]

Hi!

We have applied in Putney high for reception. They have a selection procedure through assessments and I want to know what they actually ask in these assessments? The open houses of some of these schools are misleading :( as i got this feedback from a friend who applied for Wimbledon high. Any information/help regarding verbal reasoning(what do they ask a preschooler in that), maths (what level they are expected to know). My (preschooler) DS is able to write her name but cant read much. Any suggestions how i can prepare her for the upcoming assessment next month. Also please let me know if i have missed any other important part of the assessment.
Any help is much appreciated.

Jackstarlight, to an extent I agree. I certainly wouldn't send my children to a school at 4 if I thought they'd have no chance of getting in at 7. To me that would mean it was not the right environment for them.

I sent them at 4 not because I thought they'd fail the 7+ but because I wanted to avoid the stress of it. It obviously varies from area to area but I know the 7+ in my area plus I have experience of it from teaching Y2 in another.

Thanks montysorry - I made that comment in the knowledge that my very bright children wouldn't have been able to do half the things in the list above as could hardly hold a pencil let alone write or draw. Dyspraxia was suspected in Reception when they were older than 4, and a diagnosis has never been made as there wouldn't have been any benefit to it and they would have had a label that wouldn't have helped either.

Thanks for all the informative responses I agree with all of you that year 4 assessments are more of luck than real assessments and should not be there. My DD right now is in an independent private school which didn't need any selection procedure but we did enrol her name quite early. We heard good things about Putney high school so really keen to make it.But, i am sure that rejection is more difficultfor the parent than child as for DC's it can be another play date(That's what I have told my DD).

It will be great if more experiences of such assessments can be shared. Thanks for all your valuable feedback!

Earwicga - a 'label' of dyspraxia would have got you some sessions with a NHS Occupational Therapist who could have helped your child with handwriting and other things...

And (in the state sector) would not have hurt your child one bit.

Perhaps IndigoBell, at the time the teacher (who was also a friend) said it wasn't bad enough to have gotten any additional help. All it would of gotten would of been a file on the classroom shelf of the SENCO with a big name level (I know this because I worked there). I was advised to do exercises etc. at home which I did and they helped.

Sorry for the derail.

Good luck to all doing these entrance exams/assessments.

DD recently did 4+ assessments and she generally loved the whole thing they make it fun and interesting for them. What we thought as the most suited school for her did offer her a place so I think they do know what they are doing. It was also the school that she most enjoyed the sessions with.

She can go to the school til she is 18 or leave earlier if we think its best. I am not choosing a school for her until she is 18 I am offering her the possibility of that option.

It is much easier to get in at 4 than at 7 or 11. It will not traumatise them for life.

Just bear in mind Fiddledede that if your DD does not keep up the academic pace she will be asked to leave. And will need to pass some sort of assessment to carry on at 11+.

No assessment at 11+ at her school, a few don't now. I also went to a school where girls were asked to leave, the handful that were asked wanted to leave themselves its the parents that were the problem.

I would pull my DD out before we got to the asked to leave stage - i wouldn't want my DD to be bumping at the bottom at such a school there are natural breaks at 7 and 11.

That's why I didn't want DD to go to a school that assesses at 4 as at that stage I had no idea if she would be academic or not.

At age 7 I did know and chose a school accordingly.

Incidentally, is your DDs school local to the one the OP is going for?

Just found this fascinating thread, terribly sorry to join the discussion so late.

@PinkElephantsOnParade:
Re: first-come first-served at highly sought after schools. As notrightnow points out, this method is effectively an assessment of the parents' knowledge, organizational skills, and the extent to which they value their children's education, among other attributes. If you're going assess the parents anyway, you might as well just do a full-blown interview of them and explicitly pick the attributes you're looking for.

Re: the school which allocates by lottery at 4+ and manages out those who aren't keeping up at 7+. I'm afraid I don't understand your horror. Would you prefer that they not offer a pre-prep and only select at 7+? Or would you prefer they adjust standards so that all 4+ entrants can remain?

Re: children who are not keeping up being asked to leave, and further hurdles at 11+. Actually, it doesn't end there. In another thread I asked why a third to a half of 16 year olds at City of London Girls School and South Hampstead High School leave for other sixth forms. The private feedback I've gotten indicates that at least some, and perhaps "many", are managed out at that stage as well.

@montysorry:
Re: your predictions of Y6 results in Reception. To what extent were your predictions correlated with attributes of the child and to what extent attributes of the parents, and to what extent was it not possible to distinguish attributes of the child from attributes of the parents, i.e., the attributes of the child being highly correlated with attributes of the parents?

Re: not sending a child to a school at 4+ if you are sure they would not get in at 7+. You indicated that, at Reception, the "vast majority" were "wait and see" or better. So only a few parents could be in a position to know their child wouldn't get in somewhere at 7+. The "vast majority" would seem to be justified in hoping for the best.

It is all grim, but then schools do need some way of deciding which 6 children to take (the only non-sib places available in my DS2's reception) out of the 250+ applicants. I reckon they weed out the really difficult/ clearly not suitable for maintstream/ likely to bite the teacher etc crew, which leaves 90%, and then it is just a fairly unscientific spread of boys and girls, winter and summers etc. They don't want a class full of tortured geniuses, nor nothing buy compliant little girls who colour in the lines, but aim for a mix.
Having said which, I still slightly resent the local school which only wait listed my DS1, whilst taking two of his friends - WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WOULD RATHER TEACH THEM THAN HIM!!!! - and that was about 5 years ago!
BTW they definitely don't select according to who can read. Encourage your daughter to shake hands, make eye contact and be friendly, and that is all you can really do.
good luck

If you choose to go private then these are the hoops you have to jump through I guess.

The 4+ / 5+ assessments are done through play so it isn't so stressful (for the child). There is an elememt of numbers and redaing but not massive amounts.