Advice for year 6 parents.

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My eldest is going into year 6. What advice would you give to a parent who has already been there? Thanks

If I could go back to Y6, I would advise DS to try less hard in his KS2 SATs. He did too well in them, which affected the targets he was given in secondary school.

Thanks to his high SATs scores, his KS4 and interim targets were set so high that however hard he worked, his report showed that he was under target ('helpfully' coloured in orange and red to look more alarming).

By Y9 his motivation and self-esteem had suffered and by Y10 he was suffering from anxiety and depression. The unachievable targets were not the only factor but they definitely contributed. He sat a reduced number of GCSEs and his grades were OK but nowhere near what he was capable of.

I agree not to focus overly on SATs. More important are all the other lifeskills that they will need in year 7. Encourage them to walk safely to and from school, to be able to catch a but or train on their own. Encourage them to be responsible for their own homework and organising their own school bags. Arrange a night or two away from home on their own visiting friends or family. Build their sense of themselves as capable, resilient individuals who are increasingly confident in that they can make good decisions for themselves.

Gradually over the course of year 6, they are preparing for the independence of secondary school in a non-pressured and fun way.

FFS bus

As pp's be blasé about SAT's, don't get your dc stressed about them.
Secondly, if they aren't already fairly independent, start letting them take responsibilty for their bags/pe kits, what they might need to take in etc.

Year 7 is quite a leap, the more self sufficient they are, the easier it will be.

If they can't tie shoe laces, teach them. They will soon be in shoes/trainers that only have laces, no velcro to hide behind.

Be ready for a stressy year so make sure they get lots of fresh air and sleep.

Other than SATS prep - which the school should advise you on anyway, Make sure they can swim and ride a bike.

There seemed to be a lot of pool-based birthday parties, and our school did bikeability after SATS.

Agree with the PPs who say to focus on independence and life skills rather than SATs.

Think ahead to Y7 and what their day might look like. Will they have to get a bus on their own, let themselves in, make themselves a snack...

Over Y6 start letting them do some of this - we started with DC going home ahead of us and just letting themselves in, going down to the shop for bread/milk, making a sandwich, getting their own uniform and kit ready the night before.

I would also suggest that Y6 is a good time for them to get into trouble in a 'safe' environment. After SATs we made it clear that we wouldn't keep on reminding DC about sports kit and homework. Like many parents we'd been guilty of doing/checking everything and we let the form teacher know what we were doing.

It was a good way for them to learn the consequences of not checking - yes they got a couple of 'telling offs' but I'd rather they learnt that with a teacher that they knew rather than waiting for a new school.

Encourage independence

Be aware that Y6 kids tend to be a bit evil to each other.

Don't stress about SATS or get caught up in 11+ worries if that isn't your thing.

Re secondary school admissions, try to avoid the stress effecting the kids. Take the line , what will be will be.

Agree with previous posters that Y6 is a good time to develop organisational skills and independence.

Mine had been walking to school unaccompanied from Y5, but in the summer of Y6 they started arranging to meet friends in the park.

Thanks! Lots of really helpful advice. Giving him more independence seems a great idea. I am still taking his brother and sister to school but I think him going to breakfast club alone might be an idea. Not ready for him to grow up yet! But can't hold his hand forever I guess xx

Mine has just finished y6. I found it an odd and rather unsettled year, we’re in an eleven plus area which meant the year kicked off with the stress of that for us.

Independence is definitely a key thing to be working on, in just over twelve months time a lot of them will be getting trains or busses by themselves to school, of having to walk a mile or two. We’re in the slightly unusual position of DD’s senior school being a five minute walk away, much closer than her primary was, but she’ll still be responsible for getting herself to and from there every day.

It’s also a good idea to talk about the fact that they might end up at different schools to some or all of their current friends. That’s something DDs still a bit upset about as the girls she’s going to secondary with have never been her close friendship group, but are close to one another.

Same situation here.. My son has an entrance exam end of September but theres 180 places and nearly a 1000 children apply so the chances of him getting in is pretty low. I think it is going to be an unsettling year too. He is quite a shy boy anyway I'm hoping his new independence might build up his confidence.

Agree with advice above. Also after SATS, let them have lots of fun with friends and activities. They have really worked hard. My son enjoyed it.

Try not to stress/put pressure on your own children, remember they are still really young. Tell them you love them no matter what and if they do not succeed in passing entrance exams it’s still ok. It won’t define their lives but there maybe a few tears, but I found the children move on from this pretty quickly.

Steer clear of competitive parents who want to brag about their child’s ability. They will do your head in!

Year 6 goes super fast, tell your child to enjoy it as it may well be the last time everyone in his or her class or year are all together.

Keep reminding him that, whatever the school says, the SATS results will never matter to him. Most secondary schools do CAT tests early in Y7 which they use for their targets (though apparently not all. Poor Bronzegate's DS.)
In addition to all the great advice given, be prepared for what I called Year Sixitis. Top of the school, they think they know it all and are the bees' knees, as my mother would say, and can become quite insufferable, especially where younger siblings are concerned (it was noticeably less so with my youngest). Without being mean, make sure they stay grounded so Y7 isn't too much of a shock.

My dcs' school uses the SAT results to set targets as state secondary schools are judged on pupils' progress from KS2 SATs to GCSE.
Luckily mine were set targets that were manageable for them. We aren't in an 11+ area though so they didn't have tutoring/coaching at primary school. Does that maybe give them a too high target that they can't maintain at high school? Just wondering how they would end up with a too high target?

I haven't got a tutor we are just doing an hour or so of the bond 11+ books per day. I think he would prefer to go the comprehensive school so he's not too stressed about the entrance exam. Sats may be another story though!

It hadn't occurred to me the 'year sixties' but it totally makes sense! I guess going from the oldest to the youngest is going to be a big shock!

We are just finished yr 6 and my DD found it frustrating and boring. They only did subjects that were covered by SATs, so French / topics they didn’t do until May. She did that many practice papers she was sick of SATs and sick of school. Her school was the biggest problem so might not be like that everywhere. She did great but she couldn’t wait to get out. Last time after leaver assembly she said get me out of here and walked off! I’m hoping secondary can undo some of the damage yr6 has caused her, she doesn’t want to hear the word SATs ever again