SAT's

[Lauralouu1]

My daughter is doing SAT's nxt yr 2012, but we want to go away on holiday to Florida, the dates we can go go and prices etc mean that SATs will probably clash? Husband says they don't matter for her anyway it's more about the school. I feel torn..I don't agree with tests/ quizez extra pressure at this age but don't want to do her a misservice!
HELP!

Keystage 1 she is 6 will be 7 then.

Have the school given you the SATs dates, or are you guessing? It's just that I know the assessments can happen at any time over quite a long period.

Have you put in a holiday request with the school yet? That might draw more information from them.

The school are being usually vague which in their defence they don't know when they will be! May is the usual time so guessing really but with previous yrs to back it up. Can't put in a request until we have bkd but don't want to bk until we have dates so we can at least try and avoid SATs however every week we delay price increases!

I didn't think schools did KS1 SATs on a particular date (unlike KS2 ones). Certainly our school isn't - it is spreading them over several weeks. So I'm guessing that they could let your DD do the papers at a later/earlier date.

However, if you are going vaguely around SATs time (May?), it is VERY likely that your holiday request is not going to be approved anyway (our HT has been refusing to approve any Y2 holiday requests since January) - presuming you are prepared to take it as unauthorised absence?

Informal assessments take in Yr 2 take place throughout the first half of the summer term. Many teachers push them back as late as they can, allowing enough time to fit them all in. At Year 6, they all take place in one week, round about the 10th May. It is those results that are, at the moment, published and are used to judge the school. KS1 results are less public, although still available and used.
You will be very unpopular with the school if you take an unauthorised holiday at this time. There is no way they will authorise it.

I know that we will be unpopular but if they do not authorise they will presumably be able to fine us £100 per child- I have two....but as far as I can work out this is the only real consequence..

Other than the obvious, my daughter not sitting the Sats...

Anyway what happened to them being OUR children!!!

I know, I agree. This nanny-state business makes me very cross, and I speak as a teacher!

Our school spreads the key stage SATs out over a month, it is not quite the same as KS2 SATs, they are only a part of the whole assessment system.
Our school produces good results and is a fantastic school, they are not massively keen on the whole SAT system but that is what they have to work with even with the attitude to the tests our school takes they would not authorise holiday in May, they are very very strict about holiday authorisation as it is for all year groups (more relaxed in reception though). I think I would look into delaying for a year and going in a not statutory SAT year, much more chance of getting authorised.
If you choose to educate your children in the state system you choose to abide by the rules of that system, it is not ideal in many cases but they can't make rules that will suit everybody and a child being out of school in term time effects all the others in the class, not just the child on holiday (IMO).

Your husband is right that it is more about the school than the child at KS1.

But that's not really the point. Don't you want to support your school? You know, the place that educates your children where they spend a huge amount of time in their childhood?

I think it would be very selfish of you to go when SAT's are on, and I'm not sure I even agree with the whole SAT system in the first place. Why can't you go in April, or delay it for a year?

Yes, they are your children, but they are also part of a school and part of a community.

Key Stage 1 assessments are a teacher assessment. Your child is assessed constantly at school from Reception to Year 6 - the only difference in Y2 is the fact that it is reported to parents and a tiny part of the evidence we use has to come from a test. That's it. There is no reason to stress at all, unless your dc are in one of the dwindling minority of schools who over-emphasise the test result (despite all conflicting advice from the government, Ofsted and LEAs). Some schools do still like to give a certain dates when they will complete the more formal part of the assessments, but they are still able to assess children who are absent for this because so much of the evidence is drawn from different sources.

To the OP - your daughter will still be assessed throughout the year, whether you go away or not, just like any other school year. So don't worry.

I think to call me selfish- bubblecorral is incredibly rude- how do you know what I am like. Everything I do is for my two children! I have spoken to the welfare officer whom is the person that advises the head teachers on how to react to abscenses etc and he agrees they will get far more out of a holiday abroad than doing SATs at school keystage 1, he does not see the problem at all and will advise the headteacher so.

I am on the PTA possibly going to be a governor and have engaged a huge proportion of other parents to bring them to school events etc to huge personal sacrifice so NO I do not think I am selfish and am quite frankly insulted!"!!!
I think that by asking for some general discussion is what it should be and not a assination of someones personality!

There isn't a set date for KS1 (year2) SATs they can be done at any point in the school yea so there is no clash. She can do the tests before or after she goes on holiday no problem.

To be fair to bubblecoral, I think she was referring to your comment about it being 'more about the school' - it seems at odds with your assertions about your support for the school. As we have explained, it won't actually affect the school or your child at all given the nature of how the assessment is carried out - but you didn't know that when you posted the comment.

I would have agreed with her if we were discussing Y6 tests and if you felt the same way - very different situation, of course.

Erm, instead of jumping on an insult that doesn't exist, why don't you try reading what I actually wrote?

I did not say you are selfish.

I said an action that hasn't even happened would be selfish if it did happen. That's my opinion. If you don't want peoples opinions, don't post on a public forum.

OP if you are considering becoming a Governor you may need to think about how you will respond to possible conflicts such as wanting to take a child out of school for a holiday when the school has a policy or view that such absence will not be authorised. Also, as a Governor, you will, collectively, be held to account for the school's performance and that includes SATs results.

Cripes! As a CoG I would not be deeply disappointed if you as a fellow governor and I suspect a PG were intending to take unauthorised leave for your children during term time. Our PGs have all agreed that they will set an example to other parents.

Also, what is this about £100 fine... who has agreed that they school may levy such a fine? They have no right to do so.

At the end of the day it is your decision, but remember that the time that you take them out of school can never be regained.

"I have spoken to the welfare officer whom is the person that advises the head teachers on how to react to abscenses etc and he agrees they will get far more out of a holiday abroad than doing SATs at school keystage 1, he does not see the problem at all and will advise the headteacher so."

How extraordinarily unprofessional of him. So unprofessional that I find it hard to believe he said any such thing!

You beat me to it, seeker. Bearing in mind that a major part of a welfare officer's remit is concerned with attendance, I find it staggering that one would condone a holiday in term time and advise the headteacher to overlook it????

Our school now fine parents £50 per 1/2 day session per parent per child for unauthorised absences. They do have the right, apparently. So for 2 children 2 parents for one week costs £50x10 sessions x 2 children x 2 parents = £2,000! Has to be a huge saving to be worth it!

Why are the parents fined as well?

Where is this, Ellen, and is it a state school?

LEAs have the power to fine parents for unauthorized absences if individual schools want to use it. Increasingly schools are signing up for this "penalty notice' scheme - usually as a last resort because nothing else seems to stop parents taking children out of school whenever they want - regardless of the consequences educationally or socially for the child.

It's a state school in Gloucestershire. I think so far the threat has been enough and haven't heard of anyone being fined. The school has a really good attendance record, so I'm not sure why they thought they needed to introduce it.

It's only the parents who are fined, RoadArt. Single parents just get fined half as much, is all. Who did you think was being fined? It's the school fining the parents for taking their children out for unauthorised absence.

Wow, ellen! Now that sort of fine is probably a deterrent!
Out of interest, where/who authorises schools to levy these fines? Are they legal? Coz, as some of us pointed out earlier, at the end of the day we are the parents, they're our children, so isn't it up to us how we spend our time?
It would seem not.