Is Y6, post SATS a bit of a waste of time at your school?

[LittenTree]

I know, I know, done to death every year, so sorry!...but- I really felt DS1 was marking time for that last term (he's Y8 now, but DS2 is in Y6 now). The school are a bit SATS obsessed (and League Table conscious, but that's only because they reflect local MC expectations, so I can't blame them!). I think the school may be 'outstanding' or close (I seriously don't know, right now!) and I am happy with it BUT I must say the other primary which serves the south end of our frightfully naice , MC estate does waaay more with their Y6s, post SATS. They go on a week's 'enrichment' trip to London, they have performers in, they do lots of fun and educational stuff- they seem to develop the DCs beyond the academe of SATS, iyswim; whereas DS1 appeared to watch videos for a term! No, not 'appeared', did. I sent him off every morning and questioned him every afternoon, like any mum does.

I recognise the 'but not all parents can afford it' but a) really the vast majority on this estate can, and b) not everything has to 'cost', does it? I mean, they could ask parents in who can teach or demonstrate something new to the DCs; they could have a 'try a new sport' week, they could get the (interested) kids to write and perform a play in that term (we have the heavily subsidised use of a professional theatre at the linked secondary), they could do an intensive language course, they could camp for a couple of nights in the school grounds, they could teach them to touch type, to orienteer; they could have a savings scheme running all year to pay for the extras.

FWIW I discovered that the SATS are in mid-May this year which won't serve DS2 well as he is a plodder and won't 'learn' anything unless pressurised to do so- he'll be functionally illiterate by September and secondary school! We are thinking about taking the boys out of school for a week for a summer holiday, anyway, but I personally would like the opportunity to even HS him, if I didn't work (0.75 fte) PT, to 'enrich' his experience if it didn't mean singling him out and removing him from the social aspects of school- but I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling this!

Yes, and 'back then' DCs went down mines at 14!

In the same way as teaching, or the theory thus practice of how children learn has moved on since sitting in rows, chalk and talk, we can see that one size does no longer fit all. How we can far better provide for each learning and developmental stage of our DCs lives by differentiating between 5 and 11, 11 and 15. Which can often mean differing class room layouts, different playground layouts, different science, MFL, craft and tech provision.

You are unlikely to find that all in one school!

Our 11 year old boys - and girls - are allowed to kick a ball or run. We have 11 year olds as playground instructors who teach games to 6 year olds at playtime, too. Works well, and they interact brilliantly.

I'm afraid I'm not that old LittenTree ... school leaving age was 16 the same as today.

I didn't sit in rows and have chalk and talk either, very hands on with lots of outdoor learning, not at all dissimilar to good practice to day when I think about it.

Littentree, the school you describe is nothing like DSs primary school. They have proper ICT suites with no hint of a leap pad anywhere in the whole school. Cookery facilities are using proper equipment for all years and there are sections of the playground where both girls and boys are allowed to kick a ball about.

We also have an ICT suite as well as class sets of laptops and a room equipped as a normal kitchen for cookery, a large library (with internet connection) for research and quite study. Children in the upper juniors are taught by subject specialists much as they will be in secondary so move to the teacher's room for different lessons.
In the outdoor area we have a large playing field, allotments, a separate football yard, 2 outdoor classrooms, seating areas, performance stages, as well as a range of outdoor games (giant connect four, chess, snakes and ladders ...) and ropes, stilts, bats and balls, hoops, quotes for the children to access at break times.

sorry forgot the basket ball hoops and netball posts...

I would hazard that it would be very difficult indeed to just do "nothing" with a class of 30 restless 11 year olds for weeks. The teachers have to do something. Trips, productions, activities are all educationally worthwhile.

That's not the problem I have with SATs.

Why on God's earth shouldn't Y6es be in the same playground? Do you want boys to seem like enemies to girls?

We "teach" up until the final day when things relax for the children say their goodbyes

I'm very confused about the comment about 6yos and 11yos in the same playground - this is the norm in any two-tier system and I want a playground where anyone (read: girls too) can play football or other rowdy physical games. Both my DDs have this at present - DD1 (nearly 11) plays football every so often in mixed informal sides and DD2 likes mad running around and chasing games.

I also see no difference between the very high-tech facilities DD1 has in her primary and the ones DD2 has when she moves to secondary, and as for expectations - it's perfectly possible to adjust these year by year as children get older and more mature emotionally - you don't need an additional transition to reinforce the point, not with capable staff in place.

Don't get me started on the 'being a little stricter on uniform' stuff - there is no school uniform in the Netherlands and I wish, wish, wish we had none here either.

Well, that's all OK, then.

I think, like any system, it's as good as the schools. We have a 3-tier system here which results in lovely, friendly, over-subscribed first schools. But then the middle schools are mediocre, and the college (14+) dire. And there are all sorts of problems with the middle schools allegedly not prepping pupils for GCSE well enough, and generally not having much focus.

And although I hate the SATS system with a passion, because children here change at Yr4 and Yr 8, the test results don't deliver any information about how the schools are doing. So they are not really accountable, which doesn't help either.