Year 2 SATS - any free sample papers out there?

[choucroutegarnie]

Our DS is due to sit year-2 SATS in May. Not being familiar with the English school system, I do not really understand what the children are meant to be able to do by then ("your child should be a 2b in reading by May"...).

Does anyone know where I could find sample SATS papers, so we can take a look at what he'll be expected to do?

I should add that this is exclusively for his dad and my benefit, as DS is happy at school and blissfully unfazed by all this exam talk, thank God.

Thank you.

www.freepastpapers.co.uk/sats-key-stage-1.php

Brilliant, thank you!

Hi choucroutegarnie

I found this on the web and thought it was a pretty fair explanation of what happens and what to expect: www.google.co.uk/webhp?tab=Xw#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=explaining+KS1+SATs+for+parents&oq=explaining+KS1+SATs+for+parents&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=3&gs_upl=1141l7217l0l7378l33l27l2l3l3l0l148l2047l19.8l34l0&gs_l=hp.3...1141l7217l0l7378l33l27l2l3l3l0l148l2047l19j8l34l0.frgbld.&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=1ead83bdaaedff7f&biw=1366&bih=600. I stress this is not our school - but does seem to be what both faith and non-faith primaries are doing in our area.

Basically KS1 SATs at the end of Y2 are only reported to you, they are not reported in any league tables. However, the government use this test as an indicator that the school is delivering education.

There have been a number of discussions lately on Mumsnet about SATs in KS1 and the general consensus is that you do not need to study or prepare for them in any special way. This is really about auditing whether the school is adequately teaching children.

The point of the KS1 SATs scores is that on the basis of the score your child will be predicted to achieve 2 full National Curriculum (NC) Levels higher. So if they score a 2b at age 6/7 in Y2 they should score a 4b at age 10/11 in Y6.

Is it the end of the world if your DC doesn't score 2b. Of course not. Each child is an individual and sometimes, for various reasons, they may not get off to a flying start. The way to look at these results is that regardless of whether they preform below, at or above expected levels for Y2 - you shouldn't sit on your laurels. Keep involved in Key Stage 2 - especially year 3 when often children stall in their progress (e.g. www.mumsnet.com/learning/assessment/transition-dip).

Finally I can say that my DD1 did not get 2b - but is now performing very well. We used our growing concern and these scores to get motivated about doing more at home to support learning. It has been a very positive thing for us, so should your DC not do as well as expected, try to look at it on the bright side. It's probably best to see this as just a guide to how they're learning so far.

For more information on NC Levels visit Mumsnet Learning pages here: www.mumsnet.com/learning/assessment/national-curriculum-levels and follow links to other pages on NC Levels 'what they mean' and 'progress through NC Levels'.

HTH