I don't want my son to sit his yr 6 SATS!

[mamauk]

Has anyone else taken their child out from school specifically to avoid the SATS? Is this 'allowed', I mean I am thinking my child's education is mine alone to decide...... and that I do not need 'permission' to do this?

My son was home educated until last year and decided to try school so as to have more opportunity to socialise on a more frequent basis.

My concerns:

~I feel this year, since Christmas, the emphasis of teaching in his class has been 'teaching to test'. Utterly geared towards these SATS tests. Thus the curriculum as a whole feels narrowed and limited and not a broad spectrum of learning one would hope in a year 6 setting. The teaching has been limited and narrowed down to Maths and English taking up lots of time.

~ I feel a more enjoyable and productive few months might have been had if this emphasis had not been on the SATS.

~ I feel this approach and high levels of anxiety (by teachers) has started to poison my son's feeling towards education. As mentioned previously, as a home educated child he believed he could/would/was good at anything he tried, and has been utterly squashed by the current teaching and constant assessment. he comes home telling me how much has has gotten 'wrong' . His self image is suffering. His self confidence and self esteem too, obviously. he seems sort of hesitant when talking, as if he might be getting something wrong! it is horrifying to see.

~Just reading this I am sort of wondering why the hell I allowed him to go to school! I feel now perhaps I should have taken further steps to simply increase outside social time when at home (we already did lots of groups and activities, my son is just super sociable).

~It all seems like such a wasted year, especially when ongoing teacher assessment happens anyway, as a matter of course.

~Can I contact the school and tell then he will not be coming in that week? What will they do? I don't feel I need 'permission'. But am wondering what might be the consequences.....? Anyone know?

The school already said that the results have no effect on subject streaming in High School, it's just a matter of league tables.

Opinions please!

thanks,

Claire

Why not encourage him to do sats to give him the experience of sitting the tests even - surely useful esp since if he wants to go to uni he'll have to sit tests again at some stage - also a useful life skill. Can't see point of not encouraging him to dothem actually even just so he can see how he does -irrespective of the school requirements. Seems to me that maybe he's worried about how he'll do in tests perhaps?

I don't know if I'm impressed or amused at your last post - you sound like you've all a lovely life in some ways but it also sounds all very twee and self involved and immune from most other people but I may have you completely wrong..

You do sound like friend of mine though whose children are invariably brilliant at everything and if they're revealed not to be then it;s the teachers fault - imo that's a really crap lesson to be teaching...

If he's coming home and telling you how much he's gotten wrong, maybe you have to wonder whether letting children do drawing all day is the most useful education.

Some things aren't 'wrong' in inverted commas. They're just wrong. You need to stop with this idea that it's all relative.

agree with prev poster - re him getting things wrong. Maybe he has to realise that he has to do stuff that he's not interested in as well as stuff he is interested in in the interests of receiving an education to equip him - or even partly equip him - for adult life

he comes home telling me how much has has gotten 'wrong'

Maybe your teaching was not up to scratch then, does he draw as well or maybe paint.

What levels was he working at for English and Maths at the last parent's evening?

Op - tests are indeed optional. F he doesn't want to take the test, he doesn't have to write anything. It might be helpful for him to have the experience of taking the test, if only so he can make an informed decision about whether he wants to take any more in the future. It is really up to him.

I would be concerned about him getting so much apparently wrong myself, but it depends on why it is wrong. Does he not understand things, or is he simply unable to conform to how the mark scheme wants him to phrase things?

It seems to me that you are living in a little bubble idealised by you. My daughter excels at art, but I still make her do her maths homework. There aren't a huge number of art based jobs in the real world you know.

I'm wondering if, because you home educate, that you have become distanced from the reality of working in the real world. Out there it is dog eat dog. If you don't equip your son with the resilience to deal with this he will sink.

Op - tests are indeed optional

That's misleading - you might as well say that doing any work at school at all - ever - is optional. PE is optional. Doing Maths is optional.

For the school, it's a legal requirement.

The school has to teach these things. Doesn't mean anyone has to take a test in them. So yes, they are optional.

But why wouldn't you? If you've done the work, then why not take the test?

The school has a legal obligation to ensure children sit them.

They are not optional.

OP

Does your 9 year old get to choose to do or not do exactly what he wants..... he will come a cropper in the real world when he will have to do things he does not want as does everyone in life.....

I hope that when he has spent all his days drawing and then turns round and throws a tantrum with you for not telling him he needs a few decent qualificiations for the real world you will not be too surprised. On what planet does a nine year old know what is best for him. Why parent him at all, just leave him to get on with his own life

My year 6's can't wait! They are proud of the hard work they have done this year and want to show what they can do. I even have 2 children who have been disallowed from the tests ( because they are working below the level required) who have asked if they can have some tests of their own so they can show what they can do( even if it's not as much as the others!)

From the ARA 2012 document:

4.12 What if there is disagreement with the school?s decision about whether a child should participate in the tests?
Some parents may ask a headteacher not to enter their child for the tests. Schools should not agree to this simply because parents are opposed to assessment or feel that their child would find National Curriculum assessments stressful.
Parents may also ask a headteacher to enter their child for a test when the school has decided this is not appropriate. Headteachers should explain the school?s decision to parents. The headteacher?s decision regarding participation is final.

And if the child sits there and doesn't write anything, he has opted out of the test. If a school then wishes to send off a blank test paper, so be it, but that child has still opted out.

If a school then wishes to send off a blank test paper, so be it,

The school would have no choice!

But why, tiago?

I have loved DS's school up until January this year. The SATS treadmill is quite shocking, really. I do not think it is increasing DS's education one bit to keep doing test paper after test paper and pages of the stuff they have been doing. I would rather they were still being taught. If DS's school were truly 'outstanding' they would have the confidence to carry on teaching normally, do a few test papaers to give the children the understanding of the length under timed conditions, and then just introduce the tests without fuss.
So, OP I don't blame you for the way you are feeling.

However, sonce he has been caught up in this, I would encourage him to take the test, to do his best and see how he does - if you are cnfident in the grounding you have given him, he will do his best - and may well find that the result gives him some pride and satisfaction.

If they did that Blu, they'd probably lose their outstanding grading. Because teaching closely to the test improves results, and results are the be all and end all now.

And it is relentless. My DS is being heavily coached to a level 6. Which means in secondary school, his target GCSE and A level grades (based as they are on KS2) will be higher. And so he will be taught to the test there too. Pretty much from the word go.

I'm shocked at some of the snidey comments I've read on here about home ed and the op's choices and the little digs at her ds.

my year 5 dd has been in a complete state this evening because she hasn't been able to complete the practice test she was given to do tonight. Apparently she will be shouted at if she hasn't done it. It seems they are also cancelling her guitar lesson next week so she can do more practice. As far as I'm aware, year 5 sats aren't compulsory and I am irritated by the school's attitude.

I think this testing is ridiculous and I totally understand why you and your ds are so fed up.

I don't think anyone has been snide about the op's ds. People may have teased her a little bit- she does sound a little fotherington -Thomas ish!

But there is a big difference between year 5 SATs, which are optional and to be honest are usually only done because parents like them and year 6 SATS, which are important to the school, nd may very well be important for the child, depending on how the secondary school sets them. And to be honest again, a bit of practice at tests probably wouldn't do most kids any harm, or year 7 is going to come as a big shock!

And "teaching to the test" could also be interpreted as "revising the basics" nobody would object to that, would they?

I think it's a shame in a way to H.ed apart from the sats experience - the two bits of primary I'd considered taking my dc out of school for, maybe travelling and home edding a bit for those phases.

In the end I didn't take them out cos of the logistics being too complicated for us, but I do think it's the worst few weeks of primary - the Jan-May of yr2 and yr6.

Though my yr6 hasn't brought home one practice paper, and seems to be spending most of her time this week making a papier mache ancient Greek pot (Olympic theme), and she's not at all anxious about the sats, but even so, it's not a high point of the primary experience for us.

My year six dd loves a good AIBU and commented that of course English and maths Are going to take up more time, they always do. But that today they did Topic and German and PE as well as English and maths.

DS's friend, a normally strong and philospophical child, was in tears this morning after some extra numeracy coaching (coaching, not teaching...), DS came out of school pale and feeling sick, retching when he tried to eat his tea - all because of SATS anxiety. 'Revising the basics' shouldn't have children in this state.

They were under similiar pressure last year fo the optional Yr 5 SATS and then the school said it wasn't policy to give us their scores . I am not, as it happens, plotting DS's every rise up a sub level, far from it - but I am outraged that a school will demand this amount of committment this amount of pressure and then think they can't even tell us what it was about. I said they had no right to withold the score after our family life had been so disrupted -and so his teacher relented. I am SO pleased I fought for that - I am able to tell DS that he is doing as well as anyone could expect him to do and therfore not to worry about not doing well.

I think they are snide tbh and most of the thread seems to be about ridiculing home ed as far as i can see. And so what if someone does sound "a little Fotherington Thomas"