SATS......end of the world??

[Insanity]

it is that time of year when most threads are full of what does this SAT result mean on reports. Yes I'm interested to know if my children are doing well but surely it's more important to have a happy child who wants to be at school? Some children are naturally bright and some will have to try really hard for success.

My ds will be starting high school in Sept (sob, he's growing up!) and his SATS are set to be below average but I know he has done his best. He has been to quite a few primary schools due to husbands work commitment so this probably hasn't helped, but he is a sensible, confident, grounded and happy boy with lots of friends, and I know he will do well in life if he continues in this frame of mind.

My point being that we are told that the SATS results can predict the GCSEs results but high school has so much more to offer that it isn't the end of the world if your child isn't at the expected levels.

Never had SATS when I was a child and I've turned out alright :o

Every person I know who has been very successful (employment wise) did badly at school as they just weren't academic but they were hard working and determined so once they got into the workforce they soared ahead. I know three people like this and they all earn over £100k a year and are very happy. Those with degrees have done pretty well but not as well as these people. It is about attitude as much as academic success IMO.

Indigo
DSIS left school with not very brilliant CSEs, got in to college because she'd held down a retail job for a year.

Studied typing, word processing etc.
And finally discovered something she could do and do well.
School doesn't suit everyone.

My cousin who left school with very little academically speaking and got a very low paid apprenticeship with a plumbing merchant. Shit pay, shit hours, shit jobs (including the constant tea-making, going for the lads' sandwiches etc). He nearly packed it in plenty of times. A few years later he has his own fledgling company that is going from strength to strength.

He's in his 20's and his university friends have a shed-load of debt and are competing with 50 other grads for each job.

I'm sure they will all done well ultimatley, but it's not all about university and qualifications.

I did well at school, took my A'levels, decided not to go to University as I had fallen in love (still married years later so was definitely worth forgoing Uni!).

My husband left school with no qualifications but is now in a job which pays well, has good career prospects and we get to see the world. I have taken lots of jobs to help with the family income and to keep my sanity, they range from cleaning toilets, serving pizzas/burgers and a financial assistant!

Life can get in the way of career plans which is why I feel that it is much more important to allow children to be children without the pressure of SATS.

Indigo do not write children off because they are aren't at the "expected" national average, there is much more to life than a piece of paper with grades on!

If you knew a little of Indigo's back story, you would understand why she is so forceful in her opinions. She certainly hasn't written off her own DC who all struggle with various levels of SEN. She has worked very hard with them all to ensure that they all reach their potential. I guess that reading about someone being content that their child is struggling academically, because at least he is happy, hit a bit of a nerve? I definitely don't always agree with Indigo about her opinions or methods, but I have a lot of respect for her. And those statistics she quoted make difficult reading. If your DC is getting 3s in KS2 SATs, I would be working damn hard to ensure they are in that 6.5% who go on to get 5 GCSEs A-C.

Can I just say that level G is a pass at GSCE. So it might not be the magic 'A-C' but it is still a pass! Also just because a child doesn't make a level 4 in y6 (at maths and literacy) doesn't mean they won't get 5 A-Cs in other subjects!

And being happy at school is VERY important. Embracing what the school has to offer is a good way to gain confidence and skills in areas apart from academic ones if that is not your 'thing'.

I agree LeeCoakley. SATS in primary school are aimed at maths and literacy, which obviously are the main ingredients to school, but high school offers more subjects.

My ds can read average for his age but struggles in creative writing and spellings. Since moving to his school last September he has had to apply a different method to maths, purely because the method used in his last school wasn't national curriculum and he wasn't that secure in it, and he's still not secure in the method he has been shown but does get support (from home and school).

Anyway, he had his transition day at high school yesterday, came home absolutely buzzing, loved his science lesson (test tube chemical experiment) and enjoyed everything that the school had to offer. Just made me feel very positive and I realised that perhaps "big" school offers more options for him and I wanted to share that hope with anyone else in my boat. :)

I have read quite a bit of Indigo's story. However, whilst agreeing, don't just hope things get better, I do find her a bit pessimistic. But I am always pretty optimistic. Although my first thought when my eldest was diagnosed with dyslexia was the statistic about the prison population, I've since boosted myself with success stories.

Some schools do do a good job. Some kids do improve with help from school (and getting all the help you can there should always be the first step). And as a Mum who asks, my kids have got help that others might not (the eldest two both got extra Maths help because I asked for it, and in both cases 10 1 on 1 sessions really boosted confidence and performance).

Insanity - have you spoken to the SENCo at the senior school? Is your son on the SEN register (I had my daughter put on at my request, which mainly gives her access to extra time and someone else writing her homework down for her).

f there were no SATS teachers would still predict who would do well in GCSE' S its all just statistics & does nothing to improve the childs education.

No harm in predicting-you just have to bear in mind that is all it is and they have another 5 years to go.
They didn't have SATs in my brother's day, but he probably wouldn't have done well. He failed 11+ and passed at 12+ and at 13 he was in the high flyer's express stream of the grammar school. His year 6 teacher had a very poor opinion of him and the best he could come up with was 'good with his hands'-he turned out to be more than 'good' at classics.