Year 6 SATS - what is reasonable?

[babartheelephant]

I really want to help my dd prepare for SATS. The teachers say that I should not give her any extra work to do at home because they are doing a lot at school already. She is being entered for level 6 in everything and I feel that she needs a bit of an extra push, but I don't want to stress her out. I am not a pushy mum and she is going to our local secondary school where I believe they will be in mixed ability groups anyway to start with. But I want my dd to do her best, and I feel that doing extra work will help her this week but is this unreasonable? I'm also aiming for early nights etc. Advice please!! Many thanks.

Leaver her alone! ( said as a Year 6 teacher!) I'm sure she will do her very best without extra pushing-and if she is doing level 6 she will probably be the sort of child who pushed herself! I would just step back and help her chill!

Yes, let her be. She's aiming for level 6, she's obviously doing extremely well for her age. She doesn't need a bit of an extra push, she needs to know that you love her and are proud of her and it really doesn't matter what she gets on the test.

At this stage, extra work will only stress her, if she doesn't know it now she won't learn it in the next week.

Early night's, fresh air, just the usual daily reading and maybe some times table practice. Don't even mention the tests.

Oops, stray apostrophe there, sorry.

sats are supposed to be an indicator of how the school is doing not another reason to stress the children out.

My son has thirteen exams that week. I will not be asking him to do any extra work and will be a bit cross if the school tries to set any. And I consider myself to be a pushy mum with the academic subjects.

Tbh there's unlikely to be much difference between level 5 & 6 when your DD starts secondary school, especially if she'll be in mixed ability classes in year 7. So I would let her relax and enjoy the challenge of taking the extra level 6 tests. (Speaking as a mum in exactly the same position.)

I'm in the same position with DS1, he will be sitting both sets of papers for everything next week.

I'm not doing anything extra at home with him, he has revision once a week from school that I feel to be enough.

He is familiar with the process of the tests as they do them every year at his school, plus they have done practice papers on on fairly regular basis - both the level 3-5 and the level 6. I feel ny more would put too much pressure on him.

OK! We'll relax - I haven't done anything and she does know that we don't care and it doesn't matter for secondary school, but I just know that she has a tendency to be slapdash. Either way, she's only 11 and we are proud of her and she will do well with or without help. Thankyou

Yes, just relax. DS2 is doing his next week. Just make sure DD gets to bed at a reasonable hour and has a good breakfast.

No High School in these parts til Year 8 so next year's results are more important to us.

Good to see you taking that attitude, OP. I fully sympathise about the slapdash attitude. I have classes who are borderline for the tests, and it's so very frustrating when they don't read the question carefully or make silly mistakes. Be glad that you won't be in the classroom with her!

I'll be struggling to take my own advice this week and remain calm and not pass on the stress- but it is the best way.

Think that prompt bedtimes rather than early is a good idea too

Does anyone know how many exams they have and how they are done? IE every day or two a day for four days and friday rest.

It's Mon-Thu. Usually one test per day unless they're also doing the level 6 paper. If you do a quick Google for ks2 says timetable, it's the first link. (Can't link from my phone).

DS2 is doing level 5 papers in the mornings and level 6 papers in the afternoons.

I am so impressed by people whose "slapdash" DC can be entered into L6 SATs; their innate ability must be very high. I suppose there are a lot of stories like that on MN. I never seem to meet anyone like that IRL. Who didn't have to genuinely work for success.

DD is working very very hard to get to L6. She wants to.

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Many people with able dcs will not mention it in real

..life, I certainly don't.

Being slapdash in class does not mean a DC isn't listening, learning and able to concentrate and produce good work in exams.

As to work for SATs if she's a certain L5 I wouldn't worry. DD2 was entered for L6 maths last year. They shifted the pass mark and she did have a hope. Didn't matter the extra lessons have stood her in good stead for Y7.

The odd past paper to be certain of reading questions carefully and having the confidence to put something for every question may be worth it for DCs who are liable to drop marks purely on technique.

But Ofsted are breathing so hard down schools necks that primaries are being far pushier now than they were. We had parents meetings, extra classes, practice CD and all sorts with DD3(Y7) and a few photocopied past papers for DD1(Y10)

I don't need to mention aloud that DD is the most able child in her year group it's blooming obvious and mostly down to her hard work.

Okay, I'll get to write that for real in July. :)

Both mine do some work, DD2 by inclination and DD1 by necessity being dyslexic.

I'm also dyslexic and did bugger all work except just before and in exams.

My written work looks slap dash whether I try or not, so I had minimum HW down to a fine art. I was going to get moaned at whether I spent 10 minutes or an hour on something or indeed forgot it all together.

The DDs school is rather fussier forgetting gets you detention and minimal efforts aren't accepted, so DD1 gets a harder time than I did.

How much work makes up for lack of intrinsic ability I don't know.

At primary, I think it's more really good teaching to the letter of the SATs rules that gets lots of L5

Ability and a willingness to extra work for L6

And how well did you do, Startail? Was last minute swotting enough? And how long ago was this?

My dd did all level 6 sats last year and did no extra work. Her teacher told me they were doing really well already. She got all level 6s. Her friend who was also doing all level 6s had a really pushy mum. The mum made her do two practice papers a day, one before and one after school. She told dd she was really stressed and as a result only got 1 level 6. Her mum made me feel like I wasn't helping my dd enough, but in the end it turned out ok. The two girls are of a very similar academic standard, as well.

One of the mums in my dd's class has been doing loads of extra work with her dd and they are predicting boarder line level 6s

Practise papers last week and she did very well and got the top mark

Dd is doing bugger all outside of school and is currently playing on her bike at the park, making the most of the sunshine

She did less well in last week's practises but still got level 6s but said she is so past sats with all they have been doing at school that she can't be bothered with it

I know she is worrying about it so we don't talk about it at home, it's life as usual

Far too much pressure on 11 yos IMHO

As an aside have a look at this. I am