Year 6 sats - already! How's your school approaching it?

[snowlie]

School have sent a letter to all parents strongly suggesting we all buy revision guides to Sats in Numeracy, Literacy and Science.. We've been told these books are not designed to teach a subject rather their focus is teaching kids the language used in the sats so they can get a higher mark! Kids will do lots of mock Sats at school this year to practice.

I was under the impression that the sats were there to judge teaching standards not my child. We have been told they are very important but we shouldn't put pressure of the kids....have checked and the local Secondary schools do not use Sats results for setting in year 7, they do their own assessment.

Is our school being pushy or is this normal. Interested to hear your views.

The school is being pushy and are putting too much teaching time into sats preparation (lots of mock practice). There is no benefit to the children in putting so much effort into preparing for sats and it will impact negatively on their overall education.
If the school has to put so much effort into getting kids through sats then they are not teaching properly in the first place.

Wow, it's very early, IMO. I'm doing a SATs/SPaG info evening in late November purely so parents know exactly what the tests comprise. I haven't even talked about SATs with my class yet - absolutely no need at this stage; better to just let them enjoy learning!

I was under the impression that the sats were there to judge teaching standards not my child.
I struggle with this, to be honest! Yes, of course poorly taught children will struggle to do well in the tests....but as long as the school approaches SATs sensibly and do not make year 6 a SAT-fest, I think it's a great opportunity for the kids to show off what they can do. Last year I had kids who just thrived on improving themselves, and this year's lot seem even more keen!
I totally understand this is not the case with all kids though, and that some schools make year six a thoroughly miserable time.

So don't buy them?

Why on earth do they want them to buy science books? I'm not conviced this isnt just a pointless school bashing thread that has no basis in truth.

Wellthen DD2's school were selling these guides last year - at £13 a pop. This year it will be even worse because last year's Yr6 cohort did not do well. The school is SATs mad, all homework is geared towards SATs practice and it's only September.

The school is having a SATs information evening on Thursday, I am going to be 'that' parent and ask them what they are going to do alongside SATs drill to ensure they actually learn something this year - besides exam technique, that is. I'll be polite and diplomatic about it, of course...

I dont see what difference the school selling them makes. You still dont have to buy them. Or, if they gave you them for free, use them.

I do agree SATs drill is not acceptable but as a Y6 teacher I also feel the school's pain. The pressure from OfSTED has reached the point at which a huge number of schools are left with little choice.

I would be interested to hear what they say actually. It is only pressure from parents (aka voters) that can really change things. Apparently people with qualifications in education know nothing about children's learning and how to assess it. We are not listened to.

"I'm not conviced this isnt just a pointless school bashing thread that has no basis in truth" I wish I had made it up!

I'm happy to support my dc's education, happy to help them with numeracy, listen to them read etc but to use that time to help them with Sats exam technique instead...Is that in the best interests of my child or the school?

Wellthen I have a problem with the school selling them because it's preying on parental insecurity. It also sends the wrong message, as if these books are necessary to achieve. If after 7 years at school my child doesn't know this stuff, and neither of us are aware of this, what on earth have I and the school been doing?

BTW I completely and utterly blame the Government (this and the previous one) and OFSTED for this.

I detest Y6 and although DD is still smiling, those smiles are definitely looking a bit weaker.

I'm essentially watching a previously happy childhood being strangled by assessment (25% of this half term will be used for that in addition to any little tests along the way), too much not obviously beneficial homework from the very first day back and that has much too short deadlines, and to top it off there are some very dodgy behaviour management strategies.

The trick here is teacher saying not to worry about SATs whilst disguising all their extreme SATs stuff as "preparation for secondary school".

Well we don't even have an information session until January (which is joint with sex ed). They are doing more mental maths tests, but only as part of normal sessions. And I think they have started to identify the possible level 6 students, and they are getting some Master class work.

Ok fair point, you're right it sends the wrong message. The SATs prep I dislike the most is the homework type as it can permeate every part of the child's life. As I teacher I have no intention on doing primary school homework (unless the child wants to) and will happily tell their teacher that!

But, it isn't a case of the child not knowing the stuff, it is the tiny differences between 1 level and another and even 1 sublevel and another. A 4c is no longer enough, it must be 4bs and there is more and more pressure every year to get not only lots of L5 but a few L6! A school drilling them in SATs isnt suggesting their children haven't progressed, just that they havent progressed in exactly the way the goverment wants.

Not that any of that explains doing practice SATs at this stage in the year or handing out revision guides.

But, it isn't a case of the child not knowing the stuff, it is the tiny differences between 1 level and another and even 1 sublevel and another. A 4c is no longer enough, it must be 4bs

An 11 year old without any learning difficulties should be more than capable of reaching a 4b if they have been educated properly throughout primary school. Drilling them for SATS isn't educating them; it's just ensuring that they can pass a specific test. A child should only need a couple of weeks sats practice to get familiar with the format of the tests, not months and months of pressured preparation.
The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that SATS are damaging to a child's education. The time that should be spent actually teaching the children is being wasted ensuring that they can pass a test. Some children will not even ready their actual level on the test because they have been pressurised so much that they will just go to pieces on the actual day of the test.
I think that all schools should stop this practice of over enthusiastic preparation. If all schools stop excessive preparation and the levels all drop nationally then it tells us that children are passing a test at 4b but are not actually working at that level (they have simply been taught how to pass a test at that level). If all schools grades drop then no school would be at a disadvantage in comparison to others.

'Reach' their actual level (not ready).

To be fair our school used to be more relaxed about Sats, but they were told that it was the Sats levels that stopped the school from achieving a higher than Satisfactory grade from Ofsted. I was happy with that situation, the school was really creative and caring, the teachers were brilliant and hugely enthusiastic and I pleaded with the old Head not to turn our lovely school into a Sats factory....but 3 years down the line we're achieving amazing Sats results and I discover that that is exactly what has happened.

at the whole year being given over to this.

We don't have sats in Scotland - in p7 (y6) my ds will get a fantastic broad education with no testing that he's aware of (national testing is done ad-hoc as children become ready and they don't even know it's a test.

No mention of SATs at dd's school it seems to be business as usual so far anyway at least. Dd's enjoying the current topic on India and ICT lessons immensely.There's the y6 residential in February so I'd expect SATs preparation to start after that as it did last year.

SATS never mentioned at dc's school. I've heard parents bleat, "It's SATS year, it's SATS," but ds never spoke about them and neither did the school. They really play it down.

OP, sounds a tad pushy to me.

The schools care about SATs, understandably (as they are judged by them, by a lot of prospective parents ), but to ask you to buy revision guides?! No way our school would do that. They do lay on the homework in the spring term of Y6, and over the Easter holidays, and SATs are celebrated (rather than made a big pressured deal of) as an opportunity for kids to show what they can do - and then afterwards, there is a lot of festivity. It makes the kids feel big and important, rather than pressured, I think.

Mind you, when you read some threads here on MN and see all the angst over Levels 5 and 6, you sort of get why schools feel pressured and then pressure the kids in turn - not that it's ok to do that, but yswim

"School have sent a letter to all parents strongly suggesting we all buy revision guides": worth a read - londonmumsmagazine.com/2013/creative-writing-magic-money-cards

Well, I have the meeting tomorrow. If they trot out the 'preparing them for secondary school' argument, I shall laugh hollowly. DD1 is in Yr8 and hasn't experienced anything like this much pressure so far - just solid homework, regular assessment involving proper revision and hey, a lot of actual learning.

I'll be so glad when Yr6 is over for the pointy household.