Mock SATs anyone?

[paddythepooch]

Whole of this first week back has been mock sats. My poor Dd who used to love school is starting to no longer enjoy it. Last term was completely dominated by it and it just looks likely to continue. She's bored and losing the joy of learning.

Is it like this everywhere? Just didn't realise quite how awful it would be. Don't blame school or teachers. Just venting really.

As of September, a teacher's pay will be determined by the Head. On the whole, Heads will base pay increases on a class' results.

Ergo, good results come from teaching to the test. Hey presto, SATS revision in January.

Thank Gove.

It isn't like this everywhere - DD2 has done one full set of mock SATs this week, but it didn't eat up the entire week. It was the first time they had done a timed trial and they do need to learn to work efficiently within the time allowed. It was all quite relaxed.

The rest of the time they did all their usual work, including the Victorians.

Pretty much all homework this year has been SATs drill from day one though, which has been grim and dull.

Dd had three sats papers to do over Christmas. She says that school is boring because it's all revision. Although I think she is exaggerating, because she also said she was doing science yesterday, and I know from seeing her books there is plenty of RE (church school).

Her school do end of term tests so she had tests just before Christmas. However, they do these in every junior year, and possibly Y2 as well, so she is used to this.

It's the same for DD. So boring. I don't blame the school at all and while I am trying to view it as consolidation of what she knows, I really resent Gove for forcing schools to teach to test even more than they had to before.

I vote for Baldrick as our next Education Minister.

DD's school is doing a maths paper every morning. She also had her first SPaG test yesterday. She's doing other things too though and seems to have had an okay week back, excited by joining a new sports team and starting a new topic.

My DD2 loves SPaG tests. Warped child. She'd do them every day if she could. It's the endless reading comprehension that gets on her nerves.

DD2 had them over 3 days this week, didn't seem bothered, first real practises they have had. Think they have been used to review targets set at start of year.
No Xmas holiday work.

Are Heads allowed to base pay rises on anything else? How much discretion do they have? Is it worth me lobbying my head not to base it purely on results?

I really hate Gove too

One maths SAT this week took 45 mins and was to identify gaps . Already accept I won't get a SATS based pay rise but refuse to give up on my educational philosophy that engagement and wanting to learn are the important things in primary school. Poor children they've got years of test driven education at secondary school. It 's the modern equivalent of factory fodder.

No nothing yet. Beginning to panic a little when I hear what other schools are doing BUT dd is really enjoying Year 6 which must be a good thing Her school refuses to make a big thing of SATs (reflected in a rough Ofsted recently, so things might change....)

I can't decide whether I should be doing Sats stuff at home or just relax and trust the school?

Why on earth would you be doing SATs stuff at home?!

I'm a teacher working in year 6. The pressure I have from the head is immense. Last year I had a year group who came up below age expected, a new teacher in one of the classes who left halfway through the year and lots of disruptions. Results were poor and my life was made hell. I am told we have to do mock sats every term, so every 6 weeks. It takes ages to mark it all and is not much fun. I do my very best to make the work interesting and make the sats prep as engaging as possible. But, in a very real way, my teaching career hinges on how well these children do in a test in May. No other year group in primary is judged like that. Soon, noone will want to teach in year 6.

Ditto SaltaKatten's post! Anyone who thinks Year 6 teachers WANT to conduct mock SATS should think again! I've been in year 6 for 5 years now and the pressure increases every year. No longer do we start from "What levels do you think the children will achieve" the first conversation in September is usually " 85% of the children need to be at least level 4b, 35% level 5 and 10% level 6, what are you doing about it?" regardless of the levels they come into the class on! The emotional pressure increases too " The school is relying on good results, OFSTED will be here if SATS results are poor, it's up to you to get the results" have all been said to me this year, as if we were the only teacher the children ever had!
The key is to make tests fun-which for the majority of children, they are! But they're not much fun for the teacher

DD2's school is where SaltaKatten's school is - last year's cohort was the first to do SATs as we used to be 3-tier and they performed below expectations (but above floor).They seem to not put too much pressure on the children, but I am going to make sure that the Yr6 teachers get really decent end of year presents from us as this must be the toughest year to teach - and they are both amazing people and great teachers.

Spanieleyes, I've had the same emotional pressure and last year the veiled threat of being put on capability. I asked to not be in year 6 again but no luck =(. It's a real shame because I enjoy the age group, but not having the fate of the school put on my shoulders. This term the pupils I have taught have made excellent progress, all I get told is that they must make even more.

I think you're me! Last year we achieved our best ever results ( 92% level 4 across the board, 56% level 5 reading etc) So this year's results have to be even better! ( Despite the fact that I have 1 statemented child, 20% EAL, 20% FSM, 35% with an IEP!) I sit in my Performance management interview in September and just laugh at the targets set, they are totally unrealistic! No one else in the school will go anywhere NEAR year 6.

This is so sad. I know my dd's teacher is fantastic and have no doubt she would do a much wider range were it not for the jeffing Sats. Thankfully post mocks they have done an experiment and some history. Yay! Teacher clearly fermenting revolution as DD mentioned something about Blackadder...excellent

Spaniel, it's funny how they just say the targets have to be better than last year without looking at what the cohort is coming up with. At this moment I think it will be a miracle if I make it July without a nervous breakdown and the only thing keeping me going to work each morning is the fact that I really like the children and my team and that I am going to look for a new job for next year.

Don't get me wrong, we carry on as much as normal as we can, residential in October ( and another one coming up in June) whole school show at Christmas, brass instrument instruction all year, sports tournaments every month. We have an assessment week in November and another in Feb, to highlight any areas we need to focus on, and don't really start SATS practice until after Easter but, even then, science, RE, music and PE are sacrosanct! ( we do tend to drop PSHE, French and one topic session a week then though)
In many ways, I love teaching year 6, if only the children were allowed to do the best that THEY can do and not the best that we can make them!