SATS in Year 2

[Filofax]

My child is in year 2 now, our school has yet to mention anything, other than SATS year.

As a parent what do I need to know (if anything). A few of my friends have attend meetings at their children's schools and as of yet we have heard nothing.

Should I contact school or is that unnecessary?

Our school will only do meetings and send our information after Easter. I know DD does lots more checks at school, they all it quizzes but mentioning everything else too early will just cause unnecessary stress.

You don't really need to know anything. The end of year "mark" is based on teacher assessment over the year anyway. They will have to do a test, but it's not really something that is dissimilar to what they wil be doing in class anyway!

Do they have to do the written tests? Can the assessment be based on previous work?

The assessment is based on the class work. You will not be told the actual score on the test but on their level which is teacher assessed.

Thanks. So if they perform appallingly on the day for some reason that won't affect their level?

Sorry, another question... what happens to the test scores then?

The test scores are used to 'inform the teacher assessment' I believe.
So they are one input, along side class work to help the teacher come to a level.
You don't need to see the school.
You don't need to mention SATs in any way shape or form to your child.
You don't need to do any special work.

You may like to continue encouraging them generally at home to help their general education, but nothing SATs directed.

(Not a teacher).

Also not a teacher but training to be a TA although in EYFS.

Test scores are for the school and yes if a child does badly in the test but has consistently shown in class work that they can do/understand XY and Z and the teacher has evidence to prove/support this (class work) then it's fine.

Children are assessed all the time every year, but the Years 2 & 6 SATs get published in league tables. That's the difference and the reason they are seen as more 'important'.

You don't need to do anything. A lot of kids in Year 2 don't really know it's even happening. DS1 is in Year 6 and they are much more aware of it at that age.

Hi Filofax:

Agree with TeenandTween - KS1 (Y2) SATs are teacher assessed, may not necessarily be given at a set time (i.e. mid-May - although our school does use same week at KS2 SATs) and tend to be handled gently and informally, as much as possible.

I think you need to step back and think about the purpose of SATs. Taxpayers are funding schools to educate our future generations and this is a means of ensuring that children are making appropriate progress (or to put it bluntly - that teachers are doing their job). So doing more yourself - although wonderful - is in fact helping teachers to look better than they are.

Should schools explain more about SATs - by gosh YES must be the answer to that. Parents hear rumours, get wound up by talk like this on MN, etc... and just a brief meeting or explanation to parents at parent/ teacher meetings or in a newsletter would help clarify a lot.

I do know that for KS2 (so Y6) SATs are more formal (exam marks, not teacher assessment) and many schools here have a meeting explaining what they include, when they will be given and how the school will handle various groups: struggling students (intervention/ extra work), students at expected level (more work than usual perhaps, or stretching them with high targets) and above expected performance students (so preparing them for L6 SATs/ working in small groups/ enrichment activities). Many schools send workbooks for SATs preparation and/or extra work in Y6 - and again parents are often told why the school is doing this and what they'd like parents to do to support this.

Now for Y2 (KS1 SATs) if you are worried about what you can do at home can I introduce you to BBC Bitesize KS1: www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/ - this has 3 areas Literacy/ Numeracy/ Science and there are games which you can play for more practice and you have control of difficulty. I have found these a very useful barometer for how my DDs were doing - DD1 struggled ( even on EASY level, she ended up getting NC L1s at KS1 SATs) and DD2 found them a breeze (even on DIFFICULT level, and she ended up getting NC L3 at KS1 SATs).

MN has a bit of information on expected performance/ progress through NC Levels & SATs here: www.mumsnet.com/learning/assessment/national-curriculum-levels - start here and click headings in the 'related pages' blue box (usually on right) to find out more.

HTH

We're doing our Y2 SATs tests next week as an interim assessment. We will use the results to inform our planning.

They are really not important, and a test has no effect on the children's progress. They're a useful tool for teachers to make a formal assessment during Y2.

Many thanks to everyone for replying. All points noted and I'm going to check out the links too, I've found the BBC website good in the past. I was slightly concerned our school was possibly not as proactive as others, though this is normally not the case.

At home apart from set homework, spellings and reading; I try to keep my involvement to general encouragement to enjoy learning and help when needed.