What are your Y6 children doing now that SATS are over with?

[bryte]

After spending most of the year intensively focusing on SATS, I had hoped that the rest of the school year would be fun and/or Y6 teachers would have the opportunity to engage the children in new learning of the teacher's choosing, not tied up with state testing. Instead, it seems like my DD's teacher is simply killing time.

DD had a change of teacher in January. She's in a year group which has had discipline problems all through the school, and her Year 6 class is made up of some of the worst behaved. I believe the new teacher's remit was to not give an inch. Now that SATS are over, the other two year 6 classes are doing some activities that my DD's class isn't being allowed to do. The teacher is not teaching them anything nor letting them participate in anything which might give scope for some of them to misbehave. DD is extremely bored. The end of term can't come quickly enough.

What's happening at your DC's school? Do they handle this half term better?

A residential, a school production, a leaver's disco and a day at the high school.

Same here - residential, loads of school production rehersals, Bikeability, crucial crew and induction days for high school.

Lots of fun!

After SATs our year 6's had a Junioir Citizens day, they've been conducting interviews, writing and taking photos for their year book, they've made a 3 course meal in small groups and invited 2 members of staff to join them for lunch and soon they'll have 'jobs week,' where they apply for jobs around school, write references and have interviews. Then successful applicants spend the week being the head or a TA etc. So whilst there's less academic stuff going on, they are having a very wide and varied 'curriculum,' for their last few weeks of primary school.

I dont teach year 6 but i think in my school the kids do a big topic project, rehearsals for end of year concert and lots of PE and things.

But every year they are pretty feral - its a last hurrah before they are back at the bottom of the pile at secondary!

Am I the only person who read the OP and wondered why a school has spent most of the year focusing on SATs?
Schools should be providing children with a broad and appropriate education all year round, including fun learning, challenges and academic 'traditional' learning. They should not be spending months just intensively focusing in SATs preparation.
Sorry that my comments don't answer the OPs question, I was just shocked that schools are putting children through intensive preparation for tests. Surely such preparation skews the results anyway as it doesn't really show a child's actual ability?

I agree inthedark I was annoyed that we were told last September that Year 6 would only do one PE lesson a week until after the SATS. Surely it's just as important to exercise your body as well as your mind??

And I haven't seen any increased PE lessons this term either.

I'm interested that so many of you have your Year 6 residential this term. Ours was the last week of March just before the Easter holidays. The school would love to do it in the summer term but she says it comes down to cost.

How much are you paying for a week's residential?

More science experiments, more art and computer time, more p.e, still doing spellings and topic work on Africa, rehearsing for leavers assembly and just had their trip away.

Plus quite a bit of chit chat about the World Cup it seems to be a lovely half term.

"Am I the only person who read the OP and wondered why a school has spent most of the year focusing on SATs?"

One of the things that I really like about DD's school is that they have had a totally 'normal' school year in year 6. Every year group has an assessment few days roughly coincident with SATs week, so Year 6 is absolutely no different - normal teaching all year, few days of tests, pick up normal teaching again but add in a few extra things because they are coming tio the end of their time in primary and it is good to mark that with some special events.

However, I don't know how long they will kleep it up - they are an outstabnding school with really great results (20%+ Level 6 in maths, for example) but even in the couple of years between DS and DD I have noticed a little more focus on the importance of SATs, and it is really hard for a school to hold to 'Year 6 is normal' when all surrounding schools are cramming for tests all year.

Same as they have done all year really with a Y5/6 residential visit and Y6 transition visits

We paid £175 for a Friday to Monday trip to Hooke Court residential centre, but the PTA covers the cost of the coach every year, so that brings down the cost to parents.

School production !!!!

sounds a mess

No there wasn't pressure all the way up to Sats at all, in fact I commented to the head how relaxed it was after Easter compared to my previous 2. Time will tell on the results I suppose.

There has been a Maths extension class for L6 all year at lunchtime, which was invitational but optional, so if your DC didn't want to do it there was no pressure. My friend's DD didn't and it was was fine.