Any evidence that intensive year 6 SATS preparation does any good?

[Garon]

DD's primary school has implemented all-day literacy and numeracy classes, apart from one afternoon of PE and another where they do PSHCE. As if this wasn't bad enough they're also sending home a load of homework of the same sort of tasks (most of which we're boycotting). I know it's the fault of league tables, not just the school, but I can't believe that this approach can actually be effective. It's easy to argue against from a child well-being point of view, but it would be much more effective if we could argue that it won't necessarily lead to better SATS results for the school. Any thoughts?

[AllMimsyWereTheBorogoves]

I suppose in all fairness I should add that my son was two years behind and by the time he was doing SATs the school had redressed the balance a bit and his summer term wasn't such a complete and utter waste of time as his sister's.

[katrina81]

I hate all this, for my DD1 the school did nothing but teach to paper for the whole of year 6, they were obsessed by blimming sats, dd did get good results, but it surprised me at how much little she knew upon starting secondary.

I wish they got rid of the stupid things.

[meandjulio]

As far as I know, ds's school doesn't do this and never has and it's one of the many things I like about the school. However, something has fed back to me this week that just makes me wonder whether they are being sucked down this road as well.

I haven't looked at the results in the last few years - who cares, it's a single entry school, a cohort of 28-30 children doesn't mean much to me statistically anyway. So what if results drop. I'd be a bit sad if ds turns out not to be doing as well as we thought, but only because we're pretty lazy parents so I'm sure it will be largely our fault.

[steppeinginto2015]

our school did a lot of SATs prep, but not as much as OP. A lot of curriculum subjects were dropped until after SATs (they had great fun in the summer term)

My son did extra level 6 coaching every morning (during school time)

to be honest I saw a massive improvement in his work and levels over the year. Some of this may be due to the intensive nature, some may be just due to the fact that he was coached at his level, instead of coasting along.

I felt he started secondary with a really strong base.

I think ours was more like Pointy, and I felt that ds was ready for that focus too.

[BatmanLovesBakedBeans]

It's a pain.

I am under a LOT of pressure this year to get more L5s in Maths and English. Serious words will be had if I fail to reach a certain percentage. The Head is putting a lot of stress on me.

I have 11 children in my Year 6 class (and 18 Year 5s), so each of them represents a huge percentage figure.

The whole thing is bloody awful and stressful.

It's all about progress. And there is no room for individuality in data - all the children are the same. So Bobby, who missed lots of school due to serious illness, is the same as Billy who crammed for the 11+. Sally, whose only meal is the free one she gets at school and who shares a room with 3 siblings in a tiny flat, is the same as Ali, who is lucky enough to have a supportive, financially comfortable and educated family

[TooMuchCantBreathe]

Our school gets excellent sats results.

It is also recognised by local secondary schools as the worst in the area for preparing dc for secondary. They start so far behind in some areas that it takes a term or more to catch up with dc from other local schools.

The flip side is that the dc are generally very good at revision and disciplined approach to learning. ...

Personally I'd rather our school took the attitude the other local primary schools have (try your best, study up a bit but don't stress) but they like being top of the leagues too much.

[Brightideas]

I'm a teacher. When my children are on Year 6, I'll be making sure that I do my best to encourage them to work hard at what will serve themselves. I am glad that I know better than to heap upon their shoulders the pressure that schools feel to achieve good SATS results (attract prospective parents and keep OFSTED at bay). How selfish our school systems are to do this - and then to let our children's brains rot once SATS have been sat (May), when the end of year performance (play) will be the focus and so little effective learning takes place in most schools. Generally, schools cram children until May, when they then let go completely. I'd rather my children maintain a steady pace that sees them through to secondary school, when they'll need to use their brains again!