Year 6 - School meeting this week to discuss what they do in yr 6, what should I be asking, looking out for?

[ukgirlatheart]

there is a meeting to chat to new year 6 teacher about what our kids will be doing in year 6.

What should I be asking, looking out for?

How do they prepare for SATs?

Practice papers (hard as they are changing this year)?
Homework?
Extra sessions after school?
Focus sessions for kids with weaknesses?
What 'message' do they give the children?

Do they keep doing PE, science, topic work?

Alternatively:

What does the school expect/desire of parents to support from home this year?

We have this each year, parents sit in the classroom while the teacher outlines the topics for the year, homework/reading arrangements, introduces the year staff. You can ask questions. They may go into detail about some of the subjects.

I would ask how intensively they prepare for SATs in that some schools go completely overboard and pile on the pressure. Ask how you can support learning. The new curriculum is more demanding so ask how the new/additional topics will be covered. Make sure you have a clear overview of the new core curriculum so you know what is to be taught.

Do you know how the school is now assessing progress? Levels have gone, so what system are they using? There is a choice the school will have made regarding a system and it may well not be LA wide. At my school, we are using a system that has been developed by our existing progress monitoring software provider. We are not going with the LA's adopted system as we already have money and training invested with the software company. What has your school done? I would want to see examples of assessment and progress reporting in English, Maths and Science or you will never understand how well your child is doing!