If I hear 'SATS' one more time I think i'll...............

[runningouttaideas]

SCREAM!! I have 2 Dc going through them at the moment one in Y6 and the other Y2. If I see one more practice paper from years gone by or one more print out in 6 year old Dd's school bag putting pressure on to learn ASAP as if her life depends on it. If one more of my Dc come in extremely stressed because they can't get their writing perfect when their bodies can not physically do it I am going to declare a SATS strike at home!...and a strict diet of fun stuff only!

I had Ds's Y6 CT tell me how worried she is about his SATS last week, it was so hard for me to bite my tongue because I know he will do just fine (I'm 100% confident) and they have been telling me for years that he is perfectly capable, their league table will not be affected what so ever, and all her hard work WILL pay off. Its the drilling that is causing the issues....sigh....and now for a nice and some ...

I AGREE ... my DS is very aware of these SATS and has been since he started Yr 6 in Sept. In fact since November all they have done is test paper after test paper through to now. Yesterday he had 2 maths papers.

His writing is not partiuclarly neat but I dont think that bad, he hates writing full stop, just doesnt come naturally to him (had this since year 2). But because they are "tested" on it school have pushed and pushed so much he's almost said well I dont like writing neatly, Im just not going to bother.

Strangely at the start of Sept we were told oh teh kids dont realyl know about Sats we just call them a little test - excuse me they are VERY AWARE.

Glad when it's all over

YANBU. From what I know, many schools are really quite worried about this year's papers. That worry filters down from the Head, to the teacher, to the child. It is just wrong and counter productive.

Disclaimer - I worked in the system for 19 years. Got out last year. Seen too many children pushed into being a level that they are not for data purposes.

Delighted dd school doesn't do these.

Sounds extremely stressful

Is handwriting important in SATS? Ds's (also Y6) is shocking and the school don't seem that bothered.

Yes they have writing assement papers - neatness of writing and presentation. Since year 3 he has been pushed and pushed to the point last year I just had had enough of him being "named and shamed" in class about it so went in and told them that they were doing the opposite to encourage him.

here

Same here. DS has papers every week to do at home and is getting stressed particularly with the SPAG as it's asking questions about terminology he doesn't need to know hasn't even been taught at school. It's so depressing seeing him not enjoying his last year of primary school because of some stupid tests which will have little to no bearing in his life in a few years

I am aware I have missed out punctuation in my little rant there!

Same here. Dd is completely fed up. They've got her in for booster classes after school even though they do booster classes all week in school time . She's a bright pupil and they're pushing her so much (too much). I keep telling her just do her best and the tests are not the be all and end all. Op I'm in on the sats strike

I have a year 2 child. Parents were invited into the classroom after school yesterday for a little talk about this years SATS. Basically it came across like the teachers were not happy about it, will be 'teaching to the test' from now until May (at the expense of other things such as topic work, geography, history etc - their words not mine!) and the old 'Level 3' will now be the middly, average outcome expected of children.

There was lots of talk about what we need to do with our children at home, to help them through. The teachers showed us the sample papers and seemed very unhappy that they were expected to do them.

To me as a parent it didn't seem terribly different to when DS did year 2 SATS three years ago. I said to DH that of the nine months spent at school this year, it seemed wrong that a third of that time will be spent literally coaching them in the things they need to know to pass a test - his reply was that if this is stuff the children need to know, and they are following the curriculum then surely its a good thing that by the end of it, our children will know these things...

But yeah I'm bored of it already not overly concerned about results as i get the impression DD is slightly above 'average' in most areas, so it feels a bit like punishment to have to wade through all the extra crap just to prove she can do it, on the day!

We were shown revision books that we could purchase from the school that our child is recommended to do every night.

Agree this last year has been nothing special and quite boring DS is so ready to move on

This is all so so pointless and wrong. Our Head thankfully is having none of this. Although the teaching is focussed, my ds (currently year 7_ so SATS last year) didn't see a SATS paper until after Easter.

Thing is it's all different this year that's why schools are worried.

The papers have been changed, the agenda has been changed, the mark systems have been changed and the curriculum has been changed.

Our school is not doing old paper practices like they used to because the format is completely different. We are trying to use sample appears relevant to this year. But even then we are shooting in the dark.

Everyone is crapping themselves and confused because at the end of the day the school and teachers will get it in the neck.

Those children taking year 6 sats this year will have huge gaps in their knowledge because suddenly they were expected to know stuff they didn't have to learn until year 7 and haven't yet been taught.

Yes handwriting counts too so even if your paper is good if your handwriting is bad you won't get a high mark.

Our kids did a sample paper for maths last week. It looks like it's gone right back to where I started many moons ago at school, basic ( but quite difficult arithmetic and fractions). It was much harder than the level 2-5 papers they had been doing that's for sure.

3-5 papers I mean.
It was a least at an old level 6.

Also you are no longer allowed to with draw pupils who are not able to manage on a basic level . Everyone has to try even if there are those who can't do one single question.

My dd is very anxious about maths and is in year 7. I have been helping her with homework via my maths and she is doing stuff that is way beyond her. She is in mixed set class. She is doing stuff at a much higher level than her older siblings did and this is because of the curriculum change.

DF knew one of the people who 'invented' the idea of SATs as part of the national curriculum. They told him that if they had known the results were going to be published, and used to judge the school on, they would have scrapped the whole thing as it was obvious that schools would teach to the test, and that 'average' would become 'minimum expected'. The tests were originally meant purely for 'internal monitoring' purposes.

Ah now I understand why ds1's teacher keeps going on about handwriting and the extra lessons ... And he is only year 1! He is going be neater than me by christmas - he can do the cards and tags!

I hear you!

My DD2 is doing year 6 SATS this year and she is in a total state about them already.

She struggles with anxiety big time so the pressure she is being put under is causing no end of problems - up all night worrying, floods of tears, stress every night over homework.

She struggles academically and has some SEN and she is so worried about the whole thing

I've been in and had words. They have been given a booklet which they're expected to complete over half term but we're on holiday for the week and I refuse to take it with us, but DD is so stressed and upset about the whole thing so I've had enough of it all

Yes they have writing assement papers

Yes handwriting counts too so even if your paper is good if your handwriting is bad you won't get a high mark

Neither of these are entirely accurate.

There are no writing papers. Writing is teacher assessed over a child's written work across all subjects, and a judgement is made against that. It is true that a child who does not meet the expected standard for handwriting will be judged as 'working towards the expected standard' instead of 'working at'.

It also true that both expected standards at the end of both key stages are significantly above were they were previously, and well beyond the maturity of some Y2/Y6 children.

However, I am a Year 2 teacher, and we haven't completed a single past paper. I wouldn't dream of sending any home as homework either.

I though they could be given the expected standard if all criteria except handwriting were met. They just can't be given 'working at greater depth'.

Now the writing exemplification is out, I don't suppose that's going to be as much of an issue as it looked like it might have been a few weeks ago.

Interesting, Rafa - our advisors have said every single one of the interim framework statements must be met to be at expected, and that there were still talks going on as late as last Friday as to whether physical difficulties would be admissible in discounting the handwriting statements.

From the KS2 writing exemplification materials:

' Where pupils have a physical disability that prevents them from being able to write, the statements relating to handwriting can be excluded from the teacher assessment. Where pupils are physically able to write and meet all of the statements except for being able to produce legible handwriting, they may be awarded the ‘expected standard’ but cannot be awarded the ‘greater depth’ standard. This refers to the final statements within ‘Working towards’ and ‘Working at the expected standard’.

I think it must have been in the draft too, because there was a thread in 'Chat about it a few weeks ago. Obviously, there's still plenty of time to change it between now and May

I haven't looked that closely at the KS1 materials. I assume it would be the same but that's probably not a wise assumption.

Looking at the STA briefing stuff, it's looking like you are right, Rafa - though why STA cannot make sure everyone is clear, I have no idea. It's v frustrating and makes people look like idiots!

I don't think it's possible to introduce any part of this curriculum or its assessment without it managing to look like nobody from the top down has a clue what they are doing or what's going on.

The content of the curriculum document isn't bad (writing standards aside). It's implementation seems to have lurched from one complete fuck up to another.

Should I be worried as a parent of a Y6 DS and as a school governor that DS's teacher is not testing them to the extremes that some other schools seem to be? Mind she seems to be having numerous meetings this week and not actually teaching so I guess it might all change once she is back in class.

I know various children are having booster sessions during the day, but I think that is to focus on weaker children. The more able children are getting additional literacy homework, which is more challenging, and some children, including DS, are attending maths workshops at another school which are geared towards children who would have been level 6 under the old scheme.

They certainly don't seem to be doing any more tests than they normally do, but I assume that will change at some point.

In my governor role the HT has discussed the difficulty of finding tests under the new curriculum. We use one provider that seems to set the bar quite high, whereas other local schools are using different ones which appear to be easier. It is such a muddle this year.

It's implementation seems to have lurched from one complete fuck up to another.

That's the most accurate statement I've read throughout this entire debacle!