Home ed for one term/SATs

[karaokesmokey]

I'm considering home education for the half term between Easter and May half term for DD in year six. Re SATs-Yes, that is deliberate, and the point.

We don't have pressure on school places here, and DD is in the 2nd admission criteria. I do not imagine they will fill her place, and that is a risk I'm willing to take. (Worst case scenario, I can home ed for the second half of the term, too).

The school will not be chuffed, for obvious reasons. My question is, if they have a place available, and we are top of the list, and apply for it just before May half term for her to return after the half term, can they deny her it?

I don't wish to discuss the merits of SATs here, just whether pissing the school off can affect admissions.

Alternatively, is the £60 fine per absence, or per day? If DD misses SATs week, and I've ensured she's had access to the internet, my reading tells me she then can't sit them. Is that true?

My school draws students from a wide area (grammar) so we re-test all year 7s. In your position, I would work back from secondary to make your decision of what's best to do.

State maintained schools can't refuse to admit pupils if they have spaces.

Phiney - do you use the strange sats grammar tests though or your own tests?

Presumably a fair few at a grammar school come from the independent sector and never studied all the convoluted grammar the state kids are supposed to.

It is the head teachers responsibility to administer the tests so if their unions take action they can refuse as happened in 2010

We can't afford to lose my wage so can't HE but I really don't want my dc to experience SATS stress, anxiety and waste all of year 6 on them...

Ah yes we've not at year 6 so my plan to homeschool for the year may fail!

Absence fines are not per day and not everywhere even fines (no one at dc's school had received a fine)

The NAHT (head teachers union) gave the DfE a week to respond to concern and are considering action

And the NUT are meeting with the NAHT to discuss concerns this week. They both worked together to boycott in 2010.

Afaik, it's just emails to members so far, but as mrz says, the NAHT have given the government a week to respond to serious concerns, so things should now move very quickly.

I wonder if p, now that Gove is out of the way, they might quietly just do a u-turn as they have on flexi-schooling? Will keep my fingers and toes crossed...

That is heartening mrz and feenie.

Thanks for sharing that.

Is it just the KS2 SATs that primary schools are pissed off about or are the Y2 ones horrendous as well?

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/492936/2016_KS1_Assessment_and_reporting_arrangements__ARA__14012016_PDFA.pdf combined with exemplification materials that suggest children who would have exceeded expectations last year will be lucky to meet expected this ...

At parents evening we had "X would definitely have exceeded expectations in the past, we are pleased with her progress but we have no idea how the govt is settling levels for sats this year."

Yep. Y6 teachers in general seem to be tearing their hair out.

The cohort of children who were being stretched to top L5 or L6 last year are now barely if at all 'meeting expectations'.

Those going into Y6 where the old curriculum indicated that they should be at the end of Y5 have little chance of 'meeting expectations'.

I don't have a problem with children being taught grammar. It's useful in lots of ways including MFLs. It is a problem that they and the teachers are being forced to play 'catch up' though.

The reason I think I could get away with just Sats week itself is that if she knows she's never sitting sats, she can take an attitude of curious observation, rather than joining in the stress.

However, I think you're correct that ASAP would be better.

The week away is paid for already. If I make it clear she's returning, I don't see them not allowing her to go. But they might be that cross, I suppose.

I'm not going in to why I don't want her sitting sats, but it's safe to say nothing could persuade me to let her sit them. I'm sure the secondary copes with kids from abroad/homeschool/private sector, who don't have the magic sats scores.

I know that this year is a completely different situation that before, but just bare in mind that many secondaries test every 10 minutes, so avoiding SATS week is just the start of it.

DS is Year 7, and he has had SATS type tests in every subject every half term, in every subject, with the results being sent to us electronically. That was after CATS tests in July of Year 6, SATS in May Year 6, and secondary entrance tests September Year 6. Honestly, they test so much, they just have to get used to it.

Sunny. I dont mind that so much as they are teaching actual subjects and actual content so testing is just keeping tabs on progress.

Sats are billed as this huge thing that their school career is leading to in junior school and it's only maths and "English" or rather grammar. So there is leas of the rounded curriculum and basically maths and English classes making up most of the day. And a years worth of practice tests leading up to the One BIG Test. That's quite different to just regular subject testing in my opinion.

Leas =less.

I'm not interested in the pros and cons of her sitting sats.

She's not sitting sats in year 6.

Testing in year 7 is another kettle of fish. She is not sitting sats this year.

The question is, how do I best achieve her not sitting sats?

Thanks for all the help. I'm still not clear on the fine? Is it per day, or per absence?

I am starting to wish I'd just pulled her out to an independent school for the year.

What annoys me is that actual exams that matter like GCSEs, I could postpone more easily that this garbage.