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?

There haven't been Y9 SATs for years and years!

So you really, really don't want her to do SATs...that's fine, boycott them, but realise you are being unfair on her if she misses out on all the end of Y6 things primary schools do after SATs, but hey, if you would rather she be an amused observer so be it.

I wonder if she will be an amused observer in life in general, or whether you are able to instill in her an attitude where she realises some things just have to be got on with.

My DS1 wrote to Ed Balls saying her really didn't want to do SATs. Mr Balls wrote a rather brilliant letter back saying something like we all have to do things in life we don't really want to, but sometimes they are necessary for one reason or another. So DS1 sucked it up, and and has learned that in life sometimes you just have to get on and do things, and not be an amused observer.

But you are your DDs mother, and if you feel you must risk not getting a school place back, it's a risk you'll just have to take.

piratespoo and Spoton - it is to be assumed that you let your children play on motorways then??

GCSEs are a hell of a lot more stressful than SATs I suppose, and there are a lot more of them over a longer period....

I only let my DC play on motorways the week after SATs, as a special treat.

I wonder just how cross the school will be.
I think likely that rancor would seep to OP's kid, she would know. So not worth going back for the last 1/2 term (June-July).

Well I guess it's like training a child for a race, getting them psychologically and mentally ready to perform. And then just before you see how well your runner is about to perform, the parent removes them from the contest but insists on them being at the after-race party.

Not cross as such, but let down? Disappointed that the moment has been removed? Finding it a bit odd that every other person is taking part?

I think the child will feel really odd and inwardly disappointed to be removed from something that her whole class is doing? I certainly wouldn't feel cross towards the child. More pity.

Since, presumably, it's the SATs you have a beef with and not the school, it would be fairer to the school to deregister. If you go on holiday, her non-score will still be counted in their results, which may have even further reaching consequences. Doesn't seem right.

GCSEs really do make a difference to a child's life. Secondary schools seem to be far saner about GCSE or a levels than primaries are about SATs. I think year 9 is stressful even without SATs. Internal tests decide which tier of GCSE or set a child is in. There are lots of social pressures with teens.

I'm guessing the OP's objection is based on her principles rather than because her child is particularly stressed, given that she doesn't object to the constant testing that goes on in secondaries.

Which is fine - I think most people agree! It's a shame though when parent's need to make a point on principle is at the expense of the child.

www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/nut-calls-sats-be-suspended-after-widespread-criticism-new-assessment

All the teaching unions are expected to meet on Thursday to discuss a joint response.

Blimey!

I can understand people who are opposed to testing children at all. I think they are a bit bonkers, but I can understand their point of view. But I can't understand being opposed to SaTs and only SATs.

I think it's because she wants to piss off the school. I think her child is expected to do really well, and she sees no reason why the school should get any credit for it. Which, unless the school is crap, is incredibly mean spirited and unpleasant.

I agree Bertrand

feenie I would like to think the unions would be listened to but I doubt it.

Hi. Seems to be some odd information on here!
1/. The teaching unions are utterly pathetic and do whatever the govt tells them so please don't rely on them to do any 'deals' with dfe. They are not the BMA.
2/. Fines for absence are different depending on your local authority. So please google your county council website as no ones advice on here will be right unless they are in the same LA as you.
3/. The school has up to 5 days after the tests to sit any absent children. After this, they can't and submit them for marking. They could only mark them internally for evidence of your child's levels once the mark schemes are published.
4/. Being absent for SATS in a PIA for the school as they count as 0 in the published figures. If you take her off roll to HE and put her on after, she is removed from the school figures. Your school is likely to be far happier with this than absence.
5/. Secondary school allocation is done by then. Once allocated, her place can't be removed unless you have provided fraudulent info on your form. You haven't and you will have the primary schools attendance record to show this.
6/. all above is a moot point because you can just tell the school to disapply her? There isn't actually anything they can do. It's rubbish for the school (see above) but there is no legal way to make a parent make their child sit the test (no matter what any one says!) The HT is legally bound to administer the test, you have PR and can say no. School can't withdraw the child's place because that would be penalising the child for parents action. I'm a HT of 3 primary schools so I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talking about.

I'd settle for a boycott and completely knackering the league tables up again, as in 2010.

It's rubbish for the school (see above) but there is no legal way to make a parent make their child sit the test (no matter what any one says!) The HT is legally bound to administer the test, you have PR and can say no. School can't withdraw the child's place because that would be penalising the child for parents action. I'm a HT of 3 primary schools so I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talking about.

It'd be a pretty rubbish thing for the child to be put through - this is an 11 year old, it's the Y6 equivalent of advising her to chain herself to the railings!
Shitty advice from a head of however many schools

Op I have some understanding for you not wishing to sit your dd for SATS was why I posted to point out schools do not blanket need them, Like I said one of mine really hated them and it has flawed how I look at them ..

I know that legally the school has to give you the space if it is open. However what happens on paper is one thing and where I would worry is certainly the bit about " what if the school takes issue"

No one on here can really answer that question for you (I wish I could)

The residential trip I think woudl depend on their policies again I can't answer.

However if you feel strongly your dd is not to sit it. I would take a leap of faith and go for what you believe to be the best.

If it gets appalling after. You can always take her out again.

One thing did occur to me. You could go in saying "Oh you have decided to homeschool " being all about how much your looking forward to it. Then when you return her simply go in with " its SO much harder than I thought and she misses you all so much" So perhaps the school doesnt have direct "proof" that she was out for SATS but think it was a bit of a hap hazard plan?

Oh I understand the objection to SATS only Bertrand - SATS are the only test sat by children that are solely for the purpose of testing the school. All other exams, mocks, tests etc are arguably for the benefit of the child - determining which set they're in, how they're doing on a particular topic, how well they've learnt last year, how effective their exam technique is.

Well that's not quite true. It's used as a baseline for what secondaries have to achieve on the progress measures, so they are useful to us.

Yes exactly - useful for the school(s) - no use whatsoever to the kids!

And to be fair any kid at secondary should find their way to their correct set within a term or two anyway, regardless of SATS score. And if you're ds you'll find yourself in set 3 despite your SATS because school was a bit crap

It's useful for schools to know where the child is at the baseline in comparison to peers and that helps the child. If they are brilliant but never do them then they will spend time dotting around in sets while staff work out their ability. There are also unscrupulous schools who won't bother as much with children who have no baseline test because they are not being measured. So they are useful to children in my opinion. They help teachers know their level in comparison with others. There are problems of course with them - some primaries spend lots of time coaching for them and some don't. Some kids do zero work from June to September and so regress. But it's better than nothing for placing their learning.

Surely what's worse than sitting the SATS papers is actually all the constant revising, extra classes (that some schools do) and homework from now (if not before) until May?

If I were you I'd de-register now rather than after Easter. It's pointless going through countless lessons filled with revision and drilling to pass the test, not to mention the potential passed-on stress, boredom or self esteem issues that may be a by-product of the pre-SATS weeks.

We plan to boycott year 6 (and year 5) and HE for various reasons, one of which is SATS and the waste of a year with so much teaching to the test that will go on.

The teaching unions are utterly pathetic and do whatever the govt tells them so please don't rely on them to do any 'deals' with dfe. They are not the BMA.

So, effic, are you in support of Russell Hobby's letter to members, and the proposal for discussion of joint action from the NAHT and all the other unions?

Feenie - what sort of schools do you work in?? How on earth is it akin to chaining a child to the rails? Good grief. I disapply a small proportion of children from SATS every year. Children who are working significantly below the standard of the text, children who don't speak enough English to participate, a child whose father died in the month before the test and twice children whose parents, like the OP, utterly objected to the whole principle of formal testing for their children and didn't want them to participate. I'm appalled by the suggestion that ANY school would penalise a child whose parents said no to SATS. Are you seriously suggesting that teachers, whose main reason for entering the profession in the first place, would be so petty, so vindictive, so unprofessional as to penalise and victimise a child simply for not sitting the SATS test. Christ - I really hope not or all is lost!

Yes I'm fully behind the current Union action as I always am. But all I've ever seen is unions caving under the smallest pressure. Unlike the junior doctors, predominately teachers won't vote for strike action, reluctantly participate when it does happen and unions cave. Have you looked at your pension recently or your less than inflation 1% pay rise recently? I look forward to be proven wrong this time.......

Whoops *Are you seriously suggesting that teachers, whose main reason for entering the profession in the first place is to EDUCATE BUT ALSO CARE FOR CHILDREN, would be so petty, so vindictive, so unprofessional as to penalise and victim a child simply not sitting the SATS tests.
These children can normally be found sat in a year 5 classroom joining in or down in the infants helping out while others are sitting tests as opposed to being chained to any railings 😌