so my son failed his SATs and thinks he's stupid.

[spudlike1]

He failed his SATS and has been in floods of tears , how the hell does one limit damage to his self esteem on this . I'm so gutted for him and those like him what a away to start his secondary education . He's on a spectrum for dyslexia can't spell or remember t tables etc etc . But this does not make it easier to cope with

Spud my post was to fortifiedwithtea who seemed to think the school disapplied her child so their league tables wouldn't be "buggered up"

None of our Y6 children did any of the SAT preparation you describe so not all schools put this type of unnecessary pressure on pupils. Presumably you supported him attending the booster sessions?

Why does he need to share his results with anyone?

Thankyou for the tea Mrz , there were no weekend sessions at school, we tried to do what we could at home and he attended after school catch up in term time . Correct me if im wrong but I think primary schools are under enormous pressure to do well in SATS beause they are judged and that puts enormous uneccessary pressure on yr 6 and their diet is fixated with numeracy and literacy , how is this a quality education
why aren't more parents angry

There's a generation above me that still define themselves by thier performance in the 11 plus ,I think the SATs is having a lasting negative impact

You're wrong

Schools have lots of pressures but it is their choice to pass on those pressures to staff and pupils. Time tables should be mastered in Y4 presumably the school knew yet chose to leave it until just before the tests to try to cram ...it doesn't work!

Well I haven't started blaming the school ...
,yet . We moved house because at the time it was apparently ' outstanding ' and made gigantic efforts at home to get him reading . I think the system has let him down .
he was never statemented not enough funding apparently .

And I'm realistic about what a teacher and a TA can do for individual needs in a class of 30 . I really don't see the benefit of SAT s only the potential devastation .

A great deal

You've discovered the price of some schools cling to the outstanding label

They recently got their second RI judgement

Mrz there is an 11 year old boy at the heart of this.

SATS were introduced for political expediency, not because they add any value to pupils or to schools. Surely you can't argue that this has been a positive learning experience for the OP's son?

Hitting the target, and missing the point springs to mind.

I can't comment on statements as I don't know either the school or your son but from what you've said his needs probably wouldn't warrant a statement but the school still has a duty to meet these regardless of funding

I feel that it's probably best that OP's ds shouldn't have sat SATS. What's the point?
Is he properly supported? What are they actually doing to help him address the areas of concern, Ie the times tables,because clearly he will need this going forward. THAT should have been the focus.

What did the school say before the sats OP? They must have given you a prediction. What did HE think of his predicted grades? In hindsight (wonderful thing that!!) you might have agreed that it wasn't best for him to participate.

What support are you being offered for resits? How is the transition to secondary going? Those are probably more important issues to now focus on.

There aren't any resits.
Almost half the pupils who sat the tests in May did not reach the expected standard ...most of these children don't have SEN

So what's your point mrz

So what's your view on these tests

Correcting misinformation

This year's tests were a shambles start to finish ...teachers were given a framework for standards children were expected to meet then children were given tests that tested different things. It's almost as if the DfE were making it up as they went along.
But that doesn't excuse schools that placed immense pressure on pupils with pointless weekend cramming sessions. Too much too late

Don't know if DS's class was unusual but I don't think they discussed their results with each other. They were given their results in an envelope on a Friday home time with strict instructions that they needed to be opened by a parent. There was then a fun event at the school, so I think by the time the children had seen the results and then came back into school on the Monday, they had forgotten all about them.

Our school tried to keep the SATS as relaxed as possible. We had quite a tough cohort, with a higher than average proportion of pupils with various issues and higher than average pupil premium children. They had booster sessions in school time, but no sessions outside normal class time. Normal amount of homework. During the actual tests, once each test was over the children were allowed to relax and play games. No extra revision.

We had a number of children who didn't achieve the expected standard but our results were better than the national average.

Ineedaholidaynow, that is exactly how it should be, the children do their absolute best but with no pressure applied and the school making it as relaxed a situation as it possible.
This is about the schools and the staff at the schools doing their job. The results of the primary school I am chair of the governing board are excellent this year but as a governing board we know that current years 3 and 4 are cohorts that are not going to be as good as this year. We already have that evidence. That is about knowing your pupils and their capabilities, it is about every teacher and staff member doing their absolute best for each and every pupil but more importantly making learning fun, whilst accepting that every pupil is an individual. It is not what is crammed in to pupil's heads in year 6, it is everything they learn and experience in every year group from reception onward.

I think our school managed SATS really well. There were in school booster sessions for some children and pre SAT breakfast every day but otherwise it was all low key. None of the children were visibly upset before the tests or by their results and the teachers were outwardly upbeat and relaxed. A few parents were hyped up by the whole media storm. After the tests I haven't seen parents obsessing over the outcome, possibly less so than previous years as people understood the whole levels system better.

It is not what is crammed in to pupil's heads in year 6, it is everything they learn and experience in every year group from reception onward.

Totally agree!

Can you focus on things he loves and is good at?

For my dyslexic sat-failing son (now going into y9 ) it helped his self esteem no end to focus on what he loves.

He loves tech, and I have sent him to a summer camp for a week of programming/tech stuff (£££ but great)

He loves music, so he has lessons and sometimes practises with a friend, played in a band at school this year.

He loves his martial arts

It all takes time and money, but we were tired and bored with extra hours spent on spelling practice leading to nowhere.

Instead we focus on what he is good at.

Best thing we ever did.