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Primary education

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Original poster

Y6 SATS - dd has been unwell and not prepped

22 replies

maryEliz · 05/05/2017 13:15

Hi, my DD has missed 4 weeks school since beg March due to 2 separate illness and missed last week due to the same thing and now a relative she was close to has died suddenly. " class teacher have left her class since September and there was a major incident of aggression from one child in her class a few months ago which resulted in their explusion but has left many kids with nightmares. She is bright and normally v happy to do tests and passed the 11 plus well. But I have had her in tears all week, scared to do the tests next week in case she does badly and it will be on her record for ever. She is going to Grammar school in Sept and I cant find out if they use the sats results for anything. I am tempted just to accept she has had a really bad run of things (she hasn't really done any prep) and not let her sit them but the school told me this would be on her record forever (i.e. ungraded).I am worried about doing the wrong thing but also worried that next week is going to be too much for her and set up a pattern of her worrying about tests. The school want her to sit them but admit they are being selfish in that wish. Help.....

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BakingWithPreSchoolerand6YO · 05/05/2017 13:30

Speak to the school your DD will be going to and find out if / how they use the results.

If they use them to immediately set students then ask what happens with students who missed the tests.

In all schools the results have to be used as a benchmark against which GCSE results are measured for OFSTED and league table purposes. In terms of how that affects students, depending on the school's strategies and policies, it could mean that certain students are perpetually flagged up as "target students" for extra support or to check their progress as they'll affect the school's data more.

If the school has a healthy attitude to the tests and each child's progress, they'll continually assess attainment using a variety of means, and students won't be stuck in a category or set based on a much-criticised test at the age of 10/11.

As a Secondary School Teacher I've never taught in a school that has valued the KS2 SATS. We acknowledge that the match up between KS2 and GCSE affects how OFSTED view is and the league tables, but have no faith in the test itself as an indicator of either ability or potential in any real way. The marking standard can be hugely variable and the content of the tests themselves ignores many important skills that have a greater ability to show what a child can do. We always teach year 7 students in their form groups (mixed ability) for at least a month before assessing their abilities and placing in ability sets. Ability sets are fluid - moving students as and when required to ensure they are all able to achieve.

As a parent, under your circumstances I wouldn't be sending DD to do the tests. It seems from your OP that lower results than she hopes for would be more detrimental than simply not sitting them - just confirm with her new school that she won't be setted based on not sitting them.

BlueChampagne · 05/05/2017 13:32

As I understand it, if she didn't sit the tests, it would be on the school's record forever, but not hers. Have you contacted the grammar school directly and asked them if they use SATs results, and what consequences there might (or might not) be to her secondary education if she didn't sit them? Especially as she's already passed 11+.

BarbarianMum · 05/05/2017 14:12

If she's well enough send her, if she isn't don't. Keeping her home to avoid them is just as likely to "set up a pattern" of exam phobia as sending her. And honestly, by Y6 any child who is grammer school material isn't going to be bombing in any case.

PatriciaHolm · 05/05/2017 15:48

I would be very surprised if the grammar were remotely interested. Not least because I would imagine they get a fair few children from private school who won't have sat them.

Bear in mind if you do decide to keep her off she would need to be off for 2 weeks - if she goes back the week after SATS she is still supposed to take them.

CaulkheadNorth · 05/05/2017 15:51

Grammar school here don't care.
Some schools allow children to sit in in a separate room, school might offer her that as an option

mrz · 05/05/2017 17:06

"As I understand it, if she didn't sit the tests, it would be on the school's record forever, but not hers" you understand wrongly ...it would impact on the schools data for a single year and the child's until leaving school (it's used by the DfE to set individual targets for GCSEs)

Biscuitsneeded · 05/05/2017 17:11

The grammar school won't be interested in her SATs. But as others have said, don't inadvertently give your DD the idea that exams are big and scary and that you can stay off school if you don't feel ready. As long as she's better, send her to school, tell her to relax and do her best but it doesn't matter what she gets as you're super proud of her whatever and she doesn't need great results anyway.

Hoppinggreen · 05/05/2017 19:11

None of the Secomdary schools care here
Grammar uses the 11+ results
School A retests
School B doesn't stream
Private school uses entrance exam
Because of this I told my DD not to worry about them at all

cantkeepawayforever · 05/05/2017 20:09

I think it depends when the secondary cares.

IME, they don't use it for setting in Years 7-9 BUT they are used to set targets for year 11 (because that is how the Government assesses progress and holds secondary schools to account).

So there has been a surprising amount of pressure on DS in years 10 ansd especially 11 to do extremely well in e.g. English, because he scored well in SATs, whereas his skill in English is NOT the type of textual / contextual analysis typical of GCSE English Literature! he's almost certain to be a blot on their progress copybook, but they have really worked hard with him this year, whereas had he done less well at KS2 they might well have just classed him as 'a typical Set 2 pupil'.

Hulababy · 05/05/2017 20:13

If she doesn't sit them, how will school predict her GCSEs?
Just curious really as, although I work in primary, Im only in infants so don't deal with KS2 SATs.

DD is in Y10 and has GCSE targets set, but she didn't do SATs (her school didn't do them at all.)

Most of the local schools here don't set using SATs results. The ones I know about tend to have their own tests in Y7 and use them.

TeenAndTween · 05/05/2017 20:15

If she is going to grammar school surely she should 'pass' the tests even with missing 4 weeks of school and the disruption?

I would go for telling her to do them, do her best, but you will all have to remember when the results come out that she didn't have ideal preparation.

Failing to try is worse than trying and failing in my book.

Ferguson2 · 05/05/2017 20:16

Try not to concern yourselves with SATs.

She has done well to get into Grammar - that is the important thing!

soimpressed · 05/05/2017 20:17

Our local grammar pays them no attention - all the children sit a different sort of test in Y7 and predictions are based on these.

Haffdonga · 05/05/2017 20:27

SATS Do NOT Matter for the dc, only for the school.

Schools may use them to measure progress over time, so if your dd does less well in her Sats in yr 6 than expected but then scores stellar GCSE scores later , her school will look fantastic. Happy days.

GrimmDays · 05/05/2017 20:32

If she can pass the 11+ SATs will not be an issue.

I would imagine keeping her off will be much worse as if she's already had 4 weeks
off keeping her off again is going to give her an absolutely appalling attendance for the year. Also saying she doesn't have to do what's considered an important exam
Because she "doesn't feel ready" isn't a great message either imo.

I would send her in and tell her not to
Worry about the grades just do her best. It will all be over in a week. She will have been preparing all year. They don't learn everything they need to know in the last 6 weeks.

AllPizzasGreatAndSmall · 05/05/2017 23:08

The whole time at school has been prepping her, not a few weeks in year 6.

Feenie · 05/05/2017 23:28

These are end of key stage 2 tests - she hasn't been away for four years.

steppemum · 05/05/2017 23:48

I have 2 dcs at grammar. The school were not remotely interested in SATs and did their own assessments in year 7.
Even if the school uses SATs results, it really won't make a difference, they will work round it.

She really needs to know that SATs do NOT matter. They are for the school and not the child. Nothing is going to change even if she does badly. Her 11 + was what mattered.
Tell her to do her best, hae a go, and don't worry about the results.

elephantscansing · 05/05/2017 23:50

If she wants to go to grammar, she will have assessments every 6 weeks, plus an exam week at the end of each year.

She will need to be good at taking exams.

Most schools will do their own assessments in year 7 anyway.

Neolara · 05/05/2017 23:56

If she does badly (compared to how she would have been expected to do if she hadn't missed school) the main outcome seems to be that she will have slightly lower predicted target grades at GCSE. However, the school will probably be absolutely delighted, because once your dd is back attending school full time she will almost certainly do extremely well (given that she's got into grammar). Consequently the data will show that your dd has made better than expected progress given her SATs results. This will look brilliant on their progress 8 scores. I suspect a lot of secondary school are not terribly sad when bright kids do unexpectedly badly at end of Key Stage 2 SATS.

Tell her not to give it a second thought.

DoctorDonnaNoble · 06/05/2017 06:10

I teach in a grammar school. We ignore SATs. Many of the students don't have them and we don't set for any subjects in year 7. Give the school a ring, they are likely to be the same and then you can reassure her.

DoctorDonnaNoble · 06/05/2017 06:13

How do we set targets? I believe the CATs are used. We don't seem to obsessively pour of individual data based targets in the way other schools do. Our departmental targets are given to us as cohort targets. We track students to ensure they make progress obviously. But not in the 'flight path' way some schools are doing.

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