The weekend before SATs...

[JustCallMeJones]

My dm has offered to have Ds from Fri until Sunday on the weekend before SATs.

Currently Ds seems to be doing lots of SATs revision at school, has brought papers home etc

How will you be preparing your dc the weekend before?

Ds doesn’t seem fazed by them atm, in fact he tells me he’s looking forward to them

Is it best just to chill out and think ‘what will be will be’ and let him go to my dm, where he will late nights, haribos and loads of fun

[JsOtherHalf]

Ds wanted lots of cuddles tonight.

They've something fun arranged for Friday in school.

[LivingMyBestLife]

DD very nervous about them - starts with her worst subject too!

Also not helping is the fact that she has a hormonal period headache and a bad cold (she was ill last week and seems to be getting it back). Not sure how she'll be tomorrow, we'll see.

We had a letter recently from the secondary school she has accepted a place at (not her favourite but that's another story) who have already said that they will have a taster day at secondary school which will include baseline tests. So they don't appear to be relying totally on the SATs results tbh!

[TattyFrench]

My DS has his SATS starting tomorrow, the school have been completely low key. DS is an anxious child, he hasn't mentioned them at all this weekend apart from saying T6 are going to the park and having ice creams on Friday afternoon.
The school know it's a shit load of pressure to put on kids so they put no pressure on them bar the standard practice they do in lesson time.

[Magaggie]

It's more the lies that have been told to my child than the actual SATS, cansu. Their teacher told them he'd lose his job if their results were poor, their results depended on them getting into their preferred secondary school, there'll be no more school trips if they do poorly, etc. The pressure they've put on these 10 and 11 year olds is terrible. Yes, my kids school is an 'outstanding' one but I have realised that Ofsted ratings have little bearing on the reality of attending the actual school. There's too many issues to go into here but I and lots of other parents wouldn't put another child in this school. If my daughter had been treated with gentle encouragement instead of aggressive lies then I would have a different attitude towards SATS. But having her fret weekly about all this has angered me greatly. I should have explained this better in my original post!

[LadyPenelope68]

Another Year 6 teacher here and my instructions to the children I teach was that this weekend they should relax, have fun and do exactly what they want with novtevision whatsoever. I’ve told them they’ve not to worry, the person who dies the worrying is me, not them. They need to come in bright and early Monday morning, happy and smiling and ready to show off how fabulous they are.

[PiggeryPorcombe]

Well ds was awake crying on and off for 3hrs in the night so not sure how much fabulous he’ll showing off today

[AvonCallingBarksdale]

We’re in a Grammar school county, so DD has already done and passed her 11+ so for us that was the biggie. The SATS are really just for the primary schools’ records here and have no bearing on Grammar sets. I think you may need to get a certain level in SATS to be able to take the 12+ though. I think it’s too much at this stage of year 6!

[ShowOfHands]

DD spent this weekend ill in bed. We've already been told that even if unwell, they need to come in. She's still asleep right now. I am crossing everything that she's better this morning.

Good luck today everybody.

[TheWoollybacksWife]

Hope your DD feels better soon Showy.

DS has had a normal weekend. No homework set by the school and he just did his usual stuff tv/karate/PS4/winding his sisters up . His school have been far more laid back with him than they were with his older sisters. Everyone knows about SATS and there has been lots of work in school but we haven't had interminable practice papers to do at home and he seems really chilled about it all.

Need to shift ourselves as there is SATS breakfast club all week and I am under strict instructions from him to get him there in plenty of time so he doesn't miss the bacon butties.

[JsOtherHalf]

Ds seems ok this morning, but still seems to need more physical contact eg he asked me to do his suncream, which he usually does himself.

He also wants me to collect him this afternoon, rather than walk home.

Hope everyone else does ok this week.

[TheTurnOfTheScrew]

for those with stressed DC - roll on Friday.

DC1's gone off to have breakfast at school (SATS week special). She's ok, but that's only because she's lucky enough to be the kind of kid with a good memory who is fine with that particular kind of learning.

They had instructions to relax over the weekend, but this seemed a bit hollow given that they had practice papers galore to do at home over Easter, and loads of homework on a nightly basis. I understand that schools are in a difficult position but I don't think ours has the balance right.

[BackInTime]

DD didn’t sleep well had tummy ache, which she seems to get when worried. Fingers crossed she will be ok. Best of luck to all.

[ShowOfHands]

Bacon butties?! I won't tell DD that as it's cereal and toast at our SATs special breakfast club.

Thanks Wool. DD is not right but she's a bit better and has gone in. She slept 14 hours on Friday night, got up, drank a pint of water and went back to bed for the day. She did at least eat a small amount yesterday but was still prone on the sofa with a book all day. She's utterly laidback about SATs but I do worry that as she's unwell, she won't do her best. Och well. She's lovely and kind and curious. Don't need tests to tell us that.

I am mildly concerned to find out that they've taught the DC something incorrect re maths. DD announced this morning that she knows the school is wrong and so does her best friend (she has a maths tutor as she has dyscalculia) but they were both "corrected" this week. I need to see a teacher today before the maths papers start. I do so love being That Parent.

[JoffreyMonfrere]

School have prepared DS2 for his SATs. For the last 2 weekends, homework has been Relax And Have Fun.
He has relaxed and had fun. Kept an eye on bedtimes/ lie ins so that getting up this morning was fine. And made sure he had a good breakfast.
Headteacher sent a letter to every child on Friday telling them they are unique and loved for who they are, and not for their SATs results. The school usually come in the top 10 of the LEA for SATs results- so do very well without flogging or pressurising the kids whatsoever. No past papers over the weekend!!!! It's not university finals fgs. They've got it just right.
DS1 has started written GCSEs this morning. He's more on my radar to be honest.

[ShowOfHands]

Dd's class teacher wrote to each child too and baked things for them on Friday. They've got a free school trip on Monday as a well done and a residential holiday in a few weeks. I'll be glad when this week is over. The school is fab but there are some anxious children right now.

[Titsywoo]

DS went in pretty happily this morning. He did well on the practice SATs 2 weeks ago so is confident he can do ok. He has ASD and had been 2 years behind on reading and writing until this year when he has suddenly surged ahead. He does have a transcribe as his handwriting is quite bad (they don't write for him they go over it with him afterwards and copy things that can't be read easily).

He is looking forward to the bits after the tests as they tend to play games and he is desperate to play on the trim trail in the playground.

We are going to Warner Bros Studios as a end of SATs treat on Friday as he is a big Harry Potter fan :)

[ShowOfHands]

Ohhh the Warner Bros studio. How brilliant. Have you been before?

DD is doing maypole dancing this afternoon. No lessons all week, just the SATs. Lots of playing, reading, baking, sports.

[Starlight2345]

I don’t know what my son is doing the rest of the day but I did remind him his Sats paper was only an hour he is at school for 6 hours.

[Titsywoo]

No not been before. I've loved HP for ages but DS only got into it in the last few months (DD and DH aren't interested at all). Really looking forward to it!

DS just grunted when I asked how it went today. He said some of the questions at the end of the paper were harder than he's had before. Looking forward to tomorrow being over as reading comp is his least favourite.

[TheWoollybacksWife]

The is a bit of a heated discussion going on over PS4 chat about the adverbials question. It is being balanced by a discussion about who ate how much Nutella at breakfast club

[TattyFrench]

DS missed the whole term of school between Feb and Easter so I was a bit worried, as he'd essentially missed the whole term of SATs preparation.
He said he enjoyed it! 😁
His teacher said the whole class were amazing and there was no upset or worry from any of the children, they all went out to play after.

[SquidgeyMidgey]

My dd went away to the coast with the Sea Cadets for the weekend. If she hadn't gone she would have missed out on a great trip and sat at home fretting about poxy sats. I don't give a fig for the sats, and I say that as a former teacher. Her secondary school will do midyis, which is much more accurate if you're into that sort of thing. Personally I'm a bit free-range and feel they grow into themselves and the best way to know a child's abilities is to, shock, listen to them and spend time with them.