KS1 SATs - lower than expected results

[3littleowls]

Hello, my son is a summer born and has just turned 7. We've just had his results in as 98 for reading and 97 for maths. We haven't had any feedback yet from his teacher, but we're left feeling worried and unsure what to think about how to help him. Up until this point all feedback was that he was meeting expected levels and a bit above in some areas. He's reading gold band books but wasn't keen on reading anything at all during lockdowns so progress slowed then. Does anyone with experience of children in yr2 who are summer born and haven't achieved a 'pass' at ks1 SATs have any reassurance, or advice on how we can help him? In the SATs view, he's not performing where he's meant to be for his age and we're worried what this means for juniors and possibly secondary stage though it's early I know. Also if there's a general view that KS1 SATs don't indicate very much or mean a lot, that would also be good to understand for perspective!

It's only just under a pass. I honestly wouldn't be too worried. Most schools don't even give you the results for ks1 SATs.

One test doesn't indicate if a child is 'expected' or not. If he has been meeting the expected standard and above throughout the year, this is what the teacher's will/should record him down as, regardless of the test result. The tests are just one piece of evidence to help them make a judgement about where a child is in their learning. I've taught year 2 many times in the past and would not worry about a scaled score of 97/98.

Did they give a teacher assessment along with the SATs results?

Thank you very much @YouCantBeSadHoldingACupcake and @MardyBumm - I really appreciate your replies and perspective. I think part of this is the surprise in that all his previous reports and parent evenings have shown him to be meeting expected levels and close to exceeding for a couple of areas apparently. But suddenly the teacher assessment has changed in this report and said he's working towards levels for maths and reading and writing. There have been recent hints about his maturity in that sometimes he can be easily distracted and is behind others in his ability to concentrate. But when he wants to, he can focus and he behaves well generally in class.

@MardyBumm , you mentioned you wouldn't be worried about that scaled score which is reassuring. In your experience, do summer borns struggling a bit with writing and reading (and he never enjoys them, it can be a struggle sometimes), often see it click in year 3 or 4? I'm not sure if there's anything we can actively do to help him or if we just wait and give lots of encouragement.

Does it matter? He's 7.

I really get it @TattyBogart. I'm just looking for perspective on whether the SATs does indicate any issues (future or not) and whether there's anything I can do to support him better if he is struggling to keep up at the moment.

3littleowls
The trends in data show that summer born children have a lower starting point but that they make more progress than autumn born children (because they have to) and that it does balance out eventually.

However, it doesn't happen by itself and often comes from targetted work by school staff to create that accelerated progress. You can help, quite significantly, through what you do with him at home. You say he doesn't enjoy reading and this is a worrying sign in a child so young. I'd strongly suggest starting by deliberately creating a reading culture in your household in order to generate more excitement around it through stuff like:

• him regularly seeing you (and other family members) reading and talking about books,
• creating inviting reading nooks to entice him to use them,
• new "mystery" book deliveries. What's just arrived? Oh the wrapping paper is ripped: what can you see? Etc.
• looking at how books are displayed in your home: are they inviting?

On another note, I'd be slightly concerned that the school weren't accurately assessing him before if his attainment has changed dramatically. It'll be a different teacher next year but perhaps just keep a closer eye on their assessments of him earlier in the year and feel free to ask questions about why he is assessed as where he is.

I wouldn't be particularly concerned, but I equally would want to be doing a little extra at home to make up for it. He's nearly expected meaning he's fully capable of catching up to the expected level and for some children who are on the border of two gradings, it does somewhat depend on the test and the day. I'd be reading as much as possible at home and focusing on comprehension. For maths it's harder to give specific ideas but you could ask his teacher where he lost marks.

At KS1 SATs are teacher assessed and the actual test are used to help the teacher, not make the final decision so I think they are likely to be accurate.

Whatever your opinion of the SATs, it does sound like your ds would benefit from some support, so focus on that. You’ve realised that reading slipped during lockdown and reading is key to everything, especially writing. I’d do whatever you can over the summer to encourage enjoyment of reading. Or at least if he won’t enjoy books, let him see reasons why it’s useful to be able to read. Visit the library and bookshops even if you just browse, when he wants to play with any tech or a new toy make him read labels and instructions, try magazines, comics, bribery, anything!

Don’t forget that children have missed at least two terms of school……

Thank you so much everyone for your thoughts - I really appreciate it.

@Iamnotthe1 - thank you for all those excellent reading ideas. The helpful things we do are me reading to him every night and he reads to me too. He's a capable but reluctant reader, and he will ask questions and questions if he possibly can to avoid something he's not keen on. When reading he also gets distracted by pictures and asks questions about them first (and will go off on a real tangent of ideas if I don't steer him back), rather than read the paragraph. It's hard to know what to do to help. He does complete work at school fine and can follow instructions so there's not an issue overall but I'd say his attention span is short at the moment. I'll try all your ideas and keep persevering. He loves Roald Dahl books and myths and legends so I feel like the enjoyment of stories is building.

@ClocksGoingBackwards and @fourtytwochairs - thank you so much for your perspectives. I'm planning to do a bit of reading, writing and maths with him every day over the summer - reading for fun, writing messages and postcards, times tables that kind of thing. I'll ask for specific feedback on the maths too.

@Yellowmellow2 - this is so true and I forget this sometimes. This is the first full academic year he's had and a lot of progress has been made so I'm hoping that it can continue.

I have a summer born 7 yo and he just missed at expected for writing. It was so close they had to decide which was to put it. Apparently it affects the expectations for Yr 6 if he gets at expected now, so they gave him working towards. We all know he's lazy around writing, and whilst he CAN do it, he doesn't really like it.
Speak to school and see what they think.

Just for reassurance... my now 11yo didn't do the KS1 SATs as she was too below the level for her to access the papers.

She has achieved the standard in all three papers in KS2, and is only one term behind in Writing (teacher assessment).

They can make dramatic progress... its not a smooth curve, its more like a stair case with things clicking at different points.

Thank you @SleepingStandingUp - that's useful context and I'll speak to the school this week to find out what areas need support at home. My son sounds v similar to yours with the writing - can do it, but v reluctant to do it or write anything more than he needs to.

Thank you also @PuttingDownRoots - I really appreciate that longer view and that's a v good reminder about things clicking. My son was definitely a staircase kind of development picture as a baby and toddler too.

3littleowls
When reading he also gets distracted by pictures and asks questions about them first (and will go off on a real tangent of ideas if I don't steer him back), rather than read the paragraph. It's hard to know what to do to help.

Try this: go through the pages ahead of time and add simple paper "flaps" over the pictures (can be done with paper or just post it notes). Read the paragraph first and then ask him to make predictions about what the picture will be. This will also help build his comprehension skills and encourage visualisation when he reads while also making it a "game".

@Iamnotthe1 - sorry I've been so slow to reply these last few days. I'm really grateful for your ideas and I tried the flaps and guessing game with him this evening and he loved it. Thanks so much!

Glad it worked!