When you know your child will fails yr 6 SATS

[Dancethebluez]

DS is anxious about KS2 SATS. He is delayed academically by 3 years, has learning difficulties, extra support at school, home tutor etc. Has EHCP, in a mainstream primary. He struggles with anxiety around academic work, and has very low self confidence.

We‘ve not made a thing about Yr6 SATs being important to us, as he won’t pass them. As part of EHCP provision he’ll have a reader and scribe for papers where possible. This has reassured him a little.

It sounds like school has cranked up the preparation from last half-term though, and it sounds like there are quite a few children who are anxious re SATs.

If I thought he could pass them I could reassure him, remind him of previous academic success etc. But I know, and the school know he can’t pass.

Anyone have any words of wisdom about how to reassure a child worried about failing when they will not pass. Some of the things I’ve said to him are that his results will help school to see what support he needs in the future, but he still has absorbed the idea that these are hugely important tests to pass.

Is it possible to fail year 6 SATS? I thought they were just a measure of where children were up to?
Have you spoken to his teacher about his anxiety around these tests?

You can't fail SATs. They are just a tool to measure children's ability, which in turn allows determination of a teacher's effectiveness.

They shouldn’t be approached in that way but my daughters school is a SATs factory and it’s very annoying.

I would keep him off on SATs week.

I went with the ‘your not being tested - they are testing how well the teacher has taught you all’. Just do your best

They are forgotten about by October except for GCSE targets.

Do you know any 12-14yos who could reassure him?

I repeated the line that SATS yest the school and the teachers, not the kids.

That secondary school would have plenty of other tests and that SATS were absolutely about checkibg on the school, and how it is doing for everyone.

I followed through on that by explaining (nicely!) to the teacher that we weren't interested in the results.

I have 3 children, all past that stage now. Neither they nor I ever knew their SATS results. It does not appear to have made any difference.

They're just a measure of his progress from the first SATS and baseline assessments in reception to Y6, which can then be used as a measure to see his progress to Y11. You can remind him of his progress since he was 4, and that they will be so useful to help his high school give him work at the right level for him. He only needs to complete them in the way he'd normally complete his work. They are not a test of his abilities.

Secondary school doesn't even know the results so it's meaningless going forward. Secondary will baseline everyone at the start of year 7 so they'll know he needs some extra support.

My FDs SATs results are on her Secondary school progress results. They do know them, and are used to assess the Secondary school teachers effectiveness.

They just don't matter to the individual pupil.

I would put it that it isn't really a test of how good they are, but a way for teachers to understand which areas they will need more help with in future.

If he is 3 years behind, why is he even sitting them?

If the school has made a big thing bout 100 being 'pass' then of course he will be worried about failing them. Luckily DD's school didn't make a song and dance about it.

I think the only thing you can do is reassure him that you'll be proud of him just for giving it a go, and that it will just help his next school know how much help he needs.

We never told my DD her results, just said she had done well and we were very proud.

Of course secondary schools know the results, they are forwarded with the rest of the information held electronically by the school information system!
Secondary schools will also conduct their own tests but SATS are used to measure progress from KS2 to GCSE. Just reassure your child that all they need to do is their best. The school must believe he is working within the KS2 programmes of study and so able to answer some of the questions ( they range from year 3/4 to year 6 in terms of difficulty) otherwise he would have been disapplied. He may not be able to answer them all but he can only do his best. That's all that is expected of him

This isn’t true. Predicted GCSE grades are based on KS2 SATs scores, Progress 8.

Stats mean nothing to the child it's just a measure of how the school and staff are performing that's why the teachers push so much it's awful for the kids that do nothing else but stats prep

The test is not a test of him - it's a test of how well the school has done over the past 7 years. Frankly the teachers are being dishonest pushing it so much, they are choosing to make the kids feel bad in order to make themselves look good. Who does that?

For your DS all that is important is that he does his best and it's totally of if his best looks very different from some of the other kids in his class. He's not going to make his teachers look bad because the results he gets will be interpreted in the context of his EHCP which explains that some things are a lot more difficult for him.

If a typical 10 year old who was on track to get an average mark in SATS was given a GCSE exam that they weren't ready for, they would obviously get a terrible mark and that wouldn't reflect badly on either the 10yo or the teacher. So similarly with your DS it's no bad reflection for the results to be as they are.

He will get the qualifications that are right for him at a time when he is ready for them. Anything that happens before then simply doesn't matter.

"totally of if" is an autoincorrect for "totally OK if"

I blame the teachers for getting children stressed over SATs. They serve no purpose for the children so should just be carried out without any extra pressure. In my opinion, only a poor teacher would transfer their own stress about these tests to the pupils in their class. It's not healthy.

I just took my DS out when they did SATs - this was with the agreement of his teacher.

Although I agree with the sentiment, the SATs results do matter as that is how the next school is judged on progress.

You want your child to neither underperform nor overperform in SATs.
Underperforming may men less is expected of them in Secondary, and new issues aren't picked up, overperforming may have the consequence in some secondary schools that they are then told they re missing their flightpath (even if doing perfectly fine)

Thank you all for your comments. Some great ideas here about how to reassure. Thank you for your responses.

The year 6 SATs have no relevance to your child and how academic they are but they’re for the school. Your child will be tested again a few weeks into year 7 so the senior school can put them in the correct learning group. Please stress to your child that they don’t have to worry- easier said than done! I did awfully at a school and hardly left with any qualifications but have had an amazing well paid career. Good luck!

Why is he sitting the SATS?
id just take him out tbh. It’s not going to tell you or him anything that you dint know already. And it will shatter his confidence,

Plus as other posters have said, he will be tested again in Y7….

You don't sit SATS only if you are working at KS1 level and below generally, and he is at Y3 level.

You can withdraw your child from the SATs. They don’t have to sit them.
The are 3 years behind and potentially haven’t even been taught the year 6 curriculum. These tests have no benefit for your child, just the addition of stress and anxiety.

It's good that he is being assessed for where he is. It's a record of where a child is at. Use this to fight for more support in secondary.