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Original poster

Boycotting SATS

131 replies

MumofChimp · 20/03/2024 22:05

We’re taking our 11 year old on holiday during SATS week, as that break is more valuable to him than sitting in a classroom completing tests that say nothing about him and are just used to rank schools. Much of his Y6 curriculum has been wasted, doing practice tests that he’s found tedious. He’s an anxious boy who really struggled emotionally with the pressure of the Kent Test and this is a step too far for him. I always said that, if we had the opportunity, we’d boycott and - yes! - we have the opportunity. Anyway, the point of this post is, is anyone else boycotting and how are you going about informing the school? I’m not interested in counter-arguments; I’m an ex-secondary teacher and I know that the results are of little use for progression.

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Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:26

PathOfLeastResitance · 21/03/2024 06:12

Just email them and say he will be off. Fill in the absence form if needed. No need for the stroppy tone though, they have enough on their plates.

Good point - I would never be stroppy with them. Just don't really want to enter into a conversation with them about it. It's happening, and that's that.

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HungryBeagle · 22/03/2024 20:27

MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:26

Good point - I would never be stroppy with them. Just don't really want to enter into a conversation with them about it. It's happening, and that's that.

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What will you say if they ask him to do them the following week? That’s what happens at our school.

Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:31

Iamnotthe1 · 21/03/2024 06:40

You may not be looking for arguments that run counter to your point of view but other mumsnet users should be warned that this:
I know that the results are of little use for progression.
is fundamentally untrue.

A child missing official KS2 assessment data becomes, data-wise, irrelevant in terms of progress and in no way contributes to the secondary school's progress 8 measure. Given the importance of this measure and its link to how schools are ranked and judged, there are numerous decisions made at a leadership level in secondary schools that take account of the KS2 assessment data. You disadvantage your child by making him/her statistically irrelevant in a system with limited resources

All people are, of course, free to make their own choices. But to pretend that this choice is free from consequences is disingenuous.

Unfortunately that's not true - CATs scores determine target data in the secondary he will attend. They happen within the first few weeks of the new school year and are low-stakes, as far as the kids are concerned. These drive the decisions made about his learning from that point on. Having been a secondary teacher until recently, I am fully aware of the disdain with which SATs results are treated and that they are rarely considered, unless CATs data is missing.

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Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:32

drspouse · 21/03/2024 08:17

My DD missed the Y4 times tables check, we just told school we were going away.

Are you going to tell him if he's anxious he doesn't have to do other things? Avoidance just makes anxiety worse.

Not at all. He knows that, when exams have relevance to him, he will be knuckling down.

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Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:35

pastapestoparmesan · 21/03/2024 06:41

You know he’ll have to do them the following week, right? Without being allowed any contact with his classmates, who are all in post-SATs chill mode. If he’s ARE or above, you’re going to majorly piss off the school, who have presumably nurtured him to get there for the last 7 years or so. In any decent school, SATs week isn’t remotely stressful. I could go on, but you clearly know better so carry on…

No, he won't. The only exception (DfE regulations) to the timetable is for illness, and he will not have missed the tests for that reason. Unfortunately his school is making the process very stressful indeed, even though Ofsted says it's 'outstanding'.

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Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:37

benjoin · 21/03/2024 07:02

That's a good point

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Nope - the only reason schools can vary the timetable is for illness. He won't be ill, so they won't be able to make him do them the week after.

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cansu · 22/03/2024 20:38

Sounds like bullshit tbh. You put him in for the kent tests so obviously are happy enough with pressure and stress to do this. The school will rightly be very annoyed with you. There is every chance they will make arrangements for him to do them when he returns. Maybe you should just be honest that you just want to go on holiday that week. You probably looked up the school sats results when you chose the school.

Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:39

Quitelikeacatslife · 21/03/2024 08:17

It's a shared experience with his cohort, he might not enjoy it all but I'm sure you have the skills to take the pressure off. It's a safe space and they will be ready for it. The feeling afterwards is when they come together. It's not like you can protect him from testing at secondary and won't you feel daft when he has to do them when he gets back in isolation?

Thoroughly get that. Unfortunately the stress his school is subjecting him and his cohort to is just too much. Secondary is a different kettle of fish, where tests have an impact on HIS progress. He will need lots of preparation for exams in five years' time, but for this, the pressure is just not needed.

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TodayForTomorrow · 22/03/2024 20:39

@MumofChimp i've ony ever known CATs to be compared to SATs to flag if any children have wildly under or overperformed. The school I work at now doesn't use them and my last school stopped bothering with them over a decade ago.

SATS absolutely are used by the government to determine Progress 8 and therefore what the school will be judged on.

Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:40

Yeah, they don't. They use CATs.

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cansu · 22/03/2024 20:40

So you chose an ofsted outstanding school for your ds. Then you complain about the measures that made it outstanding. You complain about pressure and then put him in for more tests. Rather hypocritical.

Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:41

Luddite26 · 21/03/2024 09:21

It doesn't sound like a boycott to me it sounds like an excuse for a cheap holiday.
Fill in the holiday form and say he will be absent for sats week.
I don't agree with sats as I had August born kids but I think booking a holiday is not a boycott it weakens your argument

We go on holiday throughout the year. It's not to get a cheap holiday and this is somewhere we've always wanted to go.

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Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:43

MarchingFrogs · 21/03/2024 07:03

Presumably you've got what you want, secondary school-wise, via his Kent Test result? And if he was tutored, because, you know, what he's been learning in school for the past six years isnt guaranteed to be enough, this in no way represented teaching to the test, did it?

And if he wasn't, then it still somehow wasn't what he had been taught in school over the past six years that got him through, so why should the school be able to use your DS as part of its evidence as to how it is performing, right?

His Kent test result has had no impact on his school place. His SATs outcomes are unlikely to help or hinder the overall scores. He's a smack-bang middle boy.

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Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:45

Zwicky · 21/03/2024 09:22

Why don’t you just tell them you are going on holiday on those dates? What are you hoping to achieve by making sure they know that the reason for the holiday is a “boycott”? Are you trying to avoid the fine? Making sure they know that it’s not a vulgar holiday like other people have, but a “valuable” one? Making sure that they know that he finds tests both tedious and anxiety inducing so that they will decide on a whole school SATs boycott? What point are you trying to make? What’s wrong with “we have booked a family holiday from date -date so unfortunately Brian won’t be in school that week”?
If you are trying to avoid the LA fine then you could try lying and say he is unwell. If you are trying to get everyone to clap then I think you are on a hiding to nothing.

“Now I don't want you to worry, class. These tests will have no effect on your grades. They merely determine your future social status and financial success... if any.” - Edna Krabappel

Full expect the fine and happy to pay it. That's not the issue. Neither are the other things you've mentioned. We're boycotting because the test has no benefit for him. Your advice on what to say is most welcome, though. I think that's exactly the right wording.

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Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:47

MrsKeats · 21/03/2024 11:39

Grammar school is one test after another.
All this makes no sense.

Not sure why grammar schools are relevant...

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Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:48

Tempnamechng · 21/03/2024 11:43

You aren't doing him any favours. Are you going to book a holiday for his GCSEs too? What about Driving Tests, sports assessment, job interviews. You are supposed to teach him to cope and get through life, not book a holiday to avoid the difficult bits. I have a dc doing A Levels now, who gets extremely frighteningly anxious during exam time, but is learning coping strategies.

Nope, just these tests that have no impact on his future. The rest all have a direct relevance to him and he will be knuckling down.

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Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:50

HungryBeagle · 22/03/2024 20:27

What will you say if they ask him to do them the following week? That’s what happens at our school.

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The only reason a variation can be applied-for is illness. He won't be ill.

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crumblingschools · 22/03/2024 20:52

Surely Grammar schools are relevant as the child has done a test to try and get into Grammar school

TodayForTomorrow · 22/03/2024 20:53

@MumofChimp maybe in your area but where I live they're totally irrelevant so not sure how that would work for national comparison. I'm a middle leader of a core subject and was a HOY7 transition lead for over a decade so worked a lot with ks2-ks4 data and tracking. I do know what I am talking about.

Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:53

whiteboardking · 21/03/2024 07:44

I too don't get why you'd put a child through the Kent test yet boycott easier more low key SATs. High Schools in our area use them. Kids with no sats sit extra tests in ks3 instead

He wanted to do the Kent Test. He regrets doing it and the impact on his mental health was terrible. He isn't going to a grammar school - in fact, he never wanted to. He wanted to do it because many of his friends were.

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Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:55

TodayForTomorrow · 22/03/2024 20:53

@MumofChimp maybe in your area but where I live they're totally irrelevant so not sure how that would work for national comparison. I'm a middle leader of a core subject and was a HOY7 transition lead for over a decade so worked a lot with ks2-ks4 data and tracking. I do know what I am talking about.

As a subject lead I worked with a mixture of SATs and CATs data for target setting.

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HungryBeagle · 22/03/2024 20:55

You’re well informed, sure of your decision… so what’s the thread for? Just tell them you’re going on holiday.

Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:56

For clarification, I asked for help on how to approach his school. Thanks for those who have provided suggestions.

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HungryBeagle · 22/03/2024 20:57

‘My son won’t be here that week as we will be taking a family holiday’.

Original poster
MumofChimp · 22/03/2024 20:58

cansu · 22/03/2024 20:38

Sounds like bullshit tbh. You put him in for the kent tests so obviously are happy enough with pressure and stress to do this. The school will rightly be very annoyed with you. There is every chance they will make arrangements for him to do them when he returns. Maybe you should just be honest that you just want to go on holiday that week. You probably looked up the school sats results when you chose the school.

Nope - the timetable can only be varied for illness (and a few other narrow reasons, none of which are relevant). Holidays are explicitly excluded from applications for variations of the test timetable. As a teacher myself, neither SATS results nor Ofsted had any impact on our choice of school. It's just the local school.

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