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Original poster

We got a letter from the head today confirming that SATS for Yr 6 will not be happening in our school

84 replies

OrmRenewed · 05/05/2010 21:12

And he sounded quite militant about it. Which surprised me a bit. The governors are in agreement. Unless the boycott is declared illegal.

DD chuffed to bits. And she was one of the ones heading for top levels across the board.

The teachers will grade the pupils from their own tests and assessment.

Hoo-bloody-ray!

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Original poster
OrmRenewed · 06/05/2010 08:01

Which it did.

And as a bonus the children are happy with the decision.

They are still doing tests - which they will take seriously. But just not SATs.

OP posts:
cornsilk · 06/05/2010 08:03

What decision? To do all the hard work and then not have an opportunity to sit the test? These children are caught up in the battle - let them have a choice now they have got this far. I don't agree with SATS,I think they narrow the curriculum and can be harmful to children with SEN but this situation is ridiculous.

cornsilk · 06/05/2010 08:03

that was to hana not orm by the way

Feenie · 06/05/2010 08:59

The decision that they will still do tests this year, since it isn't fair on the present Y6 not to, but that they will be marked by professionals with proven track records for accurate, robust assessment, as confirmed by Ofsted and the LEA - instead of some random, unmoderated person whose shoddy, appalling marking is then the be all and end all of what the school is judged by.

Feenie · 06/05/2010 09:28

Sorry - that was to hana aswell!

Falseacacia · 06/05/2010 10:09

Our school are not doing tests at all - just letting the class teacher decide and apparently the decision will be moderated by other teachers in the LEA. My daughter was 3a last year and is now 5a per her latest report - I don't think she has improved that much - so I don't think the teacher assessment thing works either.

admission · 06/05/2010 13:00

There is a statutory duty on the headteacher to administer the 2010 KS2 SATs test. If they do not undertake that duty then they are not doing their job. Doing some past papers and marking them internally within schools also falls outside the statutory requirements.

There is a clear divide between the unions and the DSCF about the legality of this action. Making an assumption that the action is legal, based on the fact that the DSCF have failed to go to court to get it formally confirmed as being illegal, the headteacher has a decision to make, carry out their statutory duty to administer the test or agree with the unions wish to undermine the test.

Regretably governors are caught in the middle of this and they will have to make an extremely hard decision about what to do about headteachers who fail to complete their statutory duty over SATs.

Everybody involved in the unions and the DSCF should be ashamed of themselves that this has not been resolved. Some kind of moderated tests are necessary but not the league tables and naming and shaming of schools.

asdx2 · 06/05/2010 13:41

We had a letter yesterday informing us that the SATs were going ahead next week.

Greensleeves · 06/05/2010 13:42

We wanted our head to boycott the SATS but she won't because she doesn't want to do anything illegal

DumpyOldWoman · 06/05/2010 13:45

I'd rather the schools just came to a mutual agreement that NONE of them would do the ridiculous tedious cramming for it, hoping to outdo each other in the league tables. It isn't the actual SATS that are the problem - it's the schools drilling children to do nothing else for two terms.

WynkenBlynkenandNod · 06/05/2010 13:48

Still going on here. A friend's DD is in a right state about them poor thing.

CaptainUnderpants · 06/05/2010 13:50

Our school are doing yr6 tests this year as the head has said that the children have been preparing for them so they will do it. The school are in talks with other schools in the area to see whether they will be dropped in future.

However what gets me is the other years will be sitting 'optional SATS' , I hate the term - why can;t they call them end of term test/exams like we had ! I dont mind them having tests nut I hate the term 'optional SATS'

Original poster
OrmRenewed · 06/05/2010 13:53

DD will have to do CAT tests for her secondary school in June. Those are enough for me. They will ensure she's in the right place when she starts her secondary school career. The SATs don't benefit her at all.

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BigTillyMint · 06/05/2010 14:12

Orm, do they do the CATs in their Primary schools? Round here, they do them when they get to secondary

Original poster
OrmRenewed · 06/05/2010 14:56

They visit the secondary school for a day in the last half term to do tests. And a few other days as well to get used to it.

OP posts:
WynkenBlynkenandNod · 06/05/2010 14:59

Is Year 6 the last year of primary? I know that probably sounds silly but we have Middle schools here so don't transfer at the same time.

WynkenBlynkenandNod · 06/05/2010 15:03

Sorry, ignore that, I have Googled.

mrz · 06/05/2010 16:28

By cornsilk Thu 06-May-10 08:03:21
What decision? To do all the hard work and then not have an opportunity to sit the test?

It depends why the children have done the hard work. If it's simply to get a level 5 in the test or so that they have the skills and knowledge to support them in the next stage of their learning...

mrz · 06/05/2010 16:41

By Greensleeves Thu 06-May-10 13:42:33
We wanted our head to boycott the SATS but she won't because she doesn't want to do anything illegal hmm

Greensleeves it isn't illegal because it is recognised industrial action. If it had been illegal the government could have taken court action (as they did with the postal workers a few weeks ago) to force the heads to administer the tests.

I am not in either of the unions involved but my union has offered the following guidance to members

Leadership members

ATL-AMiE leadership members should not agree to undertake any work in relation to the administration of the KS2 tests which is normally undertaken by leadership colleagues who are taking industrial action, even if asked to do so by the Chair Of Governors or another member of the Governing Body. We do not expect such requests to come from NUT and NAHT members as by doing so they would be asking ATL to undermine their own action. If requested, members are advised to contact AMiE for further advice.

mrz · 06/05/2010 17:02

The NGA Position

  • NGA recognises and supports the right for any trade union to take legitimate industrial action.
Greensleeves · 06/05/2010 17:37

Yes, I know that

as do several of the other governors

but the head is just not prepared to stick her neck out

mrz · 06/05/2010 17:40

Perhaps she isn't a member of the NAHT

CantThinkofFunnyName · 06/05/2010 17:46

Our school too. Very pleased about it actually. Although our Head has always been opposed to the SATS and the marking, she has said that she would not be the only school to make a stand. None of the schools in our London Borough are sitting the SATS now.

Instead, they will sit old SAT paper tests the week after and have them marked by other head teachers and then the final assessment will be done by their teacher, taking all of their work into consideration, not just the tests in a particular week. It is the way that many GSCEs are conducted now (course work) and I agree with the Head's decision. So yes, they are being tested but the teacher's also get a say and provide a comprehensive report to their secondary schools rather than having to justify why they think the SATS result is wrong for xyz reasons.

oldandgreynow · 08/05/2010 14:55

I would be wondering what the school has to hide?

mrz · 08/05/2010 15:24

oldandgreynow what a strange comment!