2C's in SATS - to worry or not to worry?

[pinktortoise]

Back in March at parents eve we were told that DS was expected to get 2C's in his KS1 SATs. The teacher thought this was good as he was coming from a low level in Yr 1 and is second youngest in year (late summer birthday).
Looking at all the guidelines of SATs levels I would put him more at a 2B except for maths which I would agree with 2C. The teacher's response was that you don't want him marked too high or else he won't get the extra support..
He is orally bright with very good understanding and general knowledge.
Half of me thinks well it doesn't matter about these SATs grades as it is a fairly pointless exercise.But the other half of me thinks it is not good to be achieving "below the expected level" and I am worried that he is being categorised as abit slow and given the easier work when I feel he is capable of more.
Any advice / experience welcome!

There is barely a hair's breadth between a 2c and a 2b, so take a breath and try to ignore it.

SATs are only used as a stick to beat schools with.

You don't think you are getting a bit too closely involved here?
(can't imagine myself sitting down and trying to work through dcs' SATS papers).

Even if the secondary uses the SATS to do an initial grading, he will have every opportunity to work his way up if that is what he is capable of and willing to do.

There is plenty of time.

If you think he needs more maths, why not encourage him to go on some of those internet learning programmes (ds has been kept very busy this morning)?

Sorry, missed the KS. Well, if this is KS1 then there is even more time for him to learn in and even less reason to worry. He is only little.

Dd got a 2c in maths as far as I remember: she is now in top set in secondary and has been told she will probably be taking the maths GCSE early.

I can safely say in my expereince as a primary teacher that ks1 sats have next to no bearing on future attainment! Children progress at different rates, some make no progress one year then bounce up another year. Rare is the child that makes steady progress throughout primary school! I've seen everything from a level 3 in year 2 get a level 3 in year 6 to a level 1 turn into a level 5. I'd say the absolute single most important factor is confidence and love of learning, help your child enjoy learning and teach them to be confident in their abilities and they will make the most progress. Read for fun and learn together at their own pace and they'll be fine. Personally I wouldn't even share a child's level with them, unless they directly asked.

Thankyou for the replies. As suggested I think a deep breath and forget the grade! Whilst obviously encouraging the love of learning that he has.

I don't mean to be patronising, but two experienced, qualified teachers could probably argue all day about whether a child is a 2c or a 2b - there is very, very little in it. When he sit the year 6 SATs (although they are unlikely to be around!) they are not even given sublevels, so you wouldn't know if he'd got a 4c, b or a.

I think it's wise to forget the grade. I'm not even going to ask for dd's unless they tell me - she's always struggled at school and would still be at level 1. Her teacher says she is making progress, so that's enough for me.