What Set for y7 did your dc go into for what sats result?

[SatsvsTA]

Wondering what set dc went into for y7 relating to sats results
And whether you think it was sats results or primary teacher opinion
Dd has gone into set 4/5 with sats result 113

Does work slowly though so less primary classwork done. Has sped up a bit by sats time.
Got exceeding (first time) on report

Oh crumbs maybe. But as set 4 maths are already behind and likely to be aiming for probably 4 at gcse vs a 7 and where they will definitely be sitting the lower paper where you cant get over a 5 its less easy to chill. If all sets were able to achieve the same then yes i wouldnt care
Im sure set will change however its unlikely they will move the higher sats achievers down as they need them to do well for progress 8.

I agree with the others who say you need to relax a bit. We're only - what - 4 weeks into term? most of that will have been spent on settling in and recapping Year 6 work. I doubt there was very much different between what sets were taught. And it most definitely will not be a case of "if you're in set 4 at the start of Year 7, that's it - foundation paper only". Or, if it really is, you have bigger problems than the set your child is in.

I would be really concerned about the school in general if a child in set 4 was only aiming at a '4' at GCSE. What is the school's 5+ in English and Maths percentage?

DD's secondary had 85% get 5+ this year, they have 20 sets for maths, so even kids in the low sets must have still been getting the 5 in maths.

20 sets is extremely unusual, that must be a very large school, and 85% at 5+ is well, well above average.

Some schools also have parallel year halves, so you might have two set 1s, two set 2s etc.

Most recent gov results for this school for eg
Of the year of 9 classes 45 got grade 1-3 and 95 got 1-4 so 50 got a 4.
So thats for eg 1.5 sets 'failing'
So set 9 and half of 8.
Half of 8 getting a 4
Set 7 all getting a 4 and
Set 6 -- 5 kids getting a 4.

So parallel sets set 4 being sets 7 and 8. So a 3-4 at most. But i guess 3/4 of parallel set 4 getting 4.

But if an average school if 30% fail for this school thats almost 3/9 sets obviously.

Obviously its fluid but kids will be unlikely to move down when they are covering more work. And noone would want to move to getting just a 4. It probably removes many alevel choices maths or science. And imagine later ks3 science sets will depend on maths set a bit.

We seem pretty caught up now as much as i can tell without having any info.

Obviously its fluid but kids will be unlikely to move down

You seem fixated on the idea that kids now won't move sets for the next 5 years. Chill a bit.

Joke?

Sarcasm?

Fantasy?

How has it gone from being set 4/5 to the school having 9 classes at GCSE?

We are Y8 now. Still waiting for maths sets. Mixed classes are failing DS2 in maths, and maths alone. Everything else is fine.

We actively avoided any school that streamed (same set for maths and english) because of a missmatch in ability between numbers and language. DS1 is in top set for maths - and has been since Y7. English. Well, let's just say my hope is he passes. And if he can do that with a 5, I'll be delighted. The school philosophy has changed. No sets for anything til Y9 at the earliest. We are supplementing maths for DS2 at home to get progress.

Take a deep breath. If there set changes are needed, they will happen. You are 3, if not 4, years off tier decisions for GCSE. A lot can happen in that time.

Ours don't set until next term. This term they are doing quite a few tests to check ability so assume they will use these alongside primary info and SATs results to set. DD2 was moved up from set 2 to set 1 at the start of year 6 but only just got greater depth in SATs so I don't really see her as a set 1 type. Just hoping she'll be in a day that will support her learning.

I really don't think they'll set for GCSEs in the first month of Y7!

Obviously its fluid but kids will be unlikely to move down when they are covering more work

some children will struggle and will move down.
And are they really doing more work? There wasn't a huge amount of difference in the work done by the different sets at DC's school until they got much closer to GCSEs.

Based on your own experience that your child did get moved (and not even at a half term/term end) and has caught up within a couple of days, I'm not sure why you are still so down on the school?

@FallingAutumnLeaf asked: How has it gone from being set 4/5 to the school having 9 classes at GCSE?

I think OP was looking at a previous year's results, and it may have been a year that was larger than her daughter's year. Where I live the year that has just taken GCSEs was a bulge year, and so was the year 2 years above - at secondary school DS1's year was increased to 9 forms from 8, and then at the start of year 8, to 10. And the school isn't over or fully subscribed. DS2 is 2 years below, so now in year 10, and I think his year is back at the normal 8 form entry.

The school doesn't use sets as such even for Maths, though I think at GCSE, the choice of options, the subjects taught in tiers and the choice of Triple or Combined Science does effectively divvy students up. Combined Science is also taught at Higher and Foundation tiers and DS2 has chosen this, saying he thought Triple would be too much work but I think actually it gave him 4 options rather than 3. DS1 had two rounds of Mocks in year 11 to confirm being entered at the right level, and for all subjects so students/teachers got a good idea of where intervention was needed.

I know quite a few parents in my area were put off by the lack of sets at school but it's not the only way of differentiating/encouraging students to do their best, and like grammar schools, it hopefully doesn't split off everyone who doesn't benefit from being in the most successful group at the start. I'm in my 50s and started secondary school many years ago, and what middle school we'd been to (so mostly, whether or not we lived in posher catchment areas) mattered more than it should when it came to placing us in sets, and this is certainly an issue where I live now, mostly working class with some gentrification (but very uneven), very diverse, etc.

To clarify there are parallel sets but you seem to be able to go into either
So really its just called sets 1-5 rather than 1-9
Im annoyed at the school for the original error then for delaying moving till mid topic. Looking at the plan they may move on from algebra on monday. Whereas set 4 was still adding x + 2x. So 2 weeks behind. Maybe more.
So suddenly onto eg x(3x-5) =12
Having missed brackets and moving to other side.
So from support part of topic to super challenge.
Im sure this happens when kids are off etc.
But hopefully usually teachers dont get cross with kids.

Overall it does seem disorganised throughout the subjects as to what online platforms/apps are used as up to individual teacher (not sure how usual that is.)
So classes say set 2a and 4a are definitely using online app. This set 2b isnt.
Likewise say 7s spanish is using a language app that 7g isnt at least for homework.
French seems to use something else. So even though language isnt in sets one form tutor group is doing better i assume. Lol its a bit like a non ID twin experiment to see what works best.

So she has the maths app (has been very helpful this weekend) but might have no more work set on it. Though i guess its probably a blip and the teacher will start using it.

My son got 118 in maths and is in set 6 of 9. I don’t think it was based on SATs as much as their own CATs which he presumably didn’t do as well in. The school told me they had an unusually high scoring year group.

I feel at year 7 it’s not really my business. If he works as well as he can in set 6, he will either rise to a higher set or be where he belongs. Leave it to the teachers unless it becomes obvious the work is slowing him down.

Honestly OP I think you are obsessing on this slightly. You have to relinquish some control at secondary and trust that the teachers know what they are doing. If by end Yr 8 you still aren't happy then you could always move and still have plenty of time before GCSE. Not being in top set doesn't restrict the ability to gain 9-7s at GCSE.

Just read the thread and agree you need to let go here. It’s such a scary time, not just for our kids, but for us too. Have a big hot chocolate/beer/whatever and put your feet up. Try to focus on how brilliant your child is doing and see the bigger picture. You care so much about your daughter and it shows, that’s great parenting, but it’s time to let the school get on with it.

My son is now year 8 and initially they set purely on SATS. All his were between 110 and 115 except for grammar which was 120. He went straight in to the top sets of an average comprehensive school.

Calm down, or you’ll implode before GCSEs. As long as they are happy and progressing, sets and numbers really don’t matter. Especially at this stage.

I say this as a parent of two teens at opposite ends academically.

Grushenka, interesting. As i do feel lots of kids did much better than i was expecting at SATs and the scaled scores were higher by maybe 2 for the same mark.
I would be surprised at set 6/9 for that score! Are you sure its not an error?

As this school didnt tell me it was an error that it clearly was, but did say to dd that yes they were missing SATs data. However i do find it surprising that lack of data would lead to set 4/5.

In terms of was it holding her back, obviously she was doodling. Most of her set had only got 50% on the test of y6 work. Vs top sets gettjng maybe 85%+
Im obsessing because i can see that come monday that teacher may try to move her down and its annoying me.
It does fall within where people wonder where all these asd kids come from suddenly.
Well aside from friend issues, this is really the first teacher and situation that it has made issues apparent at secondary.
Actally probably having adhd/asd myself i do realise that going to a private girls school maybe 70 per year. I just didnt have to deal with some of the things (errors) etc that set me off. As everything ran so smoothly. Even uni was ok (apart from teamwork) but work was harder dealing with lots of issues/errors.
I cant see why a maths dept wouldnt check for missing data as this has caused more work for everyone. As 2 kids have had to move down. Plus the teacher seemed surprised she had jumped from set 4 suggesting thats unusual.

Dd cant advocate for herself, perhaps goes mute.

This being the first new topic since early y6. The SATs dont assess how quickly a child picks up new content

Wow OP you now more about the school and how subjects are taught than I did about the school I taught in!

Yes I think it is time to relax a bit. It's four weeks into a five-year project; students may be doing different things (In my MFL dept we certainly didn't have a prescribed order for the Y7 Term 1 curriculum!) so just let the tecahers get on with it for the moment.

I think just back off and let go! Really! You shouldn't know what the class have done and you certainly shouldn't know what other classes have done. Some of that information is available for children who are off for a couple of weeks, etc, but not for this situation, when it simply isn't necessary.

You are also completely misunderstanding the plans, these are very approximate. Teachers are supposed to be responsive, and if the plans were rigidly followed, ofsted would mark them down. There is no way a teacher would know today exactly where the class would be the same time next week, as they will respond to the needs of the children in front of them.

Step back, let your daughter get on with it, let the school get on with it, and stop assuming everything is set in stone because it says so in an app, or in a plan.

It won't be. Particularly in maths and science where there are unlikely to be the full compliment of teachers