Do you want to give your child some help with SATs preparations and reduce SATs stress for them? Me too!
The school my children go to is a very good school, it hasn’t always been a good school but a new headmistress came in a few years ago and has turned it around completely – great breakfast club, excellent choice of out of school activities, brilliant results and a great staff of teachers who on the whole are very good with the kids.
The one thing that lets it down in my eyes (although I understand that this might be a plus for many other parents) is the amount of importance that they place on the Year 6 SATs. They are extremely focused on the results and it seems to me like Year 5 and Year 6 are completely geared towards achieving great results in these tests.
I feel like children should be children in Primary school and not have to overly concern themselves with exam results but the school seem determined to push and push the children despite the pressure that they’re feeling. When Miss Frugal came home one day last week devastated that she’s only got a 4b for her writing I realised just how much pressure she was under and that she needed some help with SATs preparations.
In case you’re not familiar with the way that Primary school levels work, there’s a great guide on Parentdish – a level 4b is actually the expected level of attainment for the end of Year 6 so to me, she’s already ahead of the game and is doing well. Not so to her teacher who told her that she was average and that the fact she cried at school was good because it meant that she cared about doing better.
She’s level 5 in her literacy which is above average and she’s just short of level 5 in numeracy but still she’s being pushed and despite my constant reassurance that I’ll be happy as long as she does her very best, she is definitely feeling the pressure and feels that she needs to push herself further to do even better.
I’m quite sure that no matter what I do and say, I’m not going to change the way she feels because the SATs are mentioned on a daily basis at school. As fast as I’m telling her to just do her best, they seem to be saying that’s not good enough and telling her to push harder. I’ve had a think though and I do have some ideas to help with SATs preparations for her that I hope will reduce her feelings of stress about SATS.
I’m trying to take some of the stress out of the exams for her by making sure that she is as confident as possible in her ability to do well before she sits the test.
Help with SATs preparations and reduce stress for your child
Here’s my advice to help with exam confidence:
- Print out some sample SATs papers for your child to practice on beforehand to not only give them practice on the questions themselves but also to familiarise themselves with what to expect. I don’t need to do this as Miss Frugal has done a practice test paper every week since the start of Year 5! Sites like this one and this one share previous years papers so you can practice. A quick Google search brings up lots of results for this so you should find plenty to be getting on with. In theory, the more papers they do, the more confident they will feel in the actual SATs exams.
- Make sure you take the time to read the papers yourself so you can see what they’ll be doing and try and do a few with them.
- Sometimes the questions aren’t worded in a clear way so help your child to decipher what the question is actually asking – this can be invaluable as some of the one’s I’ve done with Miss Frugal have been really long winded but actually the question’s been quite simple when you strip it back.
- Praise when they’ve done well and when they get questions wrong, don’t focus too much on the fact that the question is wrong, help them to understand why it’s wrong and how it should have been done. Then write a few similar questions of your own for them to check their understanding.
- Discuss exam techniques with them – I always used to find it easier to do the easier questions first, then go back to the harder and spend free time checking over.
- Homework at this time of year is often specifically geared to SATs preparation so spend time with them when they’re doing it and help where necessary.
- Early nights and healthy breakfasts are even more necessary than ever during SATs week.
- Above all, make sure they know they can’t fail.
- It’s not always possible but something to look forward to after SATs is good – we were planning to go away for the weekend and we’ve timed it to coincide with the end of SATs so now it’s a ‘ Yeay! SATs are Over’ treat.
These tips are for children who are worried and could do with that extra bit of reassurance and help with SATs preparation and any help they might have about the tests. Personally, unless my child was worried or concerned about SATs I wouldn’t do any of the above other than the early nights and breakfast suggestion. If they’re not concerned about it and they’re doing their best at school then just let them get on with it and let the school guide them – any involvement from you may cause stress.
What do you think – are you a fan of Primary school exams like these?
Edited to add: Miss Frugal picked up her results and she far exceeded the national average. The school handed her an envelope with her results in rather than telling her what she had acheived and when she read them she actually got tears in her eyes as she’s been so nervous about not doing well!
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Some great tips thanks Cass. I will print some exams out for my son to help build up his confidence and to help his self belief in exam situations
I am a year 6 teacher and from January until the SATS in May the revision regime is brutal and that is the same for all primary schools that I know of. What we do works with regards to results and helping us to remain a 'good' school. I can see how it stresses the children out, although I try my best to make it as fun as possible. It is interesting to note that you state in your original blog that 'it didn't use to be a good school' but since they have piled on the pressure from Year 5 and taught to the test, coaching for results above all else, the school has become 'good'. Thanks to the change in regime and a new stressful test culture, you can relax because your children now go to a good school! Ironic isn't it? I love your advise though, it echoes what I ask my parents to do with their children when they come to parent evenings. Thank you for sharing it with a wider audience (-:
As a teacher, here is my advice. Ignore them., they are a pointless waste of time. They are nothing to do with children, just a judgement on the school. Tell your children that they are the school is judged and not them.
I hope Miss Frugal gets on ok this week & doesn't worry too much. My daughter is doing the level 6 SATs too but thankfully she seems to be loving it rather than stressing – the school are asking them to go in early so they can give them toast too which seems to be helping!
Seems sad that kids are put through such stress so young. Thanks for sharing this – I'm sure it'll be really helpful to families at this stage x
I hate SATs and exams that they put children through. Our school seems to have extra training sessions for when they are sue which defeats the object of the exams if you ask me. It sounds like your daughter is as bright as a button and will be absolutely fine xx
I think the problem occurs with the schools being put under incresing pressure to perform well in these tests which makes them have to put pressure on the children. My daughter did hers last year and all I heard for months before was blah blah test was blah blah level – however it did give her more control of her own learning and how to learn and has stood her in good stead for her transition to secondary school where I new hear even more about what level she is at – she seems to view it as a challenge and isn't fazed a bit now though!
The amount of pressure put on children, is, in my opinion, wrong. In the grand scheme of things SATS results are irrelevant for everyone except the school; they want the children to do well for the sake of the league tables . They don't really have any bearing on what a child can achieve as they get older. My younger daughter came out with a 4 in her Literacy. Seven years later she achieved a Grade A in her A Level English Literature exam, having only dropped 4 marks on her final paper. She's now studying English Lit and Sociology at uni, and doing well there too.
My eldest had lots of pressure put on him in his last year at a wonderful primary school which tainted his time there. The headteacher has now remedied this and a new teacher is teaching year 6. It is so wrong as it has no impact upon the pupil, it is a marker for the school.
I don't agree with the pressure put on kids for these tests either. I have a daughter in Yr6 too and she is very aware of the SATS. Great tips here, thanks so much xx
great tips, it's such a stressful time – my son is doing AS levels now, need to find some tips for him
great tips! we are a way away from this with my toddler but great for others! x
It's awful that children are put under so much pressure. It is lovely that you have shared these tips x
We've not had any worries about SATs yet as my eldest is only in year 1 and I don't think they bring it up with them until year 2 closer to the test time. I have already experienced though that the learning in primary is so geared up to the sats.. my boy in year 1 is very good at maths, as in the year 4 level work is easy for him – but still they said he will have to stick to working with number lines because that's what he will have to use in his year 2 sats, despite he doesn't need them as he can work out sums in his head quicker than I can. It would be nice if they could offer a little more flexibility for individual children rather than "but this is what they will have to do for sats" although with 30 in a class I suppose its inevitable – but frustrating.
I do think working with them at home to practice, and planning something fun for after will definitely help – and I will definitely do those when our SATs time comes around!
Great tips for those with children going through SATs. I didn't put any pressure at all on my boy, told him to do his best.
Thing is, whilst they have some weight going into secondary school, the way they learn is so different in 'big school' and somehow they'll find their way. My boy is doing his GCSEs next year, and I've taught him the same thing – don't stress, do your best.
There is way too much pressure on children these days, it's ridiculous 🙁
Minxy is in year 5 (age 9) and her teacher at parents evening, just the other day, was already suggesting she applies for grammar school as she is a level 4a and her reading age is 12+. I think there is a lot of pressure on children from a young age but as long as they do their best that is all that matters.
Some great tips!! x
I know for sure it is not only your school that does that – before I gave up to be sahm I was a primary teacher , mostly taught in y5 and unfortunately we were pressurised to teach and gear everything towards the SATs, teachers tend to hate it as well !
Brilliant tips
Great tips for the future! Thanks for sharing 😉
Great post. It is awful because they are only meant to measure the school and not the pupil – this is a difficult enough time with them thinking about moving schools (in most cases) without the added pressure.
You are such a good Mum doing all this with Miss F. I think SATs are silly too. I remember panicking about mine and that was 18+ years ago. I was classed as “bright” so got put in for the KS3 ones on top of the KS2 ones. Despite the fact my Dad said just give them a try I was still terrified! I’m sure Miss F will do well and enjoy your trip away x
Personally I believe that they are too young for the stress of tests like the satsIin primary school. They have enough stress when they are older. Let kids be kids for a bit longer x
It's awful how stressed the children get over these tests. I think that there is too much pressure put on them at an early age.
Best of luck to your daughter and thanks for sharing x
I'm like you, definitely not a fan, although I can also sit on the fence and say that if they're not pushed, they sit back and don't achieve their best… I can see both sides. But I think it needs to be approached differently with different children. There are some (like my daughter) who will stress way too much about it, and that's definitely not good for them! I'm not a fan of the one-size-fits-all schooling philosophy, can you tell?! Great post, thanks for the tips which I will need next year!! x
awh some great tips, think having something to look forward to beyond SATs is a brilliant idea as it puts things in perspective. My children are still in KS1 so we haven't come up against this yet. It is tough for 11 year olds especially as the teachers have their own targets too. Best of luck to Miss Frugal, she sounds very conscientious so I am sure she will do brilliantly. xx.
Lovely that you've shared this to help others Cass x