SATs HELP FOR BUSY PARENTS

SATs Help:  How can busy parents help their children facing Year 6 SATs?

When and How?
Age 11 early May of Year 6: SATs in English and maths, marked externally, results published nationally. Teacher assessment in science.

Year 6 SATs

These are held early May, the Key Stage 2 tests are a bit more formal: done over a set week, with certain papers on particular days, and marked externally. Papers are typically delivered to the school on the Monday of SATs week. Your child should expect to complete the following papers:

Day 1: Grammar and Punctuation
Spelling Test

Day 2: English Reading Test

Day 3: Maths Arithmetics (Paper 1)

Day 4: Maths Reasoning (Paper 2)
Maths Reasoning (Paper 3)

Obviously, the children will be aware that there is something going on and that they are going to be tested.  During Year 6, your child will undoubtedly get plenty of exam practice and specific work on how to answer particular questions in exams, particularly in regards to the reading comprehension exam.  Some schools will put on more pressure or expect more revision than others, with many offering extra tutoring either before or after school. It may be a motivator for some kids to try and bit harder, however, many find it stressful.

Our Advice:

You can also help your child at home in the following ways:

Chat to the teacher about where your child is at and if there are areas for improvement.

Keep to routine by making sure they are well rested and get plenty of exercise.  Avoid late nights or sleepovers during this time.

Talk to them about why tests are important but also not to worry.  Keep up the communication so that they can tell you how they feel.

Talk about stories, books and characters.  Read them stories and hear them read.  Play story CDs in the car.  It helps children to hear stories before they write them.  Much children’s TV is chopped up into short or fast moving chunks that don’t hold any narrative, so minimise this.

Practice and re-enforce basic maths skills such as timed tables.  It’s an essential skill that will  improve accuracy but also fluency (getting it right but also completing more questions).

Suggested Links:

Here is a link to Past Papers:

KS 2 Year 6 Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling Past Paper

KS 2 Year 6 Reading Assessment Booklet

KS 2 Year 6 Reading Assessment Questions

KS 2 Year 6 Maths Paper 1 (Arithmetic)

KS 2 Year 6 Maths Paper 2 (Reasoning)

KS 2 Year 6 Maths Pape 3 (Reasoning)

We recommend Andrew Brodie books especially for maths.

Also CPG SATs revision books are great for maths and English.

In the end it is better that issues are flagged up now if they need extra support.  SATs should be information for you and the school about your child’s progress rather than their performance.  If you would like to book a free assessment with us to get professional advice then click here…

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