Year 6 SATS

 

Information about the SATS

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Assessment and Reporting

• ‘Old’ national curriculum levels (e.g. Level 3, 4, 5) have now been abolished, as set out in the government guidelines.

• From 2016, test scores were reported as ‘scaled scores’.

• Your child will still be taught with the highest expectations and cover all required elements of the curriculum, similar to previous years.

• The new curriculum is more rigorous and sets high expectations which all schools have had to work hard to meet since the beginning of last year.

 

Scaled Score Examples

On publication of the test results in July of the year the tests were taken:

• A child awarded a scaled score of 100 is judged to have met the ‘national standard’ in the area judged by the test.

• A child awarded a scaled score of more than 110 is judged to have exceeded the national standard and demonstrated a higher than expected knowledge of the curriculum for their age.

• A child awarded a scaled score of less than 100 is judged to have not yet met the national standard and performed below expectation for their age.

 

The Tests

• Key Stage 2 SATs tend to take place nationally on certain days throughout one week in May. Specific dates can be found here. Tests normally occur on the following days:

  • Monday - Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar Test

  • Tuesday - English Reading 

  • Wednesday - Maths Papers 1 and 2

  • Thursday - Maths Paper 3

 

The tests in more detail:

Reading (60 minutes)

Spelling (approximately 15 minutes)

Punctuation, Vocabulary and Grammar (45 minutes)

Mathematics

– Paper 1: Arithmetic (30 minutes)

– Paper 2: Reasoning (40 minutes)

– Paper 3: Reasoning (40 minutes)

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• In addition, some schools will be required to take part in Science testing, consisting of three tests in Biology, Physics and Chemistry. Not all schools will take part in this sampling, which takes place on a later date.

• All tests are externally marked.

Writing will be ‘Teacher Assessed’ internally, as in recent years.

 

How to help your child

Ensure your child has good attendance – every day counts – every day matters – every day new learning opportunities.

• First and foremost, support and reassure your child that there is nothing to worry about and they should always just try their best. Praise and encourage!

• Ensure your child has the best possible attendance at school.

• Support your child with any homework tasks.

• Reading, spelling and arithmetic (e.g. times tables) are always good to practise.

• Talk to your child about what they have learnt at school and what book(s) they are reading (the character, the plot, their opinion).

• Make sure your child has a good sleep and healthy breakfast every morning!  School will host breakfast club for Y6 during SATS week.

 

How to help with reading

• Listening to your child read can take many forms.

  • First and foremost, focus developing an enjoyment and love of reading.

  • Enjoy stories together – reading stories to your child at KS1 and KS2 is equally as important as listening to your child read.

  • Read a little at a time but often, rather than rarely but for long periods of time!

  • Talk about the story before, during and afterwards – discuss the plot, the characters, their feelings and actions, how it makes you feel, predict what will happen and encourage your child to have their own opinions.

  • Look up definitions of words together – you could use a dictionary, the internet or an app on a phone or tablet.

  • All reading is valuable – it doesn’t have to be just stories. Reading can involve anything from fiction and non-fiction, poetry, newspapers, magazines, football programmes, TV guides.

  • Visit the local library – it’s free!

 

How to help with writing and spelling, punctuation and grammar

• Practise and learn spelling lists – make it fun! – Ask in school if you would like a copy of our spelling lists.

• Encourage opportunities for writing such as letters to family or friends, shopping lists, notes or reminders, stories or poems.

• Write together – be a good role model for writing.

• Encourage use of a dictionary to check spelling and a thesaurus to find synonyms and expand vocabulary

• Allow your child to use a computer for word processing, which will allow for editing and correcting of errors without lots of crossing out.

• Remember that good readers become good writers! Identify good writing features when reading (e.g. vocabulary, sentence structure, punctuation).

• Show your appreciation: praise and encourage, even for small successes!

 

How to help with maths

• Play times tables games - we use TTRock Stars in school and all children from Y2 have a login.

• Play mental maths games including counting in different amounts, forwards and backwards. Try the following:  

• Encourage opportunities for telling the time

• Encourage opportunities for counting coins and money; finding amounts or calculating change when shopping

• Look for numbers on street signs, car registrations and anywhere else!

• Look for examples of 2D and 3D shapes around the home

• Identify, weigh or measure quantities and amounts in the kitchen or in recipes

• Play games involving numbers or logic, such as dominoes, card games, darts or chess