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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Primary education

When are the SATs for KS1 children?

28 replies

ThomasTankEngine · 26/12/2009 20:45

.....as I'd like to book a holiday an avoid them.

Or should I try and go on holiday at the same time?

OP posts:

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CarrotForKing · 26/12/2009 20:54

Usually May. I wouldn't go on hols then personally, buggers the schools about and won't make you popular.

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primarymum · 26/12/2009 21:03

You can't really avoid them. If your school does them and your child is absent, they will just do them when they return, there is no "set week" for KS1 SATS. They might be spread out over 2-3 weeks or all over and done with within 1.

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CitizenPrecious · 26/12/2009 21:09

Apparently you can withdraw your child from them...mind you that doesn't mean they can then swerve the countless revision sessions

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cat64 · 26/12/2009 21:22

This reply has been deleted

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islandofsodor · 26/12/2009 21:26

KS1 SATS are usually done over a period of several weeks at the teacher's discretion unlike KS2 Sats which are done under full exam conditions at a set date and time.

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seeker · 27/12/2009 07:44

Why do you want to avoid ks1 SATS? They are very low key teacher assessments done over a period of a few weeks - your child will hardly be aware of doing them.

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malovitt · 27/12/2009 08:00

I disagree with you there, seeker. My son's SATs were treated anything but 'low-key' by his teacher and he was a nervous wreck worrying about them and the consequences if he didn't 'do well'

I refused to let my second child take them for this reason and he did not have to do them at a later date.

The school didn't argue with me.

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seeker · 27/12/2009 08:05

malovitt - not sure how long ago your son did his SATS, but the format and methodology has changed recently - they certainly shouldn't be a stressful experience now in the hands of a competent teacher.

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ThomasTankEngine · 27/12/2009 13:44

Thank you for your answers.

My DS is a late July birthday and will still be 6 at time of testing, which i think i too young for tests.

OP posts:

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Watchtheworldcomealivetonight · 27/12/2009 14:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mrz · 27/12/2009 15:14

No you can't withdraw your child from SATs and as KS1 SAT tasks can be administered any time from January to May they would miss a great deal of school if you kept them at home. The level reported is from teacher assessment over the year.

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trickerg · 27/12/2009 16:33

As seeker has already said - the teacher will use the SATs papers as evidence for his/her teacher assessments. It's just one of those things that children do in Y2 and absolutely nothing to worry about. No-one ever sees the test papers (unless you ask to) and the teacher assessment level is reported at the end of the year.

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busymummy3 · 27/12/2009 16:42

those whose kids are not doing sats this year ie not in y2 or y6 will find that holidays are cheaper the second week of may ?

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trickerg · 27/12/2009 18:24

busymummy - maybe you're too busy to read the replies properly....but KS1 SATs can be done any time between Jan and June. They are used to inform the teachers' assessments - teachers are assessing the children all the time from the work they do in class.

So, if little Johnny gets a L3 in his maths SATs and, in class, cannot split numbers into TU, the teacher would ignore the SATs result as s/he would know that little Johnny had copied from his neighbour. Little Johnny would therefore be given a L2C on his end of year report... rendering the SATs result insignificant.

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juliemacc · 27/12/2009 18:41

mrz- yes you can withdraw your child from SATs assessments, the school can not stop you.

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seeker · 27/12/2009 18:51

Watchetheworldcomealive - what did the school do to make a massive deal out of the year 2 SATS? They are really not supposed to - you should complain to the Head and the Chair of governors if they do.

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mrz · 27/12/2009 19:58

juliemacc I'm afraid you are mistaken, if your child attends school (not HE) KS1 SATs are a legal requirement of the national curriculum and parents have no right to withdraw them.

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CardyMow · 27/12/2009 20:29

And if you withdraw them, you can also get fined for truancy, as I was told when I tried to point out that Y6 SATS were pointless for my DD last year (she sat them and it caused much stress and distress for her when she didn't acheive a level at all in her maths SAT as she was still working on p scales at the time). And to top it off, her results weren't even published in the league table, the school lied and said that there were only 60 children in Y6 last year, not the 61 that they did actually have, but that was because her result would have brought their average down. at them putting her through all that stress for no good reason, even though I didn't want them to. All because the school threatened to fine me for every day she was off school if I took her out. .

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busymummy3 · 27/12/2009 20:46

trickerg i have 2 kids who will be doing sats this year dd2 in y2 yes as you have said anytime between jan - may but ds1 who is in y6 has ks2 sats which are definately 10/05/10 to friday 14/5/10. my point being that if you do not have a child doing ks2 sats then may be a good time for a cheapy holiday would be week commencing 10/05?

ks 1 sats i have been through twice before and as another poster has said they are nothing to worry about. dd1 and ds1 salied through them and were not even aware they had done them they got level 3's in everything so am sure dd2 will do ok
ds1 is on target to get high level 5's in maths literacy and am trying to keep the whole thing low key as we did with dd1 who successfully got high level 5's in 2008

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primarymum · 27/12/2009 20:51

Loudlass, your daughter shouldn't have sat the KS2 SATs if she was working at p scales, this is not an appropriate level for these tests which should only be given to those working at level 3 and above. The school was quite wrong to do so. I have one child in my yr 6 class who will not be sitting SATS next year as she is working at level 2.

For KS1, children working at level 1 and above must have either a task or a test conducted, see the ARA booklet which sets out the arrangements

testsandexams.qcda.gov.uk/libraryAssets/media/2010_Key_stage_1_ARA.pdf especially section 4.2, schools have no option UNLESS your child is below level 1

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trickerg · 27/12/2009 22:11

busymummy - I have no idea where my comment to you came from apart from the xth glass of wine I was drinking. Apologies.

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Watchtheworldcomealivetonight · 28/12/2009 10:30

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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Feenie · 30/12/2009 09:08

Threatening Y2 children with tests is appalling practice, and so are endless revision sessions.

When the school is moderated by the LEA, they will be required to produce lots of evidence to explain how they arrive at their teacher assessments - the tests are just a tiny part of this. Over reliance on the tests will see them 'fail' their moderation, and they will be heavily policed supported until they get it right.

The tests should only support assessment for children working at level 2 or above - they aren't appropriate for children working at level 1.

As previous posters have explained, children should not even really know they are completing the tests - they are normal everyday activities that the children will be used to doing as part of normal classroom practice.

Am scandalised at the story of the y6 child who was 'made' to complete a Maths KS2 paper when working on P scales - it was totally inappropriate and of course would be distressing for the poster's poor dd.

I doubt, however, that it was your dd who was 'removed' from the figures - this is in practice absolutely impossible to do, as the names and details of the children involved are held centrally by QCDA. The only way you can get a child removed from the figures (and even this takes ages, with lots of evidence required) is if a child has been in the UK for less than one year at the time of taking the tests, and English is their second language.

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CardyMow · 31/12/2009 01:09

Primarymum, you and I BOTH know that she shouldn't have sat them, but the school wouldn't have it any other way (have had numerous probs with said school, closest school to my house that can take both my DS's as DD is at sec now, is 30 miles away and I don't drive..). I have checked the tables often as was soo for my DD, states 60 in Y6, all getting lvl3 or above, there were(and I KNOW there were) 61 in Y6, and DD was the only one that didn't acheive a lvl. I know it's scandalous, you know it's scandalous, but this school seems to have powers above all else!

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CardyMow · 31/12/2009 01:16

But then my LA have been colluding with said school, said schools up-to-date prospectus states there are 395 pupils attending currently, as 400 is the PAN. My DS2 is in a 3-form year, and I KNOW there are 417 pupils at present, and sept 2010's intake is another 3-form entry which will have the school running at 447. If I could move them, I would. It's just sheer luck that DS1 is very able, last yr in Y2 sats he got lvl 4's. Worried in advance for DS2 though(he's in Y1 right now), as although he is MENTALLY able, due to muscle probs, cannot produce ANY written work...again, long story, just at my LA....