Year 6 SATs 2014 12th May – 16th May 2014

SATs Tests Reading Maths (including mental maths) SPaG Writing (Teacher assessment) Additional Level 6 tests

Approximate Timetable Date Tests Monday 12 May Levels 3-5 English reading test Level 6 English reading test Tuesday 13 May Levels 3-5 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test Level 6 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test Wednesday 14 May Levels 3-5 mental mathematics test Levels 3-5 mathematics Paper 1 No level 6 tests timetabled for this day Thursday 15 May Levels 3-5 mathematics Paper 2 Level 6 mathematics Paper 1 Level 6 mathematics Paper 2 Friday 16th May Levels 3-5 writing paper short and long Level 6 short and long writing paper

Support Adults can read questions to the children in all tests but not the reading paper. We can also provide additional extra time for individuals who may require it. We will talk to you individually if this affects you. The children will be sat in 3 classrooms and additional small group rooms. The whole school is supportive during this week regarding timetable changes and noise levels.

Reading Test The children will have a booklet to read containing several short texts. They will then have a range of questions to answer covering skills such as fact retrieval; inference and deduction; structure and layout; and the author’s use of language. There will be a mixture of multiple choice, short answer and longer answer questions. Level 6: Children will sit an additional paper; they will have 10 minutes to read their booklet and 50 minutes to answer the questions.

Maths Tests Mental Maths: a CD with a recorded test is played. The children have 5, 10 or 15 seconds to answer the questions testing a range of mental calculation strategies and rapid recall of number facts. Written Tests: Paper 1 and Paper 2, each 45minutes long. A booklet containing questions covering all aspects of maths (shape, space and measures; data handling; number and calculation; problem solving). Some questions will require short answers; some will require explanation of reasoning. There is no calculator paper this year. Level 6: A additional 2 papers, each of 30minutes; calculator allowed on Paper 2.

SPaG Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar The spelling test will be 20 sentences, each with a missing word. The teacher will read the missing word aloud, then within a sentence, then repeat the word again. Finally the whole 20 sentences will be read aloud again. The written test will contain a range of questions covering all aspects of SPaG. Some questions will be multiple choice; some will be identifying features in the text; some will require a written answer. Level 6: Additional 3 papers; one spelling, one SPaG based and one extended writing task.

Writing Assessment The children will complete 2 pieces of assessed writing on the Friday of SATs week. These will be carried out in test conditions and assessed internally. These pieces will be added to the collection of writing the children have completed throughout the year to give a final teacher assessment level. The writing will then be moderated to ensure the levels are accurate; this may be externally. Level 6: An additional one hour paper consisting of a short and long writing task.

Revision Guides We have a range of revision guides from CGP for you to look at. These are very cheap and have quick delivery. Be aware that some of the methods taught in the revision guides are different to the methods the children have learned in school. Also be aware that we use these books for class work and homework so we encourage sticking to the “Study Books” for home practice.

Helping at Home Any revision your child can do will help them! Simple things like having notes stuck around the house (eg times tables up the stairs or on the back of the toilet door!) can really help as well. Eat, drink, sleep – it is crucial that the children are well rested and refreshed for SATs, as well as having plenty of energy to get them through! Please ensure that your child has a good breakfast every day, a snack for breaktime and plenty of water every day during SATs. Also please ensure they are on time every day – if they are late it can make them feel very unsettled when they arrive and they could also miss the start of tests.

STRESS!!!!! We really want to ensure that the we keep the stress levels to a minimum during the SATs week! Feeling worried and stressed will not help their performance! Encourage your child to try their best but also try to keep them as calm as possible regarding the tests. Good luck mascots are allowed during the week, however these must be small enough to fit on their table and not be too distracting for them or those around them. We will provide ‘sugar’ during the tests to keep them going! The afternoons will be kept light to ensure all children are calm and happy!

Booster Groups If your child is invited to a booster group, please ensure they attend – we carefully select the children invited to attend based on large amounts of data which we have collected and analysed.

Any Questions?

Practice SATs Last week, the children completed a practice SATs week. Please feel free to look at your child’s paper; you can see the types of questions they will need to answer as well as seeing the level achieved and any areas of development. Please be reassured that we will use this data to inform our planning and future lessons. Please speak to the teachers if you are concerned at all about any aspect of your child’s test paper.