SATs INFORMATION EVENING Thursday October 8 th

Why are there changes? What will the effect of these changes be for your children? What will we be doing at school to ensure every child has the best chance of attaining their potential? How can you support your child?

In the Summer Term of 2016, children in Year 2 and Year 6 will be the first to take the new SATs papers. WEEK COMMENCING 9 TH MAY These tests in English and Maths will reflect the new national curriculum and are intended to be more rigorous. They are available to look at online. Please do have a look at them and try them out yourself. You will notice the high standard of knowledge as well as skill which is required of the children and will appreciate that we need to work even more closely in partnership with you in order to support the children in reaching these new standards.

As part of the National Curriculum review, levels have been abolished. This is in part in response to concerns about the validity and reliability of levels and sub-levels. There will also be a completely new marking scheme to replace the existing national curriculum levels. From 2016, there will be scaled scores to report National Curriculum test outcomes.

At the end of Year 6, children will sit tests in: Reading Maths Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar –These tests will be both set and marked externally, and the results will be used to measure your child's progress and the school's performance. – Your child’s marks will be used in conjunction with teacher assessment to give a broader picture of their attainment.

Department for Education quote ‘ The old system of national curriculum levels is now no longer used, after the Department for Education abolished it in Summer Instead, children will be given standardised scores. There will also be a ‘performance descriptor’ of the expected standard for Key Stage 2 pupils. The Department for Education is aiming for 85% of children to reach or exceed that standard.’ towards national standard at national standard above national standard

The READING TEST will provisionally be a single paper with questions based on one 800-word text and two passages of 300 words. Your child will have one hour, including reading time, to complete the test. There will be a selection of question types, including: –Ranking/ordering, e.g. ‘Number the events below to show the order in which they happen in the story’ –Labelling, e.g. ‘Label the text to show the title of the story’ –Find and copy, e.g. ‘Find and copy one word that suggests what the weather is like in the story’ –Short constructed response, e.g. ‘What does the bear eat?’ –Open-ended response, e.g. ‘Look at the sentence that begins Once upon a time. How does the writer increase the tension throughout this paragraph? Explain fully, referring to the text in your answer.’

GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION AND SPELLING TEST The grammar, punctuation and spelling test will consist of two parts: a Grammar and Punctuation paper requiring short answers, lasting 45 minutes, and an aural spelling test of 20 words, lasting around 15 minutes. The grammar and punctuation test will include two sub- types of questions: –Selected response, e.g. ‘Identify the adjectives in the sentence below’ –Constructed response, e.g. ‘Correct/complete/rewrite the sentence below,’ or, ‘The sentence below has an apostrophe missing. Explain why it needs an apostrophe.’

MATHS S.A.T There will be 3 papers: 1. Arithmetic Paper. 30 minutes 2. Reasoning Paper minutes 3. Reasoning Paper minutes

What types of question will come up? There will be a mixture of question types from across the curriculum: The arithmetic test will contain questions from the Number and Place Value, Calculations, Fractions, Ratio and Proportion and Algebra sections of the curriculum. Papers 2 and 3 will contain questions from the Number and Place Value, Calculations, Fractions, Ratio and Proportion, Algebra, Measurement, Geometry and Statistics sections of the curriculum.

Will there be problem solving questions? The arithmetic test is made up of calculations. Papers 2 and 3 will put more of an emphasis on problem solving and reasoning skills. When putting the tests together, they will be very careful to ensure that there is a mixture of question levels. This includes, not just different levels of ability, but also different levels of complexity. So, some questions will involve more steps than others, or might involve more than 1 maths topic. This way, they make sure it's not just "straight-forward" maths, but also includes problem solving and reasoning ability.

What is the pass mark? There is no "pass" or "fail" with SATs exams. The aim is to determine whether the student has grasped what they have been learning from Year 3 to 6. Up to 2015, the scores are shown in curriculum levels, so you can determine from the level your child achieves whether they are average, above average or below average. From 2016, levels will be replaced by scaled scores. A scaled score of 100 will indicate that the child has reached the expected standard.

Key Stage 2 Science Not all children in Year 6 will take Science SATs. However, a number of schools will be required to take part in science sampling: a test administered to a selected sample of children thought to be representative of the population as a whole. (Monday 6 to Friday 17 June is the science sampling test period in which your child might sit the tests.) For those who are selected, there will be three papers: Biology: 25 minutes, 22 marks Chemistry: 25 minutes, 22 marks Physics: 25 minutes, 22 marks

DYNAMIC GROUPS Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings 4-way split for Maths and 3-way split for Literacy (Mr. Digby and Mrs.Fulk) There will be flexibility between the groups but generally Mrs. Ollerenshaw and Mrs. Pratt will keep the bulk of their class. Those children we feel would benefit by developing their specific needs will be taught by Mrs Fulk and Mr Digby. This means we will be filling gaps in knowledge and providing higher level focused work.

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT YOUR CHILD? We recommend that you read four times a week with your child, discuss their reading and question them. (Reading Diary and Reading Support Questions booklet can be used to help support reading) Create every available opportunity to practise mental maths calculations. Please ask your child to explain their learning to you- there is a huge emphasis on written explanations and reasoning! Establish an efficient homework routine. Ensure weekly spellings are learnt. Please support your child with their ‘My Maths’