Holymead Primary School Information for parents on Key Stage 2 SATS 2016

Important dates The children will be sitting their papers on 9 th -12 th May 2016

The timetable is as follows:

Reading paper This is a one hour test where children read the text and answer a range of questions.

Maths papers There will be two reasoning papers that last 45 minutes. As well as this, there will be an arithmetic paper consisting of 20 questions of varying difficultly. This will be a 30 minute test Changes: There is no longer: a calculator paper mental maths paper a level 6 paper

Supporting your child in maths Times tables practice (VITAL!) Get your child involved in questions about money. Shopping bills, change, tickets etc. Telling the time (analogue and digital -12 and 24 hour clock) Working out fractions and percentages of quantities Measuring and weighing in everyday life

Some examples between the arithmetic paper and the reasoning paper Typical arithmetic questions are:

Some examples between the arithmetic paper and the reasoning paper Typical reasoning questions are:

Grammar assessment (introduced in 2013): The children will be assessed in the following technical aspects of English: Grammar Punctuation Spelling Vocabulary

Writing assessments: There is no longer a writing test. Writing will be assessed by teachers and will be based on the work that children complete in class and moderations throughout the year.

Our ethos Children cannot fail SAT papers. We encourage children to think of them as a way to show what they can do and what they have learnt in their time at primary school! Children will be encouraged to do their best and will be supported by adults in the school in a calm and reassuring environment.

What help can the children have? Reading paper – children have to read text and answer questions independently Maths paper- teachers can read questions to the children when they ask. Some children will take the test in small groups. This is the same for the grammar paper Teachers can encourage but not guide or correct

How is SAT week organised? You will be given a timetable of the week’s events Breakfast club All children will sit the tests at the same times and days The Local Authority monitor 10% of schools a year Children are organised into relevant groups to ensure that they are properly supported and feel secure.

How have we will we be preparing in school? Regular opportunities for children to experience the kinds of questions they will find in the tests Grammar sessions Regular spelling lessons and assessments Revision sessions Practice papers Opportunities for children to reflect on their papers and self assess their progress Informing children of their progress

How can you help? You can support your child by working through their homework with them - checking spelling, grammar and calculations are correct. Revision books will be available. Check out some online learning resources (suggestions will be given out on parents’ evening) Read with your child – even if they are a competent reader! Perhaps they could read one page and you read the next… This is a good way of modelling expression and the power of punctuation.

We will also be buying the children revision guides to work on in class As well as this, we will be investing in buying some revision booklets for the children to complete to support revision sessions. This will also be useful for you to see the kinds of questions your children will need to answer.

Some changes to how your child’s results will be reported As you may be aware, there are no longer ‘levels’ as you have come to know them. The Government has changed this over the last year So, how will your child’s results be reported?

The information we have been given so far is: From 2016, ‘scaled scores’ will be used to report national curriculum test outcomes. A pupil’s ‘scaled sc ore’ will be based on their raw score. The raw score is the total number of marks a pupil receives in a test, based on the number of questions they answered correctly. They will use a statistical technique called ‘scaling’ to transform the raw score into a scaled score.

The pupil’s raw score will be translated into a scaled score using a conversion table. On our scale 100 will always represent the ‘national standard’. The scale will have a lower end point below 100 and an upper end point above 100 once the Dfe have set the national standard