1. Year Six SATs 2014 Welcome! While you wait, ‘enjoy’ looking at the Papers similar to the ones your child will sit... Reading are near the art area, Maths is in the centre, ‘Writing’ is near the PC

2. What are the SATs tests and levels? SATs (Standard Assessment Tests) are given at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. They are used to show your child's progress compared with other children born in the same year. SATs take place in May, the results are reported and are more formal than Year 2, 3, 4 and 5 tests, hence they have a higher profile and appear much more stressful! The tests which are taken in year 6 cover English and Maths. The papers are sent away to be marked with results being available before your child leaves us in July. SATS results, together with the teacher's assessment and assessments on entry to Year 7 can be used to help stream your child at secondary school. Here is a simple table to show you the expectations of a child: Level 1 Average for a typical 5 year old Level 2 Average for a typical 7 year old Level 3 Average for a typical 9 year old Level 4 Average for a typical 11 year old Level 5 Average for a typical 13 year old Level 6 Average for a typical 15 year old Additionally, you may find bands 'a', 'b' and 'c' are given within the levels. This simply indicates a range within the level, a being the highest and c being the lowest.

3. What is (TA) teacher assessment?  Teachers assess the children in every lesson. Assessments are regularly made against lesson objectives and National Curriculum Levels. When children are 7, 11 and 14, teachers make formal National Curriculum assessments of their work in some subjects. This is called ‘teacher assessment.’ Of course, teachers also assess children's work informally almost every time they teach a class. For example, they mark maths calculations, listen to children read, or watch how they do a scientific experiment. Knowing how children are doing in class helps teachers plan what the children should learn next.  Assessment documents will be available on school website next week (Y6 News Page)  Level descriptions can be seen in the cloakroom.

4. Why are there tests as well as teacher assessment?  Tests and teacher assessment measure your child's achievement in different ways. The tests measure what all children can do when they are set the same questions. They help teachers identify strengths and weaknesses in children's understanding. Teacher assessment judges your child's performance across the whole subject over time. Tests and teacher assessment are equally important.  The results of the tests and the teacher assessment may be different. For example, a teacher may feel your child is doing better (or not so well) in a subject as a whole rather than in the parts of the subject covered in the tests, or perform differently under timed conditions.

5. Are the tests stressful for children? The tests only cover what children have been learning at school. Everybody involved in the tests takes great care to make sure that they are not stressful and are as fair as possible to all children. It is a fact that children appear to ‘grow up’ younger than we did. Year 6 SATs are no exception, with 10 and 11 year old children seeming to regularly use the word ‘revision’ which I am sure we all agree is very sad, and a word they won’t need until their teenage years. In school, we use terms such as ‘reminding you of what you know’ which has a much more positive connotation, and is in fact all revision is. The media and publishers do not help this! Doing lots of extra learning sessions at home and in school can be very counter- productive, as it induces anxiety and can also mean that children who scrape through a level band due to extra ‘cramming’ but do not fully understand the knowledge/skills required to be comfortable in that level, struggle in Year 7. In addition, there is far more to North Hinksey School, and Year 6, than just ‘SATs’!!

6. What will the SATs look like? There are some old question papers you can have a look at to get an idea of the sorts of questions you might be asked, and how the questions sound. You can buy books of these questions in book shops, or borrow them from school. You can download all the SATs papers in English and Maths (Writing and Science is no longer assessed in this format) from http://satspapers.org/mathsKS2SATS.htm http://satspapers.org/mathsKS2SATS.htm

7. What will the SPaG Test look like? Spelling strategies include: adding regular word endings, prefixes, suffixes, superlatives, pluralisation (regular and irregular), silent letters, compound words, homophones, double consonants, regular letter strings, common root words, diminutives, vowel endings, possessive pronouns Adding the correct punctuation Making simple sentences complex/compound, i.e. connecting clauses with connectives and adding in subordinate clauses Standard English and making sentences make sense, e.g. the correct tense and person Word Classes

8. When are the tests? All across the country, the Year 6 SATs tests are in the week beginning May 12th 2014. There is are strict timings to adhere to, please avoid taking your children out of school during this time and in the weeks leading up to the tests. Thank you. The timetable of the week is set out nationally.

9. Monday 12 May Tuesday 13 May Wednesday 14 May Thursday 15 May Friday 13 May Reading Test 45 minutes (plus 15 minutes reading time) English SPaG Test 45 minutes Mental maths Test 20 minutes Mathematics Test A 45 minutes Mathematics Test B 45 minutes

10. How can I prepare for the tests as a parent..? Hot Tips! Remember your child's education is a partnership. Shared Learning at Home really is that! Extra help/challenge is on the website. Approach a subject from lots of different angles. Software, games, activities, books, flash cards, practical applications all help. Look through a practice paper together and talk through the answers, try drawing or acting out answers of difficult concepts such as fractions (the children know their ‘learning style’. Explain that the number of marks gives your child an idea of how much time to spend on each question. Make sure your child is aware that getting stuck is not a problem, move on and if they have time come back to the hard ones at the end. Also that they don’t have to get full marks!! Encourage your child to believe in themselves, "you can do it!" Remind your child that the tests are important, but that the are not the only way they are to be measured. It is easier said than done, BUT do not put your child under too much pressure. Have fun, they will find things easier to remember if they remember the good times they had learning.

11. How can I prepare for the tests as a pupil? The best way to get ready for the SATs is to continue to work hard throughout the whole school day, to keep enjoying all the things we do in school, and to simply enjoy all the learning in your last year of Primary school! The SATs are only a very very small part of this last year. You have been taught ALL the things you need to know about for the tests. Year 6 Teachers remind you of these things between now and May (often, you will not even realise this!) I have looked around and decided the best website for finding out what you need to know for the tests and practising your skills, is the BBC Revise Wise site. It is good because it reminds you of what you know, and it has factsheets and fun ways to learn what you have forgotten. There are Activities and Mini Tests to do to see how well you are getting on, and each part of the site has a Games Zone and Challenge in each subject.

12. The links to practising each subject English – What should I show in the reading test?: http://www.satsguide.co.uk/sats_resources_area/sats_subjects_revision/sats_english/techniques_for_r eading_test.htm http://www.satsguide.co.uk/sats_resources_area/sats_subjects_revision/sats_english/techniques_for_r eading_test.htm English – Reading: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/reading/http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/reading/ What should I show in the SPaG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) test?: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/spelling_grammar/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/spelling_grammar/ There are other games and activities on these sites. Click here to practise areas of English you need for your test: http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/engindex.htmlhttp://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/engindex.html Maths – General test tips for the written maths tests http://www.satsguide.co.uk/sats_resources_area/sats_subjects_revision/sats_maths/maths_strategies. htm http://www.satsguide.co.uk/sats_resources_area/sats_subjects_revision/sats_maths/maths_strategies. htm Maths – http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/maths/http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/maths/ There are other games and activities on these sites. Click here to practise areas of Maths you need for your test: http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/index.htmlhttp://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/index.html Other hints and tips about English, maths and Science can be found on http://www.satsguide.co.uk/sats_how_to.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/english/writing/ http://www.satsguide.co.uk/sats_how_to.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/english/writing/