After many years of preparing Y6 for SATs in their various guises, I know that there is not one perfect, fool proof method. Every cohort is different – not only in their abilities, their needs, their maturity but also in their personalities and the class dynamic. Throw in the lottery that is the content of the tests themselves, the demands of meeting targets; then add the unique situation of the Coronation and the consequent time table adjustment plus this is the first year since Covid that SATs results will be published in national league tables – The pressure on Y6 teachers is immense.
What issues are complicating SATs preparation this year?
- Gaps in children’s knowledge and skills
- Lack of time – teaching a full curriculum and plugging gaps in a finite amount of time
- Pupil’s mental health
- For some teachers, this is their first year of preparing children for the tests
How are these to be overcome?
As ever, there is no one solution, no magic wand – teachers will do what they always do – the best they can within the available time and with the available resources.
The key, I think, to striking the balance between helping every pupil to have a positive experience in test week and to minimize the anxiety, is to know your class really well. By this I mean, know the individuals but also the class dynamic – do they support each other or are they a disparate bunch? What activities do they enjoy? I had one class that loved quizzes; another that hated quizzes but loved being creative; there was the one that loved singing, dancing and film clips and even the one that liked my jokes! Whatever it is they love – use it! Short activities which they love, can bond a class far better than a PSHE lesson on ‘working together’ – so use it as one strand in your SATs armoury.
Managing the run-up to SATs can feel like cramming a pint into a quart pot – but should it? By now, you will know your class really well, in particular their strengths and weaknesses and those yawning chasms called ‘gaps’. To keep some sense of proportion, ask yourself this: is it better to leave some areas untaught until after SATs and make sure that the children are very secure about what has been taught or cover everything knowing that some will not have ‘got it’? I always took the former approach – often teaching algebra, for example, after test week – did it make any difference to test outcomes? Of course not. Did it give more time to more significant areas E.g. Fractions, Decimals and Percentages? Definitely and this was time well spent, in my opinion.
Yes, I know there are pressures on Y6 teachers in some schools to ‘get results’ but at what cost? Ask yourself is it worth it?
How can we help you?
Take a look at our SATs Preparation page. There is a FREE Parent Information Meeting Pack and a FREE Starter Pack for teachers. There are links to the ley Government documents and links to the website pages that will be most helpful. Everything in one place will make your life easier.
