Why the Year 6 exams benefit children more than you think

May 3, 2024

The debate of whether or not Year 6 children should sit SATs has stretched out for over a decade. It doesn’t matter what side of the fence you’re on, everyone involved in the debate always has the best interests of the children at heart, and we all want to make sure children are able to

The debate of whether or not Year 6 children should sit SATs has stretched out for over a decade. It doesn’t matter what side of the fence you’re on, everyone involved in the debate always has the best interests of the children at heart, and we all want to make sure children are able to reach their full potential.

Many believe that the main objective of the SATs is to assess the school’s standard of teaching and how well its teachers are performing. Even if this is the case, it doesn’t stop children, parents and teachers gaining so much more from these exams. The results will reveal a lot about each child, and it would be a mistake to use these results for only one purpose.

Let’s start with the basics: What are SATs exams?

Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) are designed to assess a child’s knowledge of the Key Stage 2 English and maths national curriculum. SATs are taken by Year 6 children (aged 10-11) in May every year. See the table below for dates of each exam:

Date Test
Monday 13 May 2024 English grammar, punctuation and spelling paper 1 and 2
Tuesday 14 May 2024 English reading
Wednesday 15 May 2024 Maths paper 1 and 2
Thursday 16 May 2024 Maths paper 3

 

Preparation is vital for SATs

Even before they sit the exams, children are gaining so much. Preparing for SATs can be a significant milestone for Year 6 children; preparation teaches children that this is key to building their knowledge and confidence. The more time they have to prepare, the more knowledge they will gain and retain.

It’s important not to think of SATs as one exam that will define a child’s education journey. At each stage of preparing for SATs, teachers are assessing the child’s understanding and identifying any gaps in their learning. This means that at different stages during the preparation, teachers and parents can tailor the journey to make sure the child is ready to reach their full potential in their exams.

In this together

An important part of the process of preparing a child for SATs is communication between the teacher and the parents. The SATs become a vital communication tool and promote 360° support for the child to make progress. It’s important that parents are regularly updated on how their child is progressing in the classroom, so they know how to support their learning at home.

All parents want to know how their child is doing in the classroom. However, it can be a struggle for parents to know how to help their child at home. Our SATs workbooks and testbooks are ideal; all a parent needs to do is open one of our workbooks and simply work through each page with their child. All techniques are explained step-by-step, meaning no specialist knowledge is required. When the child is ready, parents can test their progression using our testbooks. Don’t worry, all answers are provided for total support!

Building confidence

The SATs preparation process helps children build their confidence. When a child is progressing, they will see their improvement through wider knowledge gained and how quickly they answer questions. Through our Key Stage 2 workbooks, we give children the reassurance that they’re doing well and celebrate when they complete a workbook with a certificate for their hard work.

Praising their efforts and celebrating the small victories along the way will boost a child’s confidence and make them more likely to enjoy the subject they have been learning.

Beyond SATs

Preparing for and sitting SATs will give children skills not only for Year 6 but also for later life. Having a solid knowledge of maths and English will stand them in good stead at secondary school, and experiencing a test environment at this age is good practice for future exams.

Find out here how our Key Stage 2 workbooks and testbooks can support your child’s SATs preparation.

Get your child to take our Free Online Maths Test to see their current maths ability level.