SATs for Year 6 mark the end of the primary years, and is an opportunity for children to show how they have progressed and developed across the curriculum, prior to starting at senior school.
Talk to your child/children about the tests and reassure them that there is no need to worry about being tested – your reassurance will go a long way to making them feel comfortable in showing what they can do; how they can shine!
Check with your child if there are any areas they have difficulty with – such as time or finding areas of difficult shapes, and have a go at helping them – or find a Key Stage 2 SATs book which will offer advice and show how to work through any maths problems.
If children see maths working in practice, it helps reinforce learning – for example ask your child to estimate what the supermarket bill will come to, next time you are doing the shopping – reward them if they are near the mark! You could time walking the dog, or how long it takes to walk to school rather than go on the bus – then work out the difference in time taken! Doing DIY jobs around the house over Easter? Let the children help by measuring, estimating and working out what is needed. How about baking? Measuring ingredients is an excellent way of remembering gram-to-kilogram and is fun too.
English is a subject all children need to work on – from comprehension, to reading widely across genres, to producing descriptive and exciting pieces of work. If you can, do continue either reading with your child or asking them questions about what they are reading – visit book shops and the local library so children can browse and get to identify authors they may like. Ask your child how they feel about particular characters, why they act the way they do and why they enjoy a particular book.
Here at Wise Owl, we always recommend children working through practice papers that simulate what they can expect to see in the SATs tests. Ten/fifteen minutes each day of both maths and English will keep minds ticking over and things fresh in their memory.
Finally, you and your child should look on SATs positively – they will simply highlight any areas that need to be worked on – as well as those aspects of maths and English that your child is confident and adept with. Good luck!!