Changes to Key Stage 2 SATs 2016 In 2015/16 children in all years at Key Stage 2 are expected to now study the new national curriculum. The KS2 SATs (Year 6) will reflect the new curriculum for the first time this year. As your child is in Year 6 this year, they will be the first pupils to receive the new tests and the first to receive the new style of reporting results. Assessment and Reporting: Old national curriculum levels (e.g. Level 3, 4, 5) have now been abolished, as set out in the government guidelines. From 2016, test scores will be reported as scaled scores. This means it is very difficult to compare the assessment of a previous year with the current year. Your child will still be taught with the highest expectations and cover all required elements of the curriculum, similar to previous years, but the new curriculum is more rigorous and sets high expectations which we have worked hard to meet since the beginning of last year. Scaled Scores: What is meant by scaled scores? It is planned that 100 will always represent the national standard. Each pupil s raw test score will therefore be converted into a score on the scale, either at, above or below 100. The scale will have a lower end point somewhere below 100 and an upper end point above 100. A child who achieves the national standard (a score of 100) will be judged to have demonstrated sufficient knowledge in the areas assessed by the tests. In July 2016 for the first publication of test results, each pupil will receive: o A raw score (number of raw marks awarded). o A scaled score in each tested subject. o Confirmation of whether or not they attained the national standard. On publication of the test results in July 2016: A child awarded a scaled score of 100 is judged to have met the national standard in the area judged by the test. A child awarded a scaled score of more than 100 is judged to have exceeded the national standard and demonstrated a higher than expected knowledge of the curriculum for their age. A child awarded a scaled score of less than 100 is judged to have not yet met the national standard and performed below expectation for their age. Previous Key Stage 2 tests were aimed at children achieving Levels 3-5 (with a national expectation to reach at least Level 4). In the past, additional Level 6 tests were produced for children who demonstrated higher than expected attainment, above Level 5 but from this year, there won t be any separate tests for the most able children. Instead, each test will have scope for higher attaining pupils to show their strengths and what they know.
The Tests: Key Stage 2 SATs take place nationally in the week commencing 9th May 2016. Statutory tests will be administered in the following subjects: o Reading (60 minutes) o Spelling (approximately 15 minutes) o Punctuation, Vocabulary and Grammar (45 minutes) o Mathematics - Paper 1: Arithmetic (30 minutes) - Paper 2: Reasoning (40 minutes) - Paper 3: Reasoning (40 minutes) In addition, some schools will be required to take part in Science testing, consisting of three tests in Biology, Physics and Chemistry. Not all schools will take part in this sampling, which takes place on a later date. All tests are externally marked, except for Writing, which is teacher assessed internally, but may be subject to moderation by the county or external moderators. In this area a big change has been to put an emphasis on handwriting and the spelling of key words. If children are unable to demonstrate a fluent, joined and legible style they will have to be marked at working below expectations. The emphasis in spelling is on the accurate use and spelling of key words, not on challenging words. This means they need to be able to use there, their they re correctly but will not be penalised for misspelling a word like thwart or congenial. Reading: The Reading Test consists of a single test paper with three unrelated reading texts. Children are given 60 minutes in total, which includes reading the texts and answering the questions and a total of 50 marks is available. Questions are designed to assess the comprehension and understanding of a child s reading and some questions are multiple choice or selected response, others require short answers and some require an extended response or explanation. Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation: A Spelling test is administered containing 20 words, lasting approximately 15 minutes with a separate test given on Punctuation, Vocabulary and Grammar. This test lasts for 45 minutes and requires short answer questions, including some multiple choice. The marks for these two tests are added together to give a total for Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar.
Mathematics: The Mathematics tests have undergone the biggest change this year and the children will sit three tests: Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3. Paper 1 is for Arithmetic lasting for 30 minutes, covering calculation methods for all operations, including the use of fractions, percentages and decimals. The questions gradually increase in difficulty. Not all children will be expected to access some of the more difficult questions later in the paper. Papers 2 and 3 cover Problem Solving and Reasoning, each lasting for 40 minutes. The children will still require calculation skills but will need to answer questions in context and decide what is required to find a solution. Sample questions:
I have not included any examples from the reading papers but have some in school if you wish to look at one or you can find them online. Your children work very hard throughout the year and the aim of this information is to inform you of the changes, not panic you. We discuss the tests with the children and as part of our normal work
we help them work towards being confident, independent learners. The booster sessions are designed to give small groups additional time to practise key skills and we offer those free to every child in Year 6 in English and for those we feel would benefit from them in mathematics. If you have any concerns then please speak to either myself or Mrs Hayward and we will be happy to sort out any worries.
Welcome back we hope you have had a lovely Christmas and a very merry New Year. We always endeavour to communicate lots of important information in our Newsletter. However, if you have any further questions please ask to speak to your child s class teacher. CURRICULUM This term, the children will be learning about: Rivers this is a geography topic and the children will learn about the different stages in a river s life. They will be studying maps to locate major rivers in Great Britain, Europe and the World. They will learn about the water cycle (Science link) and how water affects the landscape through which it flows. Changing States this is a Science topic and we will be looking at different materials, how we can sort them, their properties and whether through heating or cooling changes are reversible. While we will be conducting experiments, the children will continue to develop their information writing skills by writing instructions, conclusions and methodology. They will also be interpreting and collecting data. HOMEWORK Homework is a vital extension to the children s learning and we appreciate that you continue to support us, by encouraging your child to complete their homework on time and independently. For Year 6 children, this time is training as part of their transition to secondary school, where they will be expected to be organised and do things within a timescale! We endeavour to make the homework as purposeful as possible, but sometimes the children will be given work that needs to be finished off. We have had some children telling their parents that they do not understand the homework BUT the teachers do explain it, ask questions and homework is a follow-on activity e.g. if they are asked to write a character profile, then they have been doing that in class it is NEVER something that they have not done before. The children should be spending approximately 30 minutes a night, with an hour at the weekend. We realise that, like all of us, they lead busy lives but they need to organise their time to complete tasks. If there is a problem with any task a note in the homework diary is helpful and sometimes if needed, lunchtimes or breaks can be used, so children can complete tasks in school. This is meant to support those occasional times when there is a problem and is not meant to be a regular thing. Just a reminder that:
The children should be reading for at least 15 minutes a night and completing their reading journals weekly. Grammar is weekly and set on a Thursday and due back on Monday (Class 9) Tuesday (Class 10), the following Thursday (Class11) Maths is set every Wednesday and is due back on the Friday. Year 6 will be having additional homework for this term, set on a Friday and due back Monday. Spellings are available online through Google Classroom - the children all have logins and passwords and should know what unit they are being taught in class. On a Friday, a homework linked to topic is set and the due date is always placed at the top of the sheet. BOOSTER CLASSES (YEAR 6 ONLY) and ASSESSMENT As you know in Year 6 the children sit SATs, which assess their progress since Key Stage 1 and this year there are some changes. There is no longer a mental maths paper but a separate arithmetic paper of 30 minutes long, however it is vital that the children are still practising those key facts and their tables so that they can recall facts quickly. There is no longer a level 6 paper, so we know that there are going to be harder questions to challenge the children throughout the papers. The booster classes run by Mrs Harmer, Mrs Cann and Mrs Hayward for Year 6 are aimed at giving the children more time to practise and embed key skills and knowledge so that when they take the tests they are confident. We have been doing them for a number of years now and know that the children really benefit from attending. As you can see from the letter sent out earlier there are only 12 sessions till the tests, so we would really value your support in making sure that the children attend these sessions they are free!!!! HANDWRITING Handwriting is now assessed as part of the English curriculum and the writing must be joined, legible and fluent. We have always encouraged the children to take pride in their work and they know how important it is for their work to be legible. You cannot pass Year 6 writing now, if your handwriting is poor! This is a big change and we would really appreciate your support, when it comes to homework and if it is not good enough, like us make them do it again!! It only needs to happen a couple of times before they learn, like we did, that it is easier to do it right the first time. PE The children have PE weekly and they must have a named kit in school at all times. We are experiencing a lot of problems with PE at the moment and children are having to borrow kit. It is essential that they have trainers for outdoor games to ensure that they do not sustain injuries. As the weather is growing increasingly cold, please ensure your child has tracksuit trousers and top (not their school jumper as it could be wet from the rain) for outdoor P.E. as shorts will not be warm enough. As the children go out, whatever the weather (unless it is dangerous eg. icy), it is also useful for them to have a waterproof top in school, if possible. Girls will need to have socks if they wear tights. If they are unable to do PE for some reason please make sure that we either get a phone call or a note explaining why they can t do the lesson. Extra-Curricular Activities The Year 6 are off to the Isle of Wight at the end of term-let s hope for sunshine! We also have a book day in March, when we will be dressing up as book characters and Mrs Harmer has booked a couple of authors to come in and work with different year groups and a book fair more information to follow.
We are looking forward to another action-packed, fun-filled term.
ART: The children will focus on learn about great water artists e.g. Monet, Pissarro, Dufy, Hockney. They will replicate examples of their work focusing on technique and exploring a variety of media and create their own colour charts using the visual elements of colour and tone (appropriate to water). They will also create mixed media collages to reflect water vocabulary e.g. confluence, whirlpool, eddy etc. GEOGRAPHY: The children will focus on rivers and find out basic facts about the Rivers of the World. They will learn the geographical language associated with rivers e.g source, erosion. As part of their work they will look at how rivers have influenced the development of cities and shaped landscapes. They will learn about the water cycle and how water is used around the world. The children will use a wide range of sources and study maps. SCIENCE: The children will spend time collecting and interpreting data. They will make predictions and suggest explanations prior to coming to a conclusion. They will work on framing ideas and questions that can be investigated scientifically. The children will ensure their tests are fair and identify factors that need to be taken into consideration. Through their work they will study the changing states of materials and gases. They will study evaporation and make links with their work on the different states of water. VISITS AND VISITORS: DT: The children will work as part of a team creating a river s course. Classes 9 and 10 will be cooking at Forest School. Isle of Wight Year 6 only Forest School-DT Project Forest School-cooking Jamie Crawford-storyteller Book Fair during World Book Week PE: The children will work on ball, bat and stick skills. They will play indoor tennis and develop bat and ball skills, learn how to move into position, and hit a ball over a net. They will further develop their ball and team skills playing volleyball. ENGLISH: The children will use a variety of texts to investigate different genres. We will be working on transition between paragraphs and using a wide variety of connectives. The children will think about empathy and using various sources write from another person s point of view. They will also write and develop story writing skills, weaving plot, character and dialogue together. In poetry we will continue to examine figurative language and Kennings. In nonfiction we will develop our understanding of the features of this genre and write reports, instructions and explanations. We will be continuing to focus on reading comprehension using a variety of texts where the children will further develop their skills of analysing texts and answering questions. They will have regular spellings; work on reading comprehension and grammar. ICT: The children are going to be working staying safe on the Internet. There is also a six week unit on the internet and networking and how it works. After completing this work the children will understand computer networks including the internet; how they can provide multiple services, such as the World Wide Web; and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration. Use search technologies effectively, appreciate how results are selected and ranked, and be discerning in evaluating digital content Linked to their art work they will use a computer programme such as Revelation Natural Art to replicate examples of artists work.