During May, Year 2 will sit SATs papers as part of end of year assessments. At Hanley Swan, these will be kept as low key as possible and will support teacher assessments. The papers will be in: 

• Reading (2 papers)
• English grammar, punctuation and spelling (spelling paper and separate grammar paper)
• Maths (2 papers arithmetic and reasoning)

Here's some information on each :

Key Stage 1 reading

The reading test for Year 2 pupils is made up of two separate papers:

• Paper 1 consists of a selection of texts totalling 400 to 700 words, with questions interspersed
• Paper 2 comprises a reading booklet of a selection of passages totalling 800 to 1100 words. Children will write their answers in a separate booklet.

We will, of course be practising in class and coach the children on the best way to answer these questions. We will also practise reading different genres and build up stamina (this is something the the children sometimes struggle with). Please keep reading with them at home and fill in the Home Liaison Diaries with anything that the children do well - explain the story, predict what happens, use inference skills or notice something that is similar in another book that they have read. This will all help all you child. Thanks.   

Each paper is worth 50% of the marks, and should take around 30 minutes, but the children will not be strictly timed, as the tests are not intended to assess children’s ability to work at speed. We will also put the less confident in small groups or even work with them as an individual to reassure them. The texts in the reading papers cover a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, and get progressively more difficult towards the end of the test. Mrs Drinkwater have the option to stop the test at any point if it is appropriate for a particular child.

There are a variety of question types:

• Multiple choice
• Ranking/ordering, e.g. ‘Number the events below to show in which order they happened in the story’
• Matching, e.g. ‘Match the character to the job that they do in the story’
• Labelling, e.g. ‘Label the text to show the title’
• Find and copy, e.g. ‘Find and copy one word that shows what the weather was like in the story’
• Short answer, e.g. ‘What does the bear eat?’
• Open-ended answer, e.g. ‘Why did Lucy write the letter to her grandmother? Give two reasons’

Key stage 1 grammar, spelling and punctuation

Children taking Key Stage 1 SATs will also sit two separate papers in grammar, spelling and punctuation:

• Paper 1: a 20-word spelling test taking approximately 15 minutes and worth 20 marks.
• Paper 2: a grammar, punctuation and vocabulary test, in two sections of around 10 minutes each (with a break between, if necessary), worth 20 marks. This will involve a mixture of selecting the right answers e.g. through multiple choice, and writing short answers. Again Class 2 will practice these. 

Key Stage 1 maths

The new Key Stage 1 maths test is made up of two papers:

• Paper 1: arithmetic, worth 25 marks and taking around 15 minutes.
• Paper 2: mathematical fluency, problem-solving and reasoning, worth 35 marks and taking 35 minutes, with a break if necessary. There are a variety of question types: multiple choice, matching, true/false, constrained (e.g. completing a chart or table; drawing a shape) and less constrained (e.g. where children have to show or explain their method).

Children are not allowed to use any tools such as calculators or number lines. However, the children will once again be totally familiar with what is expected of them.

When will the KS1 SATs take place?

The KS1 SATs are due to be administered in May 2019.

Unlike KS2 SATs, KS1 SATs don't have to be administered according to a nationally-set timetable in a specific week. Schools are free to manage the timetable and will aim to administer the tests in the classroom in a low-stress, low-key way; some children won't even be aware they've taken them!

How will the tests be marked?

Although the tests are set externally, they are marked by Mrs Drinkwater within the school.

Children are given a scaled score. Their raw score – the actual number of marks they get – is translated into a scaled score, where a score of 100 means the child is working at the expected standard.

A score below 100 indicates that the child needs more support, whereas a score of above 100 suggests the child is working at a higher level than expected for their age. The maximum score possible is 115, and the minimum is 85.

Teacher assessments are also used to build up a picture of your child’s learning and achievements. In addition, your child will receive an overall result saying whether they have achieved the required standard in the tests (your child's actual results won't be communicated to you unless you ask for them).