SATs HELP FOR BUSY PARENTS
SATs Help: How can busy parents help their children facing Year 6 SATs?
When and How?
Age 11 early May of Year 6: SATs in English and maths, marked externally, results published nationally. Teacher assessment in science.
Year 6 SATs
Date |
Test |
|
Grammar and Punctuation Test-45 mins
Spelling Test-20 mins |
|
English Reading Test-60 mins |
|
Mathematics Arithmetic (Paper 1)-30 mins
Mathematics Reasoning (Paper 2)-40 mins |
|
Mathematics Reasoning (Paper 3)-40 mins |
Day 1: Grammar and Punctuation
Spelling Test
Day 2: English Reading Test
Day 3: Maths Arithmetics (Paper 1)
Day 4: Maths Reasoning (Paper 2)
Maths Reasoning (Paper 3)
Obviously, the children will be aware that there is something going on and that they are going to be tested. During Year 6, your child will undoubtedly get plenty of exam practice and specific work on how to answer particular questions in exams, particularly in regards to the reading comprehension exam. Some schools will put on more pressure or expect more revision than others, with many offering extra tutoring either before or after school. It may be a motivator for some kids to try and bit harder, however, many find it stressful.
Our Advice:
You can also help your child at home in the following ways:
Chat to the teacher about where your child is at and if there are areas for improvement.
Keep to routine by making sure they are well rested and get plenty of exercise. Avoid late nights or sleepovers during this time.
Talk to them about why tests are important but also not to worry. Keep up the communication so that they can tell you how they feel.
Talk about stories, books and characters. Read them stories and hear them read. Play story CDs in the car. It helps children to hear stories before they write them. Much children’s TV is chopped up into short or fast moving chunks that don’t hold any narrative, so minimise this.
Practice and re-enforce basic maths skills such as timed tables. It’s an essential skill that will improve accuracy but also fluency (getting it right but also completing more questions).
Suggested Links:
Here is a link to Past Papers:
KS 2 Year 6 Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling Past Paper
KS 2 Year 6 Reading Assessment Booklet
KS 2 Year 6 Reading Assessment Questions
KS 2 Year 6 Maths Paper 1 (Arithmetic)
KS 2 Year 6 Maths Paper 2 (Reasoning)
KS 2 Year 6 Maths Pape 3 (Reasoning)
We recommend Andrew Brodie books especially for maths.
Also CPG SATs revision books are great for maths and English.
In the end it is better that issues are flagged up now if they need extra support. SATs should be information for you and the school about your child’s progress rather than their performance. If you would like to book a free assessment with us to get professional advice then click here…
Who Our Tuition Is Not Suited For?
A Guide to Who Will Not Benefit From Our Tuition Service
We want parents and children to get the best out of our tuition service. The last thing we want to do is waste anyone’s money on something that is not for them.
Here is a guide to help parents decide if we are the right service for their child or children.
Last minute exam prep-esp GCSE
We are not able to cram for exams. Our tuition is designed to look for areas of weakness that students might have. We may need to go back a few years (educationally) to work on skills that students may have missed. This can take some time, and if you (or the student), are too focussed on an exam you might become frustrated. We are aiming for mastery and not just short term exam performance (that will probably be forgotten the day after the exam!)
SEN
We are not a specialist special needs centre. However, if we meet children for an assessment and feel we can work with them, we take them on. There are a few students, maybe their behaviour is too bad or maybe they can’t speak any English, who we find it difficult to help. The best thing to do is book in for a free assessment and we will give you our honest opinion.
Can’t Attend a Centre Regularly
Regular attendance at lessons is essential for progress. In many cases we only get 80 minutes once a week. We do not want to waste anyone’s money, so if you cannot attend regularly, we may not be the place for you.
If You Want Online Tutoring
We do not have an online offer at the moment. We still feel in centre tutoring is of a much higher quality than online, and that most children needs teachers to be present.
Free or Cheap Tuition
Good quality tuition by professional and experienced tutors does cost money. We have to provide a great learning environment and pay for fantastic, experienced and qualified tutors. We try to provide the best tuition that money can buy but we quite understand that it is not in everyone’s budget. We are committed to helping your child make progress so please don’t try to drive down our prices.
11+ Entrance Assessments 2024/25
Independent Schools in Portsmouth, Fareham & Havant
Greetings, parents! In the Portsmouth area, you’ll find a variety of independent schools, each offering its own unique blend of educational ethos and environment, ranging from the grand to the intimate, and spanning a spectrum of academic rigour. We take great pleasure in assisting children with their preparation for the 11+ common entrance assessments, recognising the significance of this milestone. Additionally, we recognise the importance of ensuring everyone is well-informed regarding relevant dates and schedules. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on that front.
Scholarships
Academic Scholarships may be awarded to the top achievers based on the results of the school’s 11+ assessment. The criteria for this will vary from school to school, so you must apply directly to them.
Additionally, some schools offer scholarships for excellence in Art, Drama, Music, and Sport at 11+, 13+, and Sixth Form. These need to be applied for, and applications are usually submitted by the end of November preceding the September of entry. You can apply for more than one scholarship.
Financial Assistance
Some schools may offer financial assistance (means tested on income and exam performance) for Year 7 and Year 9 entry, and the deadline for applying is normally the end of November prior to the year of entry. Often, financial assistance is allocated first and foremost based on the child’s exceptional performance in the Entrance Assessments; the financial information you provide is then considered.
N.B. Please note that advice given here may vary between individual schools. It is important that you get in touch with individual schools to find out their exact criteria for entry requirements, scholarships, and financial assistance.
Common Entrance Assessment or 11+
This exam is so called as it is taken at the age of 11 years at the beginning of secondary education. Not all independent schools are selective, but almost all schools will want students to take an entrance assessment exam of some kind.
The entrance exams always cover maths and English to a high level. Children are also usually tested on their verbal and nonverbal reasoning. These tests are designed to be more difficult to prepare for as they are not school subjects. Verbal reasoning is concerned with language and word problems, while non-verbal reasoning includes logic, shape, and number patterns.
The 11+ Assessments typically consist of the following: Maths (50 mins); English (45 mins); Reading Comprehension (30 mins); Non-verbal Reasoning (30 mins); plus an Interview (20 mins).
Full Bursary
“We are so pleased that Mahera has got a FULL BURSARY for the local girl’s high school in Portsmouth. She has been to your centre before for tuition but we came back in November so she could get ready for the exams. She has worked so hard and Linda has really encouraged her in her writing! Thanks so much!”
Click here to read more about our success…..
Portsmouth High School for Girls
Music, Art, Drama & Sport Scholarship Day
Monday 6th January 2025
11+ Assessment Day
Tuesday 7th January 2025
Portsmouth Grammar School
11+ and 13+ Entrance Assessment
Saturday 9th November 2024
Mayville High School
All Candidates Sit Exam
Saturday 16th November 2024
The Gregg School
11+ Entrance Assessment
Saturday 25th January 2025
Meoncross School
Open Week: 25- 29th September 10.45am
Open Morning November Friday 24th November 10.45am
Boundary Oak School
Assessment can be booked all year
Are you considering entering your child for an independent school? Book a Free Assessment today!
NOW IS THE TIME
If your child is currently in Year 5, then NOW is the time to start preparing for the entrance assessment exam in January.
During your child’s free forty-five-minute assessment we will:
- Test your child’s reading age, spelling age and maths ability.
- Give you honest feedback on your child’s ability to pass the entrance exams for each school.
- Discuss our previous experience preparing students for entrance exams for local independent schools.
- Give you a breakdown of the topics your child needs to cover to prepare for the entrance exam.
- Explain our materials and teaching methods to you.
- Give you the chance to ask any questions and to tap into our expertise.
Click here to find out more about tutoring for Entrance Exams …
Most Improved in Tutor Group and Year Group!
Most Improved Maths
Finley was struggling with Maths at school when his mum got in touch. She said “It scared him that he was finding if so difficult. I had tried contacting tutors before but there’d been no response. I was really pleased when I spoke to someone and got a free assessment. He enjoys the lessons and has no problem now.”
Linda his tutors says,”He has become more confident and improved a great deal. He works hard and he want to do well each lesson.”
Finley has gone from strength to strength and now enjoys maths. He got certificates for most improved student in tutor group and year so school have certainly notice it!
Christmas Competition
Christmas Competition 2018
We are excited to announce our latest Christmas Competitions.
Maths
Santa’s Super Times Tables Challenge
This is a speed mental maths challenge using our computer programme. Choose the Super Challenge and try to get a high score in one of the three levels (Some, More, All). Make a record witnessed by a tutor and you can enter it for the competition.
English
Reindeer Writing
Either; write an information piece about reindeer or a poem about life as a reindeer.
Entries will be judged on an age appropriate level and can be handed in early. Entries by Friday 14th December please.
GCSE Maths Success in Only 3 months!
GCSE Maths Grade 2-4 in Three Months
Alex had always found maths difficult at school. He found himself in Year 11, dreading the thought of taking his GCSE maths exam. He enrolled with us for maths tuition with just three months to go and attended two lessons a week to try to catch up. It was the repetition and individual attention that he found very helpful. Alex says, “I learned more in the three months than my whole time in the maths classroom at school. I went from dreading it, to feeling much better about being there.” This Summer he was overjoyed to find that he had gone from a Grade 2 in his mocks up to a Grade 4 (C) pass in his final exam.
Now he is at Portsmouth College studying his A levels and very happy! Howard Jones, his tutor, said, “Alex was a very motivated student and knew what he wanted. I was able to channel this energy into a really positive direction. If students are prepared to put in the work, it is amazing how quickly some targeted one-to-one tutoring can make a difference in many cases.”
We had to go right back to the level of maths that Alex could cope with. We then focused on drilling his number work to improve his fluency and arithmetic (remember, at least one of the papers is non-calculator). Each lesson, we also completed a set of mixed questions which analyzed areas of weakness. These were matched each lesson with GCSE-type questions which we repeated until Alex could answer them independently for himself. As the exam got closer, we then focused more on exam-type questions, making sure we repeated each one to give Alex maximum confidence.
Summer School 2018 Pictures
Celebrating Our Largest Summer School Ever!
This year our Summer School was so full we needed extra space! Howard, Linda, Maxine and David would like to thank all the students for making our jobs so fun and rewarding. It really was a pleasure!
Everyone enjoyed earning stamps, stickers and prizes for their hard work. They all completed 10 hours of tuition and made lots of progress in just a week.
Many thanks to Michael Whitelock from P.S. Trampoline & Gymnastics who provided lots of afternoon activities including gymnastics, trampolining and tennis.
11+ Common Entrance Assessment Dates January 2019
11+ Entrance Assessments for January 2019
Indepedent Schools in Portsmouth and Fareham
We love helping children prepare for 11+ common entrance assessments. I thought it might be a good idea to make sure everyone has the dates they need.
The entrance exams always cover maths and English to a high level. Children are also usually tested on their verbal and non verbal reasoning. These tests are designed to be more difficult to prepare for as they are not a school subject. Verbal reasoning is concerned with language and words problems while non-verbal reasoning looks are logic, shape and number patterns.
Here is a testimonial we received earlier.
“We are so pleased that Mahera has got a FULL BURSARY for the local girl’s high school in Portsmouth. She has been to your centre before for tuition but we came back in November so she could get ready for the exams. She has worked so hard and Linda has really encouraged her in her writing! Thanks so much!”
Click here to find out more about tutoring for Entrance Exams …
Are you considering entering your child for an independent school? Tell us and we can help prepare them.
Click here to read more about our success…..
Portsmouth High School
11+, 12+, 13+ or 14+
Saturday 19th January 2019
Portsmouth Grammar School
11+ and 13+ Entrance Assessment
Saturday 26th January 2019
Mayville High School
All Candidates Sit Exam
Saturday 19th January 2019
St John’s College
11+ Entrance Assessment
Thursday 20th November
Tuesday 22nd January 2018
The Gregg School
11+ Entrance Assessment
Saturday 2nd February 2019
Summer School 20th -24st August 2018
Maths and English Fun at Summer School
Summer will soon be here and Summer School 2018 is here by popular demand! Each student receives 10 hours of professional tuition in a week. Some children stay in the afternoon for sport activities.
Summer School 20th -24th AUG
Tuition: Maths & English 9-11am or 12-2pm Cost £200 6-16yrs
A full ten hours of professional tuition in reading, writing, spelling and maths to boost your child this summer. Individual plans and all abilities catered for. Classes in our Portsmouth and Fareham Centres.
Tuition and Sport*: Maths & English Tuition + Trampolining/Gymnastics 9am-3pm
Sport*: Trampolining, Gymnastics and other activities with fully qualified coaches from PSTGC
Learn some new moves and gain a badge and certificate at the end of the week!
*Transport is available to take students from the Fareham Centre and back to Priory Tennis for the sport activities.
-Save £30 by booking both Sport and Tuition-
Cost was £275 only £245 (if booked before w/e June 30th) 6-12yrs
Many Children Fall Behind
‘Research shows as many as one in three children can fall behind as a result of a seven-week break from the classroom.’
For most children, summer is a time to leave classes and homework behind. While summer is a holiday from school, it does not have to be a holiday from learning. The summer holiday is great for recharging your children’s batteries, but if they are not using the skills and knowledge that was learned in the classroom, they will find themselves struggling when school starts up again.
Skills and knowledge gained throughout the school year fade during the summer months. Research shows that loss of content retention begins within 24 to 48 hours of learning unless the new information is reinforced or applied immediately. That is why, during summer holidays, even the best students forget lessons they have learned during the school year. After a month without reinforcement, approximately 80 percent of what a student has recently learned can be lost.
Gain Confidence
For children who have struggled in school, summer is an invaluable opportunity to catch-up on key skills and feel more confident when they return to class. For students who do well, it is an opportunity to keep their enthusiasm for learning high.
If your child needs help with reading, writing, spelling or maths call Howard or Linda for a free assessment on 023 93 96 86 26 now.
Request a Call Back
Tax Free Childcare is Here
Save Money with Tax Free Childcare at I Love to Learn
As we are OFSTED registered you can use the below methods to pay I Love to Learn.
Tax Free Childcare is a new scheme from the government. If you open an account and put in some money the government will give you your tax back. You can use this to pay for childcare for children up to 12 years old. (For every £8 you pay in, the government will pay in an extra £2, equivalent to 20% of childcare costs)
Click here to open an account…
Click here to find out more from MoneySavingExpert.com….
You can continue to use the below methods also:
If you are already using Childcare Vouchers issues by your employer you can use them to pay for tuition with us. (You have until Oct 2018 to enrol as this scheme will end)
If you receive Working Families Tax Credit you may be eligible for help also. Just give the Helpline a call and tell them that your childcare costs have gone up. They will let you know if you can receive extra credit.
The WFTC Helpline is 0345 300 3900.
Our OFSTED no. in Portsmouth is EY 387054.
Our OFSTED no. in Fareham is EY 559164
Please do not hesitate to get in touch if we can be of any help on this or any other issue.
