Exploring the SATs journey so far

The SATs have been the scene of much change since the new National Curriculum came into place in 2014. In the space of three years, the content of the test, the paper structure AND the way the SATs are marked has changed, so there has been plenty to keep us all on our toes…

At Explore, we always stay up-to-date with changes to the National Curriculum and school exams, finding the best ways to ensure kids and parents feel confident, informed and relaxed!

We’re often asked about how we support children with the SATs, their adventure through year 6 and their transition to secondary school. We hope that this short blog will give you the ‘low down’ on the many ways we help our members prepare for this exciting journey, ensuring they are prepared and excited for their next step – creating true fearless Explorers.

Our SATs toolkit 

Every session at Explore Learning is preparing your child for their SATs.

In fact, not just every session – but more specifically, every question!

Each question that your child will tackle at Explore is mapped to the National Curriculum.  This means every session is the perfect preparation for the SATs tests – the questions even look similar!

Every question your child is given is adapted to their own unique ability, allowing us to stretch them in the areas they are great at and practice more of the topics they find tricky.  What’s more, our expert tutors develop a foundation of skills that will support them in both the classroom and their tests – things like persevering with a tricky question, trying to answer quickly and accurately or looking for clues in a passage.

Learning across a longer period of time is proven to be more effective than trying to cram in the couple of months before the test, and means that this knowledge will stay with them into secondary school rather than vanish the minute the tests are over. So, if you’re already bringing your children to Explore regularly, you’re preparing them well!

What you can do to help?

Your insight into your child’s learning, progress and development are invaluable to us – we work together from the start and keep you involved every step of the way.

By attending regular parents’ meetings at Explore, your centre team will be able to discuss any areas that your child is finding challenging in the run up to the SATs, how comfortable your child is with the level that the test is likely to be set at and agree goals for your child.

Coming to these meetings also means that we can recommend any additional support that you might want, whether that be coming along to a workshop or figuring out the best way to practice at home.

Specialised SATs resources – workshops and grammar workbook

To complement your child’s regular sessions, we have developed an incredible suite of workshops that will ensure they feel entirely confident with the look, feel and content of the tests.

Our set of four specific SATs workshops cover everything from the overall structure of the test to specific exam practice skills. We’ve also developed a whole range of maths and English curriculum workshops which are offered to our members, year-round.

For those looking for more practice on the grammar topics which have been introduced in the curriculum lately, we have also produced a workbook to practise the grammar and punctuation elements they need to know.

Want to find out more?

Wondering what’s actually tested, how you can help at home or when you’ll get results? Come along to one of our parent information evenings to find out all you need to know and have your questions answered by our staff. We have also created a comprehensive guide to the SATs to help you feel prepared.

Want to do more at home to support your child? Our ‘Explorer Maths’ online portal gives all of our members access to an unlimited range of questions, which they can complete for free from home! For those really eager minds thirsty to learn more, members will now be able to download SATs practice papers from our members’ area. This is very much ‘hot off the press’, having just been released and is a brilliant resource for those who want to do extra preparation at home.

After the SATs

Although a lot of focus can be given to the SATs, the transition to secondary school is likely to be the biggest event in your child’s school life so far. A new place, new friends, so many teachers and even more homework!

We work with children all the way up to year 9, so we’re here to be a support for families during this time. Make sure that you head to one of the Succeed in Secondary open sessions to see how we can build skills that will make your child’s start in year 7 as successful as possible – developing things like teamwork, presentation and debating skills, and essay writing. There will be plenty going on in your local Explore Learning centre over summer and into the new school year to help them step fearlessly into year 7, just ask your team to find out more!

So, that’s the rundown of everything that is on offer for you as you work towards the SATs and starting year 7. If you would like more information, are interested in your child coming along for a free SATs tuition session, or would like to book onto any of our events, please give your local centre team a call!