Sats
Next week our Year 6 children will be taking tests in reading, spelling, grammar and mathematics. These are of course the Statutory Assessments which we commonly refer to as Sats and which all year 6 children in the country will be taking at the same time.
St. John’s has traditionally achieved very good scores in these tests and we know this year our pupils have again worked very hard in preparation for next week. Staff would however like to stress that the tests do not assess all the personal attributes and skills that we try to encourage and celebrate here at St. John’s and we certainly do not judge pupils simply on the scores they achieve next week. We are fortunate to work with many talented children who have particular skills in sport or music, pupils who are honest, friendly and hard-working and above all else, pupils who are just thoroughly nice people.
It is recognised that the teaching profession in general believe that the Sats are an unnecessary pressure placed upon children. Our teachers know their children extremely well and they can accurately assess performance without the need for these tests. Hopefully next week the children will take these tests in their stride and understand that the assessments will only demonstrate a very small part of what they can do and will go on to achieve.
Parents’ support in reassuring their children and encouraging them to simply do their best is greatly appreciated.
Other statutory tests for Year 2 pupils and the phonics test for Year 1 will also be undertaken this term. The nature of these assessments is far more informal than in Year 6 and are delivered in a very supportive way. In these year groups.
St. John’s does have excellent records regularly achieving scores well above national averages and we remain optimistic that this year’s cohort will perform very well.
Caretaker
We are currently advertising on our website for a temporary, part time caretaker. For the 15 hour per week post we are looking for someone who will carry out basic maintenance and general caretaking duties, including painting over the next few months. The job is available to start immediately once the brief recruitment process is completed. Please see the advert for further details.