Home revision and mock exams are common for 11-year-olds, poll reveals

INFANT SCHOOL children are taking mock SATs tests and being asked to revise at home for the assessments, according to a poll.

It also suggests that some schools are running revision classes for six and seven-yearolds during lunchtimes, after school and in the holidays in a bid to prepare youngsters for the National Curriculum tests.

And the findings also indicate that home revision, mocks and extra classes are commonplace for 10 and 11-year-olds taking the Key Stage 2 SATs at the end of

their primary school education. A small-scale poll by the National Education Union (NEU) and the Times Educational Supplement

suggests that some teachers believe their schools are spending too much time on preparing youngsters for the papers.

Almost three in 10 of the 500 teachers and school leaders questioned said that their school expects Year 2 pupils to do SATs revision at home, while more than three in five said that these youngsters sit mock tests. About eight per cent said that their school runs SATs revision sessions for six and seven-year-olds after school, while seven per cent said they are run at lunchtime and two per cent said they take place in the holidays.

A Department for Education spokesman said: “The assessments in Year 2 are designed to help teachers understand pupils’ understanding of basic maths and English and to measure their progress.

“There is no need to encourage pupils to revise or do practice papers at home.”