Sats: Schools send letters filled with positive messages for kids taking tests
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Artist Lydia Monks illustrated a letter that Spire Junior School sent after seeing it on social media.
Now we all know exam time can be stressful, so here's a story to give you good vibes!
Some schools have been sending pupils inspirational letters ahead of their Sats tests which started this week for thousands of children in England.
The Sats or Standard Assessment Tests are used to measure how children in Year 2 and 6 are doing in primary school.
The Sats test spelling, punctuation and grammar, as well writing skills.
The tests are important for measuring how a school is performing, but some people think the tests put too much pressure on children.
Last week some teachers sent letters to their pupils encouraging them to relax and not get too stressed about the tests.
Mr Shaw, the headmaster of Spire Junior School in Chesterfield told 10 and 11 year olds in Year 6:
"The SATs do not assess all of what makes each of you special or unique. The people who create these tests and score them do not know each of you the way that we do and certainly not the way your families do.
In the letter he also said: "There are many ways of being smart. You are smart! So rest plenty this weekend and just try your best next week, that's all anyone will ask of you."
They do not know that some of you love to sing, or draw. They have not seen your natural talent for dancing or playing a musical instrument. They do not know that your friends can count on you to be there for them; that your laughter can brighten the darkest day or that your face turns red when you feel shy. They do not know that you participate in sports, wonder about the future, or sometimes help your brother or sister after school.
Chorlton Park Primary School sent a similar letter to their Year 6 pupils with a poem called 'You're the best!'
It begins with the words:
'Sats don't measure sports
Sats don't measure art,
Sats don't measure music
Or the kindness in your heart'
Last year the school also sent a letter which urged their pupils 'remember to eat well and get plenty of sleep, to laugh a lot and enjoy the weekend'.
Did you get a letter like this from your school? How do you cope with exam stress?
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