In my opinion it is harder to PASS at Round 1 (4+) - Here is why...

At Round 1 most schools will be looking at your child’s behavioural characteristics and these are a little bit more challenging to prepare for (and also not completely within our control!)

I am completely in control with regards to how much my student will learn, what they learn and how much they retain. I know with 100% certainty that my student will be able to write their name with accuracy and precision, I know that they will be able to cut neatly and colour within the lines. It is completely out of my control how my student will behave on the day of their Assessment. Yes, I can teach them behavioural expectations and practise these but whether or not they actually demonstrate these on the day will be exclusively up to my student.

Each school will have their own criteria regarding what exactly they are looking for in their students behaviourally.

For example, at one particular school they are looking for children who follow instructions (perfectly!), children who are compliant, children who show amazing listening and children who can answer questions really well.

So even thought your child might be exceptional academically, most of this will not be Assessed until Round 2. So please do prepare for both aspects of the 4+ Assessments! Focus equally on both but ensure your do prepare for Round 1.

Having witnessed Round 1 Assessments several times, I can tell you that what is Assessed is mostly relating to the behaviour of the child. Let me give you an example.

At one Assessment, I had a child who was clearly academically strong but after ten minutes, he stopped following the instructions completely. I asked him to go over to the puzzle activity and he simply looked at me and said, ‘No!’. He proceeded to go over the the cars activity instead. When I asked him to join me at the cutting table, he looked at me, smiled and ran the opposite direction. He did not meet the criteria to pass the Round 1 Assessment.

Tell your children what is expected of them. How else will they know!

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