How I read an Assessment invite Versus how you might read it

Yesterday one of my clients sent me the Assessment invite to one of the schools that her son will be sitting Assessment at.

I’m going to go through it sentence by sentence with the hope of being able to help you to understand how I would read it compared to how you might read it.

The assessment procedure will take about 1 hour. Children of a similar age are invited to attend in small groups and will be encouraged to participate in some simple play-based activities

How you might read this- My child will go in and play.

How I read this - Your child will NOT go in and play.

(Your child will) undertake some basic maths and letter work and listen to a story about which they will be asked some questions. They will be seen by the Head of Pre-Prep and three other experienced Pre-Prep teachers.

How you might read this - It will be simple maths and my child might need to know some of their letters. My child will just listen to a story and answer questions.

How I read this - Your child needs to be able to count to 20, recognise numbers to 10, write numbers to 10, know their shapes, be able to use mathematical terminology with confidence, be able to focus for longer periods of time in order to complete a maths task. In the reading task, your child will need to be able to show skills of focus and concentration, be able to listen attentively to the teacher in order to be able to correctly answer their questions and be able to listen to the answers of others just in case they are asked to follow on from what they have said. Your child will need to know their phase 2 and phase 3 phonics to a very high standard.

Be very careful how you read the invites to the Assessments. This particular school has a rigorous 4+ Assessment. That is not how it sounds in the invite. Please don’t ask me why the schools downplay the Assessments, I cannot answer that for you. But what I would be asking instead is this…

How can I ensure that my child is prepared to the highest possible standard to be able to go in a thrive?

That is a question I can answer for you!

Last remaining place to work with me for 4+ Assessment preparation (2025 entry), after this I will only be accepting Curriculum Coaching for my 4+ students. I also have three exceptional 4+ teachers available for new students. Book your Sample Lesson today!