Preparing your child for Stage 2 assessments

Most second-stage assessments are set by your child’s target school. Like the first stage, they test Key Stage 2 English and maths. The best preparation is to continue building subject mastery while stretching your child with more challenging topics.

• English assessments often focus on comprehension and creative writing.

• Maths assessments usually include harder questions, such as multi-step word problems that test reasoning and problem-solving.

Below are Atom’s Education Expert recommendations for preparing for second-stage assessments.

Continue to move forward in the English and maths courses

Your child should continue using the English and maths courses in their learning plan to master the Key Stage 2 curriculum. As they progress, Atom unlocks more challenging content automatically.

Atom’s adaptive technology stretches your child in areas of confidence, while revisiting topics they find more difficult.

Multiple-choice questions also help develop problem-solving skills through the process of elimination. These skills can then be applied to written-answer questions in second-stage exams.

Target your child’s areas of difficulty using extra practices

It is important to focus on any gaps that remain after the first stage of assessments. The most effective way to do this is through extra practices.

To identify and work on these, you can:

• Review your child’s Track page to identify skills marked Needs Practice

• Set extra practices in those specific topic areas

• Encourage your child to use videos and teacher-written helpsheets

This helps children work independently and build confidence for future assessments.

Build confidence in comprehension 

In the second stage, the majority of  English exams will test comprehension skills.  

To prepare for this part of the test, you can set your child extra practices on Reading Comprehension. 

Within the Lesson Library, search for ‘Comprehension’ to view the previous lesson recordings.

During the lessons, Atom teachers will help build your child’s comprehension skills. Your child will also learn helpful exam techniques to support them with this part of the assessment. 

Develop Creative Writing skills 

Many second-stage English exams include a creative writing task. Your child should feel confident using a range of literary techniques and a wide vocabulary.

Atom’s Creative Writing lessons in the Lesson Library:

• explore exam-style questions

• model effective writing techniques

• encourage children to create stories and poems

👉 See our 11+ Creative Writing Guide for Kids. This provides more information on what to expect in the creative writing exam and tips to support your child's skills. 

Practise exam technique with Atom’s Stage 2 Mock Tests 

If you have an Exam Preparation Plus subscription, you will have access to mock tests to support your child’s preparation.

To access the Stage 2 mock tests, head to the Independent Schools tab within the mock test section. The mock tests which will be most suitable for your child’s Stage 2 preparation are: 

 

 

Once your child completes a mock test on Atom, you must review their mock test transcript in the recent activities table on the Track page.

This will identify any learning gaps.  You can then set extra practices based on areas of difficulty. 

Encourage your child to read 

Reading is one of the most effective ways to build vocabulary and comprehension:

• Ask your child to summarise chapters or passages

• Discuss ideas to develop inference and imagination

• Encourage them to infer word meanings from context

• Use a dictionary if they are still unsure

• Read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction

👉 Click here for Atom’s Year 6 Recommended Reading List to help your child choose an appropriate book.