Year 6 maths: tackle SATs reasoning questions calmly this May
With May approaching, Year 6 children in England may know plenty of maths but still feel uncertain when a reasoning question wraps it in a story, table or diagram. The challenge is often deciding what to do first, rather than carrying out the calculation.
This retrospective guide uses 30 April 2026 as its topic date. At this point in the school year, a small, repeatable approach can make practice more manageable. Aim to help your child make decisions independently, not to squeeze in every possible question type before SATs.
1. Separate the question from the story
Choose one reasoning question from a school resource or an official past paper. Before your child calculates anything, ask: “What do we need to find out?” Then ask which information will help.
For example: a museum trip costs £14 per pupil. There are 28 pupils, and the class has already raised £150. How much more money is needed?
Your child could write two short notes:
- Find the total cost for 28 pupils.
- Subtract the money already raised.
That plan matters more than choosing a quick method immediately. If they cannot begin, simplify the numbers temporarily: “What if there were three pupils?” Once the structure makes sense, return to the original numbers. Avoid naming the operation for them straight away.
2. Make working show each decision
Encourage working that another person could follow. It does not need to be beautifully presented, but each step should have a clear purpose.
For the museum question, your child might write:
- 14 × 28 = 392
- 392 − 150 = 242
- £242 more is needed.
Ask them to explain what 392 represents. This checks that the calculation connects to the problem rather than being a guess based on the numbers available.
For a fractions question, a quick bar diagram may be more useful than several sentences. For a timetable question, a labelled number line can help track elapsed time. Let the question determine the working. Showing a valid method can sometimes earn marks even when the final answer is incorrect, depending on the mark scheme.
3. Practise one useful checking habit
“Check your work” is vague advice. Give your child a specific choice: estimate the answer, use the inverse operation, or check the unit.
In the museum example, £14 × 30 is £420, so the total for 28 pupils should be slightly less. An answer of £3,920 would not fit that estimate.
For 3.5 metres converted to centimetres, ask whether the number should become larger or smaller, then check that the answer is labelled cm. Practise one checking habit across three questions before introducing another. The aim is a routine your child can use without an adult prompting every step.
4. Keep the final stretch short and predictable
Try a 15 minute session: two minutes explaining a familiar method, eight minutes on two reasoning questions, then five minutes checking and correcting one mistake. Stop at the agreed time.
If a question causes frustration, ask your child to show the last step they understood. Share any recurring difficulty with their teacher rather than adding a whole extra paper.
For focused one to one support, take the free 2 minute quiz. GoodGrade Tutors offers online tutoring across the UK, plus in person support in selected areas. Keep the goal modest: a clearer first step and a calmer response when a question looks unfamiliar.