How many practice papers is too many?

My view, not an official rule

SEAG doesn't say how many practice papers a child should do. This is what I've seen work in ten years of getting children in Northern Ireland ready for the transfer test.

What school usually does

• From Easter of P6, most schools start practice papers in class, usually one a week up to the summer.
• From September of P7, it varies from school to school. Often there are some papers in class and one for homework.

One paper at home a week is plenty

At home, one practice paper a week is plenty, alongside 10 to 15 minutes of questions a day. If school sends a paper home, that can be the one: there's no need to add another.

On my course? You won't need the school's revision pack: the course has a paper every week from the end of May. If school also sends a paper home, let ours be the one you do at home, rather than doing both.

Quality over quantity

Focused learning over a shorter time always wins over forced learning over a longer one. A paper is worth doing when your child goes back through it afterwards: which questions went wrong, and why. That's where the marks come from. By the end, it's not about getting more questions right, it's about getting fewer questions wrong.

Signs your child is doing too much

• They're getting sick of it, or dreading the next paper.
• They're starting to struggle with it all.

You know your child best. Often the first sign it's becoming too much is a change in their behaviour. If you see it, talk to them about it, and if they'd like to dial it back, dial it back. Give them a bit of ownership over how many papers they do, within reason. A day or two off is fine. If you've kept up the work at home through the year, the hard work is already done.

If you see these, ease off. In P7, start handing the baton over: let them choose what to revise and when (within reason). A child who's happy to revise will do better than a child who's being made to, because their head space is right.