Skip to main content
Skip to main navigation
Skip to talk navigation

Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Saved Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Flip

1 2

AIBU?

to think that keeping a struggling child back to year 6 for one term, then throwing them back to year 7 in Jan is not to help the child but to tick the boxes?

26 replies

MammaTJ · 02/04/2016 22:13

DD is in year 6 in a Middle School, so will be there until the end of year 8.

She is currently undergoing the process for diagnosis of ADHD. The school have sent letters to the parents of children who 'are capable but do not try' saying that if the fail their SATS, then they will be kept back to year 6 from September to December next year, so they can be sure to pass them. Then they will be chucked back into year 7 in January.

So, these children, who are already struggling, will be thrown into year 7, having missed a third of the years teaching and be expected to keep up!

DD does appear bright, but she does lack concentration. She wants to be good and please everyone, but cannot focus for too long!

I have said 'Yes, keep her back but make it for the whole of her education, not just one term'. She is the youngest in her year, quite immature and might actually benefit from this, but apparently, they cannot do what might benefit her, just what ticks their boxes!

We obviously support her learning in every way that we can, but she is quite oppositional with regards to homework to the extent she will lie outright, so has to go to homework club! I even had a call from them one day saying she said she did not have homework, so should be allowed to leave! They then checked, when I said she had form for lying and found her homework!

Please tell me if I am wrong, but I am at the end of my tether with this!

OP posts:

Report

EverySongbirdSays · 02/04/2016 22:17

YANBU!!! That's so strange - but we don't have a middle school system here. I think that might be quite embarrassing for the kids involved and probably has something to do with League Tables, which has nothing to do with best interests of the child.

Lucked · 02/04/2016 22:20

It makes no sense what so ever. Board of governors? MP?

How can they expect those struggling to skip a whole term?

RubbleBubble00 · 02/04/2016 22:28

Basically they are prepping them to get good sats then throwing them back into year 7.

I would be livid. Dc has adhd, luckily diagnosed early and medicated which has worked well for us. Dc would not cope with the stress of this with his adhd - he's very outgoing but this would completely throw him

MammaTJ · 02/04/2016 22:28

Yes, the embarrassment is quite a big deal to her. They have been holding it as threat over their heads and have already started telling the year 5s it could happen to them too.

OP posts:

MammaTJ · 02/04/2016 22:31

Rubble is she actually had the diagnosis, that might protect her from the 'not trying', so it might not happen. I still think it's shit!

Medication has already been OK'ed by her cardiologist, in anticipation of a diagnosis.

OP posts:

RubbleBubble00 · 02/04/2016 22:31

Additude magazine has some great tips. How are the school dealing with her adhd?

EverySongbirdSays · 02/04/2016 22:33

Is it the policy in other local schools - it seems like bullying. I don't know if you know The Wire so you might not have heard the phrase but it seems like an attempt to 'juke the stats' - it might be worth an email to your LEA to see what the overall policy is.

MammaTJ · 02/04/2016 22:34

Well as she does not have a diagnosis, they are kind of ignoring it!

OP posts:

MammaTJ · 02/04/2016 22:38

We only have the one middle school in this town!

All you would have to do is look at threads I have posted on to find out which town!

The nearest other is 9 miles away and was the school where the Spanish 'teacher' sellotaped childrens mouths but was later found not to be a qualified teacher and her and the HT disappeared at the same time!

OP posts:

RubbleBubble00 · 02/04/2016 22:49

I would head over to sn ed. School is being crappy to all under achievers but your going to prob have a battle with school about dd and her educational needs

MammaTJ · 02/04/2016 23:04

I get stonewalled ATM with 'Well, you think she has ADHD' and 'Well, she isn't diagnosed yet'.

I reply with 'Well I am sure he has got it' and 'Even if she hasn't, we need to deal with her behaviours anyway'.

OP posts:

mumeeee · 03/04/2016 00:16

They can't take SATS again in the Autumn term which would be the start of year 7. These are the 11 year SATS that should be taken in May of year 6. Nobody can resit SATS and they don't actually fail. They might get a lower level than expected. But even if they get a level 2 it will say something like working towards expected level.
So I would go and speak to your DDs teacher and the head teacher.

rumbleinthrjungle · 03/04/2016 08:16

The new Code of Practice supports not standing around twiddling thumbs until a diagnosis appears, diagnosis should be irrelevant to whether or not to support a child. The Code focuses on what is the child's need in the classroom right now and what to put in place to meet it, and not wasting children's time. She is not magically going to benefit from ADHD strategies the day after diagnosis that wouldn't have helped her in the days before. They've obviously assessed her as having a concentration need; what are they going to do about it? There are plenty of strategies any half way competent SENCo should be able to locate and many children who lurk on the edge of diagnoses who need a tailored menu of strategies without needing the label.

Missing the first term of year 7, lousy idea. Friendship groups will have formed, she'll have missed all the settling in and introductory stuff as well as a term's teaching. I strongly suspect staying to re do SATS is about keeping the school's statistics and results track record up, it's in the best interest of the primary school. Not in the children's interests.

So your answer is a resounding No. They absolutely can't enforce this. OP have you spoken to your local IASS branch? (Parent advocacy? You'll find them online) They know the letter of the law with the Code and Equality Act and are usually very happy to explain this in words of one syllable on parents' behalf.

rumbleinthrjungle · 03/04/2016 08:22

BTW I'm quite suspicious about this - who is going to teach this retained group? Will they re do the yr 6 curriculum or will they just be in a separate group being drilled to do re sits? How do the secondary school feel about losing a term's tracking and input which will bugger up their recording and teacher assessment for that year group? I've never heard of this happening.

I'd be ringing the secondary school and the Local Authority educational entitlement team and asking them if this is actually possible. I'm wondering if this is a groundless threat to scare the year 6s?

rumbleinthrjungle · 03/04/2016 08:24

Sorry, just saw you're in a middle school so there isn't a transition - ignore that last. I would still talk to the Educational Entitlement team though.

lem73 · 03/04/2016 08:33

I don't understand this either. How can they have the space to keep children behind? Moreover how can you resit SATs?
I bloody hope this is not true because it will be another reason why I am scared for the future of education in this country.

cricketballs · 03/04/2016 08:53

This is going to happen in every school in England from September 2017 www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11968066/Nicky-Morgan-100000-children-will-forced-to-re-sit-Sats-tests.html

Pandsbear · 03/04/2016 08:56

I have heard discussions about resitting SATS at some point in yr 7 if they do not 'achieve standard' (whatever that may be...) It was talked about at my DTDs junior school a couple of weeks ago at the SATS meeting - BUT I thought it was not applicable to the current Yr 6s, only for years after that.

Anyway. Apologies, bit of diversion from OP.

MoonriseKingdom · 03/04/2016 09:08

Crazy! I can't see what this will achieve other than ramping up the pressure. They certainly shouldn't be labelling any result as a failure. Some children will struggle to reach the required level despite working hard. I can't see how this will achieve anything other than make them feel stressed and down about themselves.

Obs2016 · 03/04/2016 09:08

This would be a disaster. What are the school thinking? SN boards can advise.

lem73 · 03/04/2016 09:09

Resitting tests doesn't have to mean staying back a year? Fwiw I've known a few cases of children being kept back a year (and sometimes moved up) and,except in one case, it's been disastrous.

MammaTJ · 03/04/2016 10:25

Thanks for that link cricketballs, much appreciated.

The new Code of Practice supports not standing around twiddling thumbs until a diagnosis appears, diagnosis should be irrelevant to whether or not to support a child. The Code focuses on what is the child's need in the classroom right now and what to put in place to meet it, and not wasting children's time.

I agree rumbleinthrjungle, do you have a link for that, or can you post me towards something please?

OP posts:

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Email address

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 03/04/2016 10:38

Google 'SEND Code of Practice.' It changed in 2014 and is now applicable from 0-25.

MammaTJ · 03/04/2016 18:34

Thanks, I found it and will print it off and go through it with highlighter pens!

OP posts:

rumbleinthrjungle · 03/04/2016 18:53

IASS will help with this. Your LA website should have a link to your county branch.

Flip

1 2

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.