Achieving a good level 3 in year KS1

[Anice]

This morning the deputy head at my children's school said to me that school's do not teach any child beyond level 3c in year 2.
She made it sound like a government requirement which was out of her hands, but she ignored my question when I asked if she is absolutely sure about that.
Can anyone clarify please?

[mrz]

If it's the school's policy I would be asking why

[Anice]

The answer was "because that's what we do in year 3", but really she was trying to tell me that it wasn't a school thing, more all schools have to do this. I take it she was not telling the truth then?

[Anice]

actually when I think about what else she said, she illustrated her point by saying that the KS1 sats don't even test for attainment higher than 3c

[spanieleyes]

Crap!

[Anice]

thanks.. that's what i suspected. I really hate when someone lies to my face like that

[spanieleyes]

My input, although succinct and to the point , wasn't exactly helpful! There is a Level 3 test undertaken in Yr 2 9 which is recorded as a Level 3b on county trackers, not a 3C) but children are assessed continuously over the year and can reach any level they are able, the SATs tests are just a small part of that assessment. If a child were working at above level 3 and the school wanted a test to "confirm" this, they could always use a test from a later yeargroup!

[mrz]

I would still ask why.
In Y2 the level reported isn't broken down into 3 a,b,c

[lovecheese]

So if my DD was at your Dcs school Anice would she not be taught anything for the rest of the year, as she is already working at a level 3 for literacy? Hmmm, sounds like rubbish to me.

[Feenie]

This is from the Assessment and Arrangements Document 2011, which is the legal document that all state schools have to abide by:

5.1 Choosing which tasks and tests to use


At level 4 For children working above the level of the tasks and tests, teachers may also use the optional tasks available on the QCDA website at www.mycurriculum.com, as well as using the level 3 tests and writing tasks.

So there is clear guidance on how to assess children working above level 3.

[Anice]

thanks for the link Feenie. Is there any way that an "aided" school could be exempt from these requirements?

[Feenie]

Nope.

[Anice]

So she lied to my face. Nice.

But what can i do about it? The Assessment and Arrangements Document 2011 says that headteachers get to decide which Sat test to apply and their decision is final.

Clearly my DCs school do not intend to teach level 3 - so he's going to spend the year doing level 2 again, even though he has mastered each constituent part already (and they don't deny this).

The other thing that happened today was that I was told to stay away from tutoring my son at home "leave it to the school to decide what he will learn". (I am going to ignore them as I just don't trust them to do right by him any more)

[HelenMumsnet]

test

[lovecheese]

surely continuous teacher assessment?

[Anice]

lovecheese - i don't understand what you mean? Are you saying that surely the teacher would know what my son has mastered and would set him new work?

If yes, then that was the point of the discussion. She does know apparently and we more or less agree on what has been achieved but we disagree on whether she should set him new work or just spend the rest of the year waiting for the class to catch up.

[Feenie]

Anice, I don't think the document would support a headteacher who blanket banned assessments over a 3c - this would breach earlier guidance in the document in using the right test for the correct level. The governors are also responsible - I wonder what they would think about the deputy head's statement?

[Feenie]

LeQueen, in the KS2 ARA, the section referring to teacher assessment (which has equal weighting to the tests in Y6) has a paragraph which says:

[Anice]

I understand what you are saying Feenie, but will any of this help my son?
I could make a verbal or written complaint to the governors. They might take my side and tell the head to sort this out.

But the head/ deputy head would defend the school by dismissing me as a pushy parent and the deputy head would probably deny that she ever said this to me today. And still no one would teach my son.

that's my fundamental problem... i could put together a case against the school with policy documents, government regulation and guidance and even tape recordings and maybe I could even prove that the school is failing in its duty. Maybe even the school would feel that they'd been caught out, however I'd still fail in my sole objective which is get my son taught this year.

[Feenie]

Sorry, having major tech trouble posting on this thread for no fathomable reason, so trying to post bit by bit.

[Feenie]

"Pupils working above or below the levels covered by the tests QCDA has produced a suite of optional tasks covering levels above and below the test levels.

[Feenie]

It goes on to say that teacher asssessment for these pupils can be supported using optional tasks from www.mycurriculum.com.

[Feenie]

The paragraph before (all at 4.2) states that teachers may find it helpful to visit the QCDA National Curriculum in Action website (www.qcda.gov.uk/ncinaction) which gives examples of children's work to help support teacher assessment - this same website gives clear examples of level 6 work by Y6 pupils.

[Feenie]

I am finding it quite sinister that the reason I couldn't seem to post was because I had copied and pasted those bits from the ARA - it kept defaulting to the topic page without accepting my post! Had to retype to get round it.