Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

How to ask for more challenging work?

83 replies

dalziel1 · 23/02/2014 08:00

DS is in year 7 at an outstanding comprehensive. He says he isn't really being challenged in any of subjects like English, maths, science, MFL, geography, history, ICT etc but the ones which are streamed (or is it setted?) are better than those where he's in a mixed ability class.

The teachers do differentiate but DS rarely has to put much effort in even for the most challenging objectives.

Other parents tell me that their children are averaging three hours homework per night, whereas DS maybe does an hour per week (but he still does everything - I check).

The problem is that he's getting bored in class and it makes him feel frustrated when things get repeated over and over. Out of school, he's not bothered at all if there is no challenging work for him as it just means more time doing the things he enjoys. So, the answer is not to leave him to decide whether he fancies doing a bit of extra work at home on one of the websites for which the school has bought licences.

I know I should bring this up with the school, but my question is how do I do this without sounding a) critical that they aren't challenging him and b) like the pushy mother from hell.

OP posts:
notnowImreading · 23/02/2014 11:05

I'm a secondary English teacher. My advice is to find out as much as possible about what is expected of pupils at KS3. You can look at the KS3 APP guidelines - although levels are on their way out, they still give good guidance on how work can be improved against key skills.
<a class="break-all" href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110809101133/nsonline.org.uk/node/47536" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110809101133/nsonline.org.uk/node/47536
If you search online, you can find examples of level 6 and level 7 (and level 8, although these are more rare) writing so these will help you to see what work at the higher levels look like.

When you look at your DS's work, you should have a bit of a better idea about whether he really is working/capable of working above the expectations the teacher is setting. It's also a useful conversation to have with your DS.

It sounds as though the teacher may have been fobbing you off a bit, although I expect he/she was rushing on a busy parents' evening. It's probably better to phone or email the teacher again in a couple of weeks. Be prepared to be told that your DS might be bright but isn't working hard enough and that his written work isn't actually that impressive (I have no idea whether this is the case but if the teacher hasn't already given him some tougher work it might be because what he is producing is within the normal range for the class and doesn't appear to show that he needs to do more). If that's the response you get, you need to push a bit harder and get DS onside to produce some really strong 'display' work that will show what he is really capable of producing.

Good luck. Be persistent and be prepared to deal with any objections put up by the teacher - they won't be obstructive just for the sake of it but may be sceptical at first if they aren't already seeing the quality of work that would set their 'push this kid' antennae quivering.

17leftfeet · 23/02/2014 10:54

I had this issue last year with dd and maths

She coasted along but was already at her year end target of 7b this time last year

I spoke to school and they suggested maths club at lunch time and log on to the website at home for which she would get extra behaviour credits

Her take on it was she has 4.5 hours of lessons a week where she sits there twiddling her thumbs so why should she give up her free time?
Lunch time maths club would also mean missing the music clubs which she adores

It's got much better in yr8, new teacher has made all the difference but I do think yr 7 was wasted

lljkk · 23/02/2014 10:45

I think school is about a huge lot more than academics. There is plenty there for him to find challenging if he wanted. It just seems a bit odd that he should want to push much harder at stuff he already excels at rather than trying to catch up on areas he's weak at. If he were brilliant at art & PE you wouldn't be worried that he needed to be pushed harder at them while ignoring his weaknesses at English & math.

With stuff like history or English there is usually huge opportunity for them to extend themselves. Math or science are harder but not impossible; does he want to take initiative in extending himself in those areas?

Original poster
dalziel1 · 23/02/2014 10:36

Social life - has found it difficult making friends due to self consciousness around his dyspraxia. Football is important at this age and DS's ability is on the low side. However, has been making some progress with friendships recently and he loves being with other children.

OP posts:
Original poster
dalziel1 · 23/02/2014 10:32

Maths target 7b but it looks like he is going to exceed it.

All the subjects have targets and current , I just can't remember them all as they were verbally told to us on parent's night but I didn't try to memorise as I thought there would be a written report which has not materialised so far! Generally I recall hearing lots of 6s and 7s and only a 5 in French, which stood out. So I queried it and the teacher said it was the top level for the year.

He thought music was hard and he wasn't doing well there, but the teacher was surprised when i mentioned that at parents evening as he had just attained the highest level in the class. She said it was due to his academic ability.

RE - yes, easy (forgot to put it in my earlier list)
Drama - loves it. Top of the class (only a level 4 or 5 though)
DT - not interested at all so just does the work set and forgets about it as he leaves the classroom.
Art - not good at all and does not enjoy it (he is dyspraxic)
PE - likes it but only average ability - dyspraxia.

It is really the academic subjects that my OP was about - the ones where you learn facts and develop thinking.

OP posts:
lljkk · 23/02/2014 10:20

Is he unchallenged in absolutely everything, OP? Including PE, drama, RE-PSHE, DT & music?
Since maths is set, what is his maths target?
Does he have a social life that he enjoys?

Original poster
dalziel1 · 23/02/2014 09:43

We just had parent's night. He's more or less at his target for each subject but some subjects say they only go up to a 5 (French) or a 6 (Geography) this year.

He gets the extension work but he just breezes through it. I think there have been 2 or 3 exceptions all year and on those occasions he coped with it fine but the homework took a few hours.

I tried to raise the subject at parents night with the English (mixed ability class) and Maths (top set) teachers. Maths just waffled on about how he could log on to the websites to get himself extra work, if he felt so inclined and the English teacher just said that DS will be in the top set next year - and could we move on now as he had people waiting?!

I'm always nervous of going in and saying my son needs to be challenged more because it implies things about his intelligence and the teacher's ability to meet the individual needs of all the children. I don't want to get their backs up and I do worry that one day DS will suddenly hit a brick wall. However, at the moment, it seems like even though the work has definitely gone up a gear from primary school, DS has gone up several gears and he is still coasting.

OP posts:
ThreeBeeOneGee · 23/02/2014 08:41

Have you had any reports from the school yet?

Are his current levels exceeding his targets for the summer? (by last November, DS2 was already exceeding his end of year targets in several subjects, so I have experience of this).

In English, History, MFL & Geography, it should be possible for him to take the task that's been given and just do it in greater depth. Look up the level descriptors for the level above the one he is currently on and give him those to be going on with.

In Maths & Science, the textbook should have 'stretch' or 'extended' questions in each topic, so he can do those. If he isn't provided with a textbook, then find level 7/8 questions online (there's a Maths set called Sumbooks that you can download for free).

If he is already level 7a / level 8 in most subjects, then you will need to approach the school and ask for some extension work for him.

Swipe left for the next trending thread