Yr7 new starters

It does take a while beardy. Please let his tutor know, they really do want to know if there is a problem, he/she may be able to direct him to a club, or pair him up with someone.
dds school has a buddy system, and this is a classic case where a buddy would help. dd has alos found that she likes the library at lunchtime, it seems that other girls like her hang out there too!

ds and dd are both at grammar schools, the homework hasn't been too bad, but the jump up from primary to secondary is such a change in homework style, and I found a lot of it requires the internet, so the potential for faffing is HUGE.

I spent several hours yesterday sitting next to dd as she worked on her art homework, pushing her to keep going, as otherwise she just fiddles.

bearded are there some clubs he can join? My son has joined up to a couple of puzzle clubs, he's not sporty. It might be worth emailing his form tutor to ask them to keep an eye out.

Can I join please? My ds has just started at a grammar school. The homework he has is quite intense which isn't helped by the fact that he will spend a significant portion of his time avoiding doing the actual work by making it look pretty with pictures downloaded from the internet.
Socially I don't think he has settled at all. We have had a few issues with a supposed friend (went with him from primary) who has been downright mean to him. He seems to spend his breaks and lunches wandering by himself. Is this normal?

They have always done this. It is partly an ofsted issue, the school is expected to get children so many stages further on from where they were at end of KS2. It is the same at primary, they are supposed to be some many steps on between KS1 and KS2.

I lve your Y6 teacher saying tear up the letter

We're in Wales so the SATs thing is a bit different. They did tests in y6 in literacy and maths. He's bang in the middle of average for both although his maths was worse in y6 - the whole year group dropped in that as apparently there was something of a disconnect between what they were told to teach and then what was actually in the test...

So the testing thing is relevant. There's been no testing as he started secondary so this is all on the y6 tests and what the y6 teacher passed on to them.

I popped in to see his old y6 teacher when I picked dd up this afternoon and asked her what she thinks. She advised me to tear the letter up in front of him which I have done and he is cheerier. I also feel better about it - just seeing his grin as he realised what I was doing was great. (She didn't say anything we hadn't already said but anything coming from Ms H has a lot more weight than what I say.)

There's no indication of dyslexia or dyspraxia, he just seems to be a slow processor (and also a bit of a perfectionist who is unwilling to start anything he's not sure he'll be brilliant at - we're working on it).

He has a congenital medical condition which can cause brain damage but he has always appeared to be completely unaffected in that regard (his neurosurgeon agrees on this), and we've been so busy dealing with the wider medical ramifications of it all we've never needed to think about whether he is actually affected academically in some way and I don't really know where to start with that.

Hmm. Did they do any testing as they entered high school? My boy did baseline assessments (MIDYIS tests) - these give a GCSE prediction, based on lots of previous data. Or they used to - with the changes in SATs and the changes to GCSEs I suspect nobody knows quite what is going on.

I wouldn't take it too much to heart at this stage. Are the children set for core subjects? Does junior Freezerbird know which set he is in? Is there movement between them?

My understanding is that schools are measured on progress from KS2 SATS to GCSE. A combination of reading and maths SATS are used to predict grade for all GCSEs not just maths and English. This progress measure is set by the government and not the schools choice. What score did he get on his reading and maths SATS papers?

Freezer 'global grades' sounds a bit rubbish. They cannot know how a new y7 will perform in GCSEs, and an 'average' across all subjects is a bit pointless.

Have you looked into dyspraxia?

Hello, new to this thread, but it seems like the place to ask this question.

Have any of you come across 'global grades'? Had a letter this weekend from school (DS has just started year 7, he's pfb so it's all new), which says it 'explains the assessment system for the school'.

Each child is given a 'global grade' and there's a table outlining the expected trajectory from year 7 to year 11. It doesn't really explain it at all, but it does say that his global grade is formed based on his performance at primary school and is an average across all subjects.

We've had the whole of primary school being told he's a bright, articulate, curious child who asks good questions, is engaged with his subjects and enjoys learning, although he has trouble getting his thoughts on paper in the time given (this has consistently been an issue since reception).

His global grade is D, with an expected trajectory to C at the end of year 11.

I'm a bit speechless. I've done a bit of googling research and I can sort of see how this works but they do appear to be predicting - in week four of year 7 - how they think he will do in his GCSEs. If his predicted outcome is a C are they going to challenge him with work at a higher level? Where is the room for those sudden moments of inspiration? For suddenly meeting the right teacher and something clicking?

DS is despondent and at age 11 wondering if there's any point in pursuing his ambition to do a zoology degree.

God yes the watching gaming videos drives me mad. And they seem to idolise the you tubers who do it. Some of them are not entirely appropriate viewing for kids either so I have to keep a close eye on that.

Dd had a good day. They set them in maths and she is top set! Amazing since she used to hate maths but her year 6 teacher was fab and really helped her improve and start enjoying it.

We had the last minute "this has to be done by tomorrow" thing the other night, but luckily it wasn't too late when he remembered.

Boy just got home now, his muddy PE kit is still at school (half in the English classroom, but his boots are in the Science lab). He has PE again on Monday, so will have to a) find it by then and b) wear it very muddy!

Moral of that story is don't leave your PE kit behind in random classrooms, I suppose.

We've decided not to do homework on a Friday night so he is wasting time watching people playing games on Youtube. Surely even more pointless than actually playing the games yourself.

I agree Patricia. I know of several school who do that, and I think it is great.

Ours isn't doing homework until half term, and then a ramp up until Christmas. They have told them to focus on making new friends and joining clubs instead, which is just fab.

I am bit at all the homework to be honest.

dd is at a grammar school. The school says 1 hour per night, and she certainly hasn't had more than that. That would be 2 pieces usually. Although some is given out with a few days to do it in, so it is an avergae of 1 hour.
None of it has been too bad so far, I did come in to find her and dh working at maths on the kitchen table, she told me she had asked papa because it was maths and I wouldn't get it!

Dd went to archery club at lunchtime and came home syaing she had found her personality twin there. She is in another class, but I am pleased she has finally found someone who is like her.

Thanks Bluepowder. It's just a normal comp. I've helped him but it's really hard and it's in such total contrast to the difficulty of the homework for other subjects I began to wonder if his teacher was having a bit of a joke.

So much homework for them all :( I know it's to be expected it's just such a sudden change.

DD got her first detention today. I've been helping her pack her bag for the last 3 weeks and today was the first day she did it by herself and she forgot one of her books.

Friendships are going ok although she has fallen out with one of the girls she originally made friends with and another has drifted off but she is still friends with one girl and is hanging around with her and this girls old primary school friends. Is also getting along well with some of the boys. I think she is still quite immature in comparison to many of them and this was an issue in the last year at her primary too. Still she seems happy enough.

DD came home today with homework for:
Drama (online, due tomorrow)
Food Tech (Due Mon)
Maths (Due tomorrow)
English (Due Tue) and
Geography (Due tomorrow)

I am really starting to get pissed off with it. She started at 4 and has completed Maths and Geog. She'll do Drama after tea, and then will prob do the food tech too as it's only one page of writing. English she'll leave till the weekend and add to whatever she gets tomorrow

Wow, he must go to an ambitious school. Rhymezone.com is good. And include a lot about blood.

This is DS's English homework: "Draft a poem detailing a new dramatic adventure for Beowulf in the style of the text we have been studying (NOT in old English!). This must be a rhyming poem that grips the reader and uses alliteration and expressive nouns and adjectives to describe the story and the people in it. This should be between 22 and 44 lines long." Really?!

Hi Everyone, homework fun here too dd just discovered some food tech homework.... Phew.

I know! I confess quite a lot of what she wrote yesterday was complete fiction

I hope tonight goes better. I know she needs to get on with it on her own but clearly she needs some prompting.

Hope everyone else's dc getting on OK. Can't believe we are nearly half way to the half term break already!

I love the enormous assumption in

"take a DT project you did at primary school".....

because last year they weren't totally submerged in SATs to the detriment of art, DT, etc, and of course they can remember well year 5 work.....

It's 5 hours because they do 2 5 hour long projects every fortnight (so DT and Art this fortnight, history and french for the two weeks after) plus a bit of maths and english and french each week. Should work out at around 1hr 15mins per night (just during the week - I'm trying to keep weekends free!). I do hate homework though - DS is also really difficult with his so my head may explode very soon. It's more stressful for me I reckon!

Yes I agree Steppenmum she doesn't know what to do. I'm going to a meeting at school tonight about KS3 and it covers homework, assessment system etc so hopefully I will get a better idea of what they want and can coach her a bit for a few weeks until she feels more confident.