Shout and scream or Coffee and Tea??

Tell your daughter that you love her and are proud of her.

Do remember that brains and academia aren't everything, but opportunities are. My builder got one GCSE at grade C (unsure what it was) and he is hugely successful, respected and creates wonderful things. He is thoughtful, kind, hardworking, a great conversationalist, funny. He'd great. (I am, incidentally happily married 😂)

He also happens to be a lot richer than me. His daughters are lovely.

There's a niche for everyone and a string of GCSE grades 7-9 might not be it for your lovely girl, and so what? School is just a stepping stone for what's next in her wonderful life.

But please read. Ask the teachers about the school library and have a nose. Are the books modern? Recently published? Lots of choice? My school library is excellent, given the education budgets.

A good teacher comes and goes. A parent doesn't. Well done for being ambitious for your daughter and taking the flack above. It's good advice.

Bananagrams was a big thing at my DC's selective independent. They all did a ten minute session at the end of each day and there was also lunchtime club. I once went to the school at playtime to drop something off and there was a group of children playing it on the floor in the playground.

Its a fun game - cheap and well worth buying. We keep our set out on the kitchen table so that we can always pick it up and play when there is a spare 5-10 minutes.

I’m referring to how they worked with the school
We've tended to get quite general advice back.

We did work in tandem with one of her form tutors to get DD1 screened for Dyslexia - the on-line screening test showed few issues with memory which led to general advice about revision though SENCO said it wasn't worth perusing further but when we asked for specific advice for the issues that lead to testing we got nothing back.

Table Top was good for us to find interesting board games as a family.

I think the issue is what you see as an 'improvement'.

I fear in your opinion your DD will only improve or progress if she moves out of the bottom set. You need to accept the possibility that academically she just may not be capable of that. You will have a better impression of this once you have spoken to the teachers at parents evening.

However, for your DDs sake, you need to make sure that if she remains in the bottom set, you are not giving the impression that she has 'failed' - that will do nothing for her confidence.

Assuming she is doing all that she is asked of her by the school, and is trying her best, then she has not failed. Her progress is learning a year's worth of new information, and hopefully being able to get the best results for her in tests and end of year exams.

No probs! Board games can also be a great creative way of learning. Year 7 is quite a cool age in that respect. Look at board game geek forum online and then at YouTube videos (eg dice tower by Tom vasel) before purchasing as they can be quite expensive.

My kids are too young for this but I like:

1. Pandemic (co-op board game where people help get rid of disease outbreaks in different countries). Can open discussions about flu, infectious diseases, geography (has a map with cities). Promotes logical thinking.

1. Carcasonne - there is strategy in trade-offs you make (eg high risk for big reward or certain but low amounts of points). Some mental maths when counting points.

1. Articulate (there is a kids version too). Needs min 4 players but you could just use the cards and play with your daughter - she describes words on the cards (without saying the word or ‘sounds like’/‘begins with’). Great for vocabulary/general knowledge.

Monsters in the elevator (Kickstarter) is good for mental maths (though I haven’t had much time to actually play)

Also puzzle games like rush hour (on amazon) or turing tumble (Kickstarter - haven’t tried this but looks cool) promote logical thinking.

On sets - my older two got into top maths sets ( we credit math factor done during primary with a lot of that) but for DD1 it did work against her in year 7.

They’re good at maths because they've worked at it slowly and steadily – more like me than DH who just gets maths and always has. DD1 has most of year 7 without a qualified maths teacher and when they finally got one near end of year they rushed through the new concepts on assumption that as the kids were good at maths concepts would be picked up quickly.

DD1 at least asked us for help – so we knew there were issues – that why we looked at on-line maths sites for secondary. It’s why we do IXL, though I don't think it's great, so at least we get a heads up if there are problem areas.

Kahn Academy free and good for many things as PP mentioned.

Mathfactor currently have a 14-day free trial. There are other on-line maths programs - such as conquermaths but they haven't suited my DC so best for them at secondary we've found so far is IXL it doesn't teach though but does mean they get daily practise and we have the skills to help when they get stuck. School uses Mymaths for homework and that seems good.

Dragon box - only used for algebra one but it's good it makes it a game which the children then enjoy doing.

English is harder to suggest for.

IXL English – Latin/Greek bits were okay other stuff no so much. Red hot roots also useful but our main problems are spelling related so understanding what common pre fixes and suffixes mean helps with that.

Read Threory is free and might be worth a look

Sounds like you’re in a better position with reading than us – in that she’ll still read with you. I had to turn to audio books – The book people sometime have cheaper cd – got a few classics that way – also tv adaptations and films.

Overly Sarcastic productions were a chance find – they been very useful in sparking interest – they’ve done over views of Shakespeare plays and other classics – the trope talks have taken DD1 into other You Tubers who analyse books and texts and sparked her to start trying to write her own stuff – also lead to other history folks like Extra History.

Back ground in the home we have The Weekly Junior, Radio 4 and their pod casts – In our Times, More or Less, great Lives, Infinite Monkey Cage – lots of TV documentaries - adult one as well as things like Horrible Histories and the Science of Stupid – do days out to science and historical places – get books on subjects they are doing and record programs that might be relevant.

We don’t get much feedback in secondary – DD1 is year 9 and about to decide GCSE options and I’ve realised I’ve never spoken to her subject teachers just her form tutor – the reports three a year are one table three columns – one word for behaviour, one grade for effort, and one for level –the national level in wales and on top a red light system – it’s sometimes confusing when you have a good level and a red light though they’ve been good at responding via e-mail there’s not always the details wanted.

And don’t make her feel bad if she doesn’t know something she ‘should’. Just gently explain it and continue practicing. Be aware that they teach different methods in different places, so adapt your explanations to what she understands (can ask the maths tutor or internet if there are other ways of showing her the concept).

I home ed but if I sent my kids to school, I wouldn’t rely on just what they do at school/homework. A small amount 5-6 days per week (including holidays but excluding special days like birthdays etc) is far better than large quantities on a few days.

For maths - firstly ensure she can do basic arithmetic well and accurately (basically year 6 sats stuff). Make sure she understands place value and columns, fractions etc (just look up year 6 national curriculum). Then go for speed. Up to 12 times tables should be done in seconds. You don’t have to be the fastest, but it makes gcse maths a lot easier if you can do things quickly. Times tables can be tested in the car as can mental arithmetic. You can set your own sums or find a website to do it. But sit with your daughter when she is doing it (because then she doesn’t feel like she is working when no one else is). If she gets something wrong, explain it gently. Be sensitive - if she is very tired, give her a break and cut it short (when my 4 year old is tired I say that if he concentrates and does it well, he only needs to do 3 sums).

I use this range of books too:
Maths Plus Word Problems 6: Pupil Book www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0435208675/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_YUXnCbCB76P0F?tag=mumsnetforum-21

If you do this with her and help her with homework, you will be able to see what progress she is making yourself. Maths is satisfying because with practice the vast majority of people can improve. Make sure you encourage her too.

Just to be clear, I am expecting to see that the school has a clear plan of how it’s going to improve her ability at school for the coming two terms

School cannot* improve her ability- that is inate.
Teachers are on performance-related pay linked to pupil progress. Believe me, they are interested in helping your child progress.
Be aware that some schools send home grades that are "will get at end of course" grades, not working at grades... so she could be a 3 this term, a 3 next term, and a 3 in summer. This doesn't mean she isn't making progress! It means she's learning and acquiring skills and knowledge exactly as she should be to achieve that grade at the end of the course.
Some schools use working at grades, in which case, you can clearly see changes term-on-term.
Other schools send home no grades at all.... primarily because it leads to the poorly informed ranting seen in your OP.

Also be aware that rates of progress vary hugely according to children's ability and capacity to learn. A lower prior attainers just cannot learn and progress at the same rate as a higher prior attainer (unless the reason for low prior attainment was being brand new to English, for example).
If a child is still reading slowly, having to.decode every sentence, then of course they cannot move forward in their learning at the speed of those children that 'read' in paragraphs (as soon as they glance at a page it's in their head).

I’m not sure your talk of giving teachers a rollocking etc is goi g to sit well in this board.

I think as a parent that you would be best keeping up with the tutor. Involving your dd in stimulating out of school clubs or activities and arranging a calm positive meeting with her teachers/head of year would be the best way to go.

Year 7 is a huge change for a child and the first term is really about settling in. If she is settling well then with a calm positive approach to her learning may now get all the boost she needs.

Oh dear, you have absolutely no idea about how the State system works here do you?
The schools are large and under resourced in most cases with staff doing their best to differentiate for different student needs while struggling with a huge workload and in many cases awful discipline problems.
I saw an interesting cartoon recently. 2 pictures of a parent evening titled previously and now
On one the parents were saying “ theses results are awful what are you going to do about it?” To their child but on the “now” picture they were saying the same but to the teacher.
If teachers can they generally will help a pupil achieve their best and improve but it has to come from the child not the pushy parents
If your daughter is happy where is is and doing ok then that’s not terrible. Of course encourage her to do her best but her best might be in the bottom set and that’s fine

I have not read the whole thread in detail, so apologise too if I am repeating some things.

You mentioned Kahn Academy and so I just wanted to say I think it is very good.

I would also keep on with the tutor if you think they are helping her. Ask your dd what she thinks.

Basically you get better at maths by doing maths. I think you do have a realistic idea of her capabilities and realise she may not be picking it as a degree subject, but do not want her career chances limited by no qualifications in it.

Kahn Academy also has computing and science I think.

From what I have heard of Kumon, it does not sound very good.

It’s not an unreasonable ask to want your kid to be improving and not just staying at the same level. I’m not saying I’m expecting to see a marked improvement inside of the first term at secondary. Just to be clear, I am expecting to see that the school has a clear plan of how it’s going to improve her ability at school for the coming two terms.

But she will progressed in that she has learnt a whole year of information in the 10-14 subjects she studies. If she does not have the academic ability she will not go from a grade 4 to a grade 8, regardless of plans etc. Things may improve nearer to GCSEs as she will learn the correct way to answer GSCE questions - the mark schemes are very prescriptive. This will be addressed by the school nearer the time when the students will do countless past papers etc. They would be bored out of their minds if they started that in Y7.

Leighton

another source of information that you may not have fully investigated: the school website and/or homework app. Many schools will have pages on either their website and/or the site/app they use for setting homework for each year within the school on subject pages which will set out what is to be studied during that year, often with links to helpful resources. Have a rummage!

I would also echo what others have said - I know you want your DD to achieve, but she can only achieve what she is capable of, no matter how much effort teachers put in. This is why every student doesn't achieve a string of 8/9s at GCSE. The majority will have done their best, but many are not capable of reaching that standard.
Think about your own abilities - not necessarily the academic areas. Can you sing, draw etc. If you had the best teacher in the world do you really think you would become a Pavarotti or Da Vinci? Also consider the range of topics and skills required in each subject. You may be quite capable of eg algebra, but probability or trigonometry might be completely incomprehensible to you.
All teachers will be wanting your DD to achieve her best. All schools rely on getting the best results they can.

What information have you had from the school so far? I am guessing on report before Christmas? What information did that contain - achievement levels, effort grades, target grades, written report from each teacher? Could you see any patterns - eg higher grades for certain subjects

If you want to see your DDs books, ask her to bring them home!

Everyone wants their child to do well, and some of the ideas given on the thread are great. But ultimately you may have to accept it's possible that the reason your dd is in the bottom band is that that's where her ability level places her. And possibly the reason the school aren't intervening is that they are pretty sure that she is making appropriate progress for her own personal targets (based on her ability).

Other than doing what you’re doing re the tutoring etc I don’t see what else you can do. If they move her up will she not struggle?

Not everyone can be good at maths, or as strange at it might seem on this website where people seem to boast constantly about their genius children ;)

I’d just keep supporting her and hope that she at least grasps the basics well enough to do the minimum she’ll need to get to not hold her back.

OP. What you and I want for our DC is for them to make better than average progress. This is a tough ask for the teachers given our DC made less than average progress in primary. (I'm making assumptions here about your DC, but it seems fair enough).

Using the state system, the schools only have so much funding and so much time. They also have whole classes (lower sets) who need to make better than average progress in order to pass their maths/English. Of course the school will be trying its best to achieve this - it is why teachers go into teaching, and what schools are measured on. But my DD is 14 and still doesn't put capitals at the start of sentences consistently. It's not for want of being told, reminded, cajoled, praised.
Sometimes there are just limits as to what a DC can manage at any point of time.

As I said upthread, we have an outside tutor for DD for English. I have to have faith that the 1-1 time will help her. But it is a 'long game'. After a year I think her understanding has improved, but it still isn't showing in class assessments.

If you can't cope with the limitations of school, then you'll need to pull your DC out and home-school. Then you can drop anything you think is less important to cover core skills. But you can't expect a school to perform miracles overnight.

(And actually, the way GCSEs are now graded, the bottom ~1/3rd will fail as they are now marked on a curve not to an absolute standard).

I have read all of your posts OP but have skimmed through the suggestions so apologies if I am repeating.

I would disagree with the comment that kumon is rubbish. Its actually excellent in maths (if a little boring). DS2 is at a selective independent where the standards are extremely high. He did kumon for a year to cement the basics and it was astonishing how quickly his mental maths improved. He went from struggling to keep up to being incredibly fast (which then helped him with more complex maths). He was in year 6 and I have A level maths and he was much faster than me. It is a routine though. They have to do the booklet every single day. No excuses. However if you are happy with her tutor then I think a tutor and kumon would be overkill.

I would also suggest an online maths programme. There are various ones. My DC have used athletics, conquer maths and my maths. IMO Conquer maths is by far the best since it actually talks through the lessons online. You can replay the lessons over and over and you can print off a summary sheet too to help form their revision notes. DCs school relies very heavily on them for maths homework and they cover the whole curriculum. We get them for 'free' as part of the school fees but I think the cost is about £10 a month. I would sit with her every night and work through a lesson and the practice questions.

I also think she needs to read more and that is one of the biggest differences between those who improve quickly and those who struggle more (in all subjects since it aids their comprehension, spelling, reasoning and inference skills, imagination and vocabulary). There are literally hundreds of fantastic books for her age group.