Angry Year 2 teacher

[Year2teacher]

I am a long time contributor to these boards, particularly the Education and staffroom boards. However, I have name changed as this post would be outing.

I am posting to highlight the absolutely ridiculous situation Year 2 teachers across the country find themselves in each year.

I am currently preparing for Moderation during the first week after half term. During that time I will have a moderator come into my school and look at my judgements in writing, reading and writing by selecting a random group of children.

These judgements are drawn from not only doing the SAT papers but from my entire year of teaching. Every single lesson I teach this year.

I need to have evidence that each child in my class has achieved every single objective in writing, reading and maths. Not from the National Curriculum however, but the assessment framework, which is different...

I have to assess to see if they are Working towards, Expected or Greater depth to check they have evidence in their work for every single objective. The objectives for each level are different so I need to make sure I have provided enough opportunities for children to achieve greater depth, make sure those working at working towards have evidence for those objectives etc.

If a child was away or achieved an objective through adult support, it is not good enough. I need to provide opportunities for them to do that work independently.

If I marked their work and made changes it cannot be classed as independent and can't be used as evidence.

Finding evidence, planning for and teaching gaps in evidence and worrying at it all has taken hours and hours of my time.

The moderator will arrive and choose children randomly. They may choose a child who was off for three months. They may agree with my judgements (been teaching Year 2 for 15 years) or they may not.

I won't know until the morning so need to provide all evidence for all children.

I need to provide my results before they arrive so that can check I don't change them after they've been. In case I try and cheat...

This is on top of my normal crazy job in a term in which I'm also writing reports.

And why? I could grade every child in my class without needing to provide all of this evidence because I'm experienced and know my children.

Why do they government insist on proving they don't trust Year 2 teachers and making us jump through these ridiculous hoops?

I'm increasingly annoyed about this complete waste of time that takes me away from my class doing meaningless and pointless admin.

If you know year 2 teacher who is being moderated. Buy them chocolate.

[Timeturnerplease]

I am very firmly of the belief that GDS should not exist at either Y2 or Y6 level (if we indeed have to judge children of this age at all). All anyone needs to know is which children are on track and which need support.

I say this as an ex Year 2 teacher for many, many years, and as a county moderator.

[Brocolibee]

It's absurd. You as teachers know the children best, if anyone actually cared what they'd do is have a chat about what you require as a teacher to best support the children in your class and a safe space to raise any concerns without judgement. As they don't actually give a fuck about children beyond some arbitrary stats that don't indicate much anyway and they actively hate teachers sadly you have crap like this.

[TeacherMcTeacherface]

It's an absolute shitshow and I really feel for you.

Y6 here and we're being moderated too. I feel physically sick. The pressure is ludicrous because, as every teacher knows, it's all utter utter bollocks and not fit for purpose.

• my DD is doing GCSEs. Imagine my surprise when I saw examples of Y11 English Language work that would not have met the Y6 EXS standard. Fucking ridiculous. It's made me realise how totally pointless this process is.

• having taught Y2, I actually think moderation is even harder than Y6. Evidencing reading???Er, if they can read and answer questions, surely they can read????

The moderator y2 had last year also wouldn't accept SATS papers as evidence. Which goes to show how pointless it all is.

Honestly, I think Y2 and Y6 should just refuse to do it. Total waste of our time. Not beneficial to the kids at all....so what's the point?

[Year2teacher]

They wouldn't accept sat papers as evidence? Why?!

[Shinyandnew1]

@Iamnotthe1

It will depend whether Y2 remains an official data collection point for the children. If it doesn't, SATs and moderation have no purpose and Y2 becomes like the other years in schools (except Reception and Y6).

And the y1 phonic test and the y4 tables test.

[TeacherMcTeacherface]

@Year2teacher

They wouldn't accept sat papers as evidence? Why?!

It was absolutely ludicrous. To be fair, they did accept SATS papers as evidence of some things but wanted additional evidence for certain reading AFs for example. So they had to trot off, find the child, get them to read something and answer a question.

Think they also wanted to see evidence of maths objectives in books even if it was in the SATS papers

Our writing data was so low last year and when questioned why, it was pointed out that they had 2 years of disruption or missed key learning. But no. Didn't matter that they'd made incredible progress - those kids hadn't met some stupid utterly arbitrary targets that many 6 yr olds struggle with in a good year so WT. or PKS.

Utter nonsense

[Year2teacher]

I hear you. I've got children who I will have to tell their parents that they are pre key stage in writing when they aren't. They can't tick all of the working towards statements and that's the level below. I hate the whole thing. Oh and the actual were way too long and way too hard. 35 questions in a Maths booklet for 6 year olds?

[Pinkflipflop85]

@Year2teacher

They wouldn't accept sat papers as evidence? Why?!

Sats papers have never been allowed to be the only evidence. They can act as supporting evidence. They will, however, start to question teacher judgement if it is wildly different from their standardised score.

[Year2teacher]

The previous poster didn't say the sats paper were the only evidence. They said they were accepted as evidence. My understanding was that sat papers form one part of the judgement. They inform teacher assessment.

[Year2teacher]

*weren't

[ringoutsolsticebells]

@CaptainCallisto

I'm a Y2 TA, and we're being moderated. The whole thing is ridiculous! I ended up teaching the class for the entirety of the last day of term because my class teacher's daughter is getting married this week and she needed to get as much done as she physically could before half term.

It's just a joke, it really is. We know the class, we know which children are at or exceeding ARE, and we know who is borderline or behind. We spend so much time collating evidence that we're supporting/stretching the kids at either end, that we actually have less time to do the interventions they need. It's self-defeating, box-ticking, morale-destroying bullshit put in place by a government who spend so much time lying through their teeth that they can't imagine anyone else being honest or trustworthy...

General Oractice has had to do this since 2002. It is partly when general practice is on its knees

[Iamnotthe1]

@Shinyandnew1

And the y1 phonic test and the y4 tables test.

Yes but this data isn't used in the same way as the Reception GLD, Y2 KS1 assessments and Y6 KS2 assessments have been. The phonics and time tables checks are a snapshot picture of one very specific aspect and don't inform the overall progress measures for the school.

[SpringIntoChaos]

@Pinkflipflop85

I genuinely don't understand all of the extra prep and stress. Are your slt putting additional pressure on you?

We're being moderated next week. No extra work has been done. We will just grab the books of the children they ask for and discuss them on the day.

Interestingly, at our recent moderation training/meeting we were told that they absolutely don't want to see any videos of reading!

Similar to you...I'm being moderated first week back. I've not even brought my books home this week 🤷‍♀️ All I've done in preparation is given my children the Twinkl maths TAF books at their level to complete independently (which I got my TA to mark 🤣). Their books and SATS papers should be enough with the TAF booklets.

I have completed TAF writing tick sheets all bloody year though (pain in the arse that's been, but at least I know where I can access all my writing evidence.) I do have a few gaps in the writing (subordinate conjunctions 🤦‍♀️) so have planned a very easy fix independent recount for the first couple of days back that should mop that up.

I've also got some pretty robust video evidence of reading. I started that before Easter and made folders on Seesaw for WT/EXS/GD.

Our reading folders have lots of independent evidence and the SATS papers will be added to that too.

If I've not got enough evidence on the day, they will allow time to upload or bring to re-moderation further evidence. I'm not post it noting books or ruining my half term.

Please don't do any extra work - I've been moderated 7 times (in Y2, Y6 and EYFS). There's really no need!

[Amdecre]

I think I've been teaching too long and am too grumpy to do all that extra work. I'd do a day in the holidays maybe but anything beyond that is ridiculous. How can moderators expect you do complete an extra 30+ hours of work just to save them time? And I'd tell them as much. It is quite literally unjustifiable.

RE marking SATS papers though, I didn't think that's as big a deal as some pps are making out. In my current school and my last, we've done SATS style assessments 3x per year in every year group of KS2 and in Y2. Teachers mark these as a matter of course. The higher the year group, the longer they take to mark.

[Year2teacher]

@Amdecre

I think I've been teaching too long and am too grumpy to do all that extra work. I'd do a day in the holidays maybe but anything beyond that is ridiculous. How can moderators expect you do complete an extra 30+ hours of work just to save them time? And I'd tell them as much. It is quite literally unjustifiable.

RE marking SATS papers though, I didn't think that's as big a deal as some pps are making out. In my current school and my last, we've done SATS style assessments 3x per year in every year group of KS2 and in Y2. Teachers mark these as a matter of course. The higher the year group, the longer they take to mark.

We do papers like this for every year group in my school too. There's only one paper for reading and one for maths. Unlike the sats where there is two. They can also be taken home to mark unlike the sats and don't have to go through the whole locking away, two person sign out malarkey as well.

[Amdecre]

@Year2teacher

We do papers like this for every year group in my school too. There's only one paper for reading and one for maths. Unlike the sats where there is two. They can also be taken home to mark unlike the sats and don't have to go through the whole locking away, two person sign out malarkey as well.

We have reading, maths x3, spag and separate spelling, just like KS2 SATS.

[ohyouknowwhatshername]

I was a Y2 teacher for 8 years, so you have my sympathy OP. I had a really unhelpful (and unprofessional) headteacher, who was really only used to teaching Y6 and didn't value the work that goes on in Y2 at all 🙁Luckily, I went on maternity leave, moved areas, and never had to go back. Good luck 🙏If I knew where you lived I'd pop a bar of chocolate through your letterbox!

[Year2teacher]

For any Year 2 teachers. The scaled scores have been released this morning. Happy half term spreadsheet filling in and data crunching.

[Pinkflipflop85]

We get release time for all the data stuff.

Makes a huge difference working in a school that looks after work/life balance wherever possible!