How can state school parents try & bridge the educational gap that's rapidly forming?

[Kenthighst]

Following on from the excellent thread regarding the shambles of state education. What can us parents do to bridge the gap? Our state school children are being failed & we are being kept in the dark.
What can be done outside school to bridge the gap that has formed between state & private?

What did this look like please? Do you mean you sat and went through the given homework or did you add extra? If it was extra, how did you decide what to cover and how?

@FusionChefGeoff lucky for you. I'm capable of covering 2 of the 3 core subjects but my DC would rather not have me teach them 😆

I think children need to feel loved, valued and believed in - first as an absolute priority.
We parents need to try to separate our needs, failures and vicarious expectations away from our dc - which is difficult as they are so often subconscious.
Then we need to get behind the schools, support, and praise and thank the teachers. Volunteer to help when possible even if it's hard to do.
After that we need to role model what we want our kids to do. If we never read a book it's unlikely they will do so. If we never show curiosity- the same. We need to expose them to as much as possible, let them try things out to find what they love, encourage their creativity, be gentle with them if we can be to encourage confidence. And encourage them in what they're good at.
This is an ideal of course!
The state system is under extreme pressure but we can do a lot when they are tiny.
I think books, books, books, nature, talking with them, good eye contact and as few minutes a day as possible on screens - I know it's hard but that is clearly better for them.
I think schools benefit when parents contribute and have positive input. Sone parents do nothing at all but complain.

Just saw this article and thought it was interesting in relation to this discission:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/03/01/discriminating-against-middle-classes-economic-suicide/

DD who is very quiet, well behaved, is in year 8 and has had the same cover teacher for DT for 3 weeks in a row, he's told them just to get on with sketching their designs at the start of the lesson and that is he all he does. He is on his phone the rest of the time and then says, 'goodbye'.

3 weeks is the point I would be asking questions. Are other Yr8 DT classes getting a teacher? Could they at least share the staff they have? Is anyone looking at the drawings between lessons and why aren't they providing feedback? What is the reason the cover teacher is not interacting with the pupils? Is it actually a member of SLT trying to do his job while minding the class, or an agency cover with no supervision? At a good school SLT drop in to cover lessons just as they do teacher lessons.
(I can't imagine sitting passing time in a DT lesson. I be hovering around cheering the kids on, asking questions to check they're following the brief, searching up enrichment material, photographing the work, and probably making a fuss about the same class getting cover 3 weeks running.)

Primary school was great. Secondary school has been awful. The school has been closed due to RAAC for months. Children in portacabins with no access to resources. No science labs... nothing!

Food tech last week my DD did a practical class for the first time this year (and this is a GCSE year!)! and used an air fryer someone had brought in.

I could weep for these children. No workbooks. No access to anything. Teachers leaving in droves (who can blame them?) Mental health of children who know they don't stand a chance in getting good GCSE grades is down the toilet.

Tutors in the area are charging £90+ an hour... because they can. Parents are at a loss on how to help.

Government couldn't give a shit. School needs to be rebuilt. No timelines or plans for how or when.

Meanwhile our children's futures are just left in tatters.

The Tory government bangs on and on about education but actually couldn't care less.

There are plenty of parents that want to support their children but how can they when the state of schools is so bad?

@Meadowfinch Can you tell me more about a bike computer, please?

A bike computer will tell you cadence and speed and distance

There’s many state school pupils getting results on par with private, the situation isn’t quite as dire as you make out!

@therealcookiemonster

You are q reader and would Very Likely still be one without the strict tv rules.

My dd probably had a little too much as a child but we did loads of other stuff as well. She's a prolific reader her schools have been amazed at her reading, always. I'm a reader... She astonishes me but nothing was ever forced or removed..

Tutors tutors, tutors... Just remember not all tutors are cut from the same cloth.

Unfortunately for one dc I'm fully expecting to have to have tutors. However good tutors are worth their weight in gold they are private bespoke learning.

Get in early and don't let the child fall behind.

If your child is genuinely struggling, then be stragetegic on gcse, if they are not interested in physics, focus on what they can get the best grades in

Only exam results schools have are for cohorts that started pre-covid. You won't be able to say the same in a couple of years. It is dire. GCSE classes with no teacher for months at a time, challenging behaviour the norm, no money for basics like pens, teachers so overworked that no matter how much they love the job they have nothing left to give.

If you honestly think it isn't dire, your school is either an exception or very good at hiding it.

1. Write to your MP
2. Ask anyone canvassing about education
3. Message the BBC/local newspaper/Daily Mail? (hollow laugh) about education. They don’t report on this because they think you don’t care or they are a vehicle for the current government
4. Be clear about the fact that fines/standards/stupid rules are not the fault of teachers but of huge MATs and/or the government.

How much of the state education system is being propped up by private tutoring at the moment I wonder.

But also, with comparable outcomes, how can you tell if standards are falling? (We know they are in maths and English from PISA and the National reference tests).

If private schools are sitting IGCSEs not GCSEs, how do you compare?

How much of the state education system is being propped up by private tutoring at the moment I wonder

I would really like to know the answer to this. A fair percentage I would say.
Three of my friends are paying for a tutor and these are children in the same year group at the same secondary. I don't know many of the other parents so I wouldn't have a clue.

None of us could ever afford a private school, so a tutor is the best we can do and we're giving up other things to be able to afford it.

The Ofsted rating for the school is 'requires improvement'. The main thing they seem to be making the post effort to improve is attendance

To get support for students in state schools across the UK who've had disrupted learning due to RAAC I've written to:

Dominic Rabb
Gillian Keegan
Local MP
DfE
Examination board

I've also:
Met with Head teacher of school
Written to Chair of Governors
Attended a local public meeting
Gone on local radio
Gone on national radio
Been on TV
Been in Daily Mail - that was taking one for the team (I even had to do a sad face!)
Appeared on local BBC website page
Appeared in National BBC website page
Started a Change petition.

Nothing is being done.
The government doesn't care!

Not sure what else I can do.

I think it is worse now than ever before. Covid was the start of it.

Thank you for trying @JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn

@noblegiraffe covid was the start of it & it went rapidly downhill since. For me covid really highlighted the inequalities. Some schools stepped up to the remote challenge others didn't even do the bare minimum. Attitudes changed both parental & childrens. Screen time & social media time completely intensified & hasn't been curbed.

I agree with everyone that says to build an educational environment at home and having conversations with them is so important (critical thinking and debating etc). However sometimes with state schools we have very little control of other children with parents that do not know how to or that have children with behavioural problems due to home life. If feels that this is one of the areas that is harming schools.

My DD still loves learning. Did so well in state school education and is doing well in secondary but she is lucky to be in a set that encourages learning too.

There are children who are getting extra help at home but are in classrooms that are disruptive - it is frustrating.

I would love to see more action from state school PTAs. I know it’s a lot of time to dedicate for some but a few hours a quarter to raise the voices of concerned parents makes a huge difference. I worked full time and still joined my DDs PTA as a lone parent and over the years the number of parents dropped. Which meant less voices. There were roles for people that had time and roles for people that just wanted to chip in. But dwindling numbers meant we couldn’t advocate for bigger change as schools just shut the parents voices down.

As a PTA member it’s important that we not only do fun fairs and raise money but become a voice for parents and schools eventually do have to do something about ongoing complaints.

One important thing is to talk to your child about ideas/painting/nature/music/ events etc and listen properly to your child in return.

Encourage them to say what they think and why even if you both disagree. Encourage them to look at you or the person they are speaking to, and to speak clearly.

Eat meals together with no television or radio on. When your adult friends come to visit, encourage your children to speak to them and be part of the gathering.

“…instead has chosen to try and pit workers against each other by acting like it's fine and egalitarian to buy very expensive houses in sought after catchment areas and spend a fortune on educational enrichment, but the most awful thing to live in another area, not have great options and choose to pay a small middle of the road independent school to do what state should be doing.”

So true.

my child is still at state comp, no tutoring, did just as well as private school kids. Same with lots of their friends. I think it’s disingenuous to suggest that there aren’t lots of kids doing well without tutoring. I have no idea about which syllabus private schools prefer but they don’t only do I gcse and there plenty of them that aren’t academically as strong as state schools.

@Love51 It's a little clip on device that uses the circumference of the bike wheel & a magnet to measure distance travelled. Ours are by Velo. and cost £12 I think.

My ds set his up - problem solving - then he cycled all summer. For someone who didn't like team sports it meant he had a 'sport' where he could challenge himself against his best time, top speed, his furthest distance etc.
Once cycling, he visited his friends more, got more exercise, was more independent etc. It was very good value.

I think it’s also disingenuous to suggest that because some state school kids are doing well that state schools are therefore fine.

Even kids within the same school will be having very different experiences.

My maths A-level kids for example will be getting a great deal. But if they were doing computing they wouldn’t have a teacher and would be teaching themselves.