If you are a teacher or parent…

[Flopsicle]

What is one thing you would improve about your school if you could - needs to be realistic (or at least semi-realistic). It can’t be “wish I had a bigger bladder” for example! What is one thing that works really well in your school and is it primary or secondary?

For me, homework - I don’t think this works well in primary (I’m not including reading, spellings, times tables in this).

Friendship benches where children can sit if they’re feeling lonely and someone will join them, older children can volunteer to organise games.

But to answer the thread, I would make sure schools actually had the ability to heat or cool the building properly.

GCSE’s started in year 9 would be great. No water bottles but a station where kids can help themselves to water/fruit/carrot is what we have and it works brilliantly.
no attendance awards and if you do take them out for a family holiday then the fine gets paid to the school.
more notice for annual celebrations, and parents evenings, or even an annual school calendar that parents can check and it’s all on there.
no homework but individual reading/maths/writing targets.
healthier lunches and a wider variety!

Oh, excellent point! Where I work - like most schools - it's unbearably hot for most of the good weather, really stuffy. In the winter, far too cold. I've no idea why it's so difficult, it seems to be every school.

To teach skills inside of science and maths equations. Leaving school at 16 knowing 30 formulas you’ll likely never need again but having no idea how to make a healthy meal or change a light bulb is madness.

Surely if you can work out formulas and understand maths then you can work out how to change a lightbulb? Or at least find resources to help you?
School isn't about giving you exact/precise skills for the future, it's about developing the brain, literacy , numeracy, memory, resilience, self accountability and inter personal skills.

Yes which is why I corrected it to children's rights. It ranks 130th I think.

Ok. You said that the UK was "one of the worst countries for human rights".
Which is different, so sorry if I missed your correction to this.
As you were 👍

Yes see my post immediately afterwards correcting that. But anyway, yes 130/194 on the children's rights index.

Yes, thanks. I think the thread moved quickly 👍

I think thats a huge ask, especially for teachers who might well have their own commitments doing over nights.

I think the week kids do in last year of primary is plenty.
Doing camping near or next to the area kids live is pointless. And also likely to mean kids will want to wander to friends, wander home, other kids appear.

I used to work in a primary and homework is pointless, takes hours to prepare and mark. The kids who need an extra push at home don't do it (usually because they need help at home and parents are busy)

I taught 'Health and Social Care', there are text books but they go out of date as laws change and reports are made.

The only textbook I have ever recommended to students was an anatomy and physiology text book.

It's about £25 but if they go in to nursing (students 16+) it would still be useful to them.

TES has a lot of resources made by teachers and given or sold.

For primary school- scrapping awards such as pupil of the week. This leads on to my big wish, for things to be evidence based- for example if there is limited evidence that homework helps (other than reading) don’t set it! I guess the problem might be that the evidence will show that lots of systems don’t work for everyone.

School uniforms should be tracksuit and trainers. Both primary and secondary.

I was more thinking school rather than college or uni, lecturers I get might be easier to use print outs but basic stuff like maths and literacy should be done via books rather than reams and reams of photocopies.

Textbooks. It would be amazing if some of there learning was NOT screen based. Textbooks make revision far easier - kids are not all good at taking notes.

I dont even might shoes rather than trainers, trainers are often mesh which has zero water resistance.

I love my childrens primary school, it feels like one big family! I don't think there's much I would change. However, I do wish there were more sen schools. There are many children who clearly have special needs and I don't think it serves them or the other children to have them in a mainstream school.

Theres a thread currently about a yr6 trip costing £850.

While my DCs Yr7 trip costs £30... and they don't wander off.

SEND specialist here- I’d split the school classes in a different way. The strain of unmet needs amongst primary children is an enormous issue for all. Lots of non attenders, incidences of violence, nappy changes, inability to regulate nervous system & emotional distress. It’s awful!! Id take the 30% (at a minimum est) of children who are neurodivergent or have needs not catered for traditionally and put all into classes of mixed ages with a full day of movement, sensory input, remove traditional seating etc, lots of meaningful play, speech & language & have a slot for parent drop in. Parents can see how the staff interact, direct, set boundaries, support regulation and then help those children to engage in their education. All mainstream children who can manage would continue in large mixed ages classes and the children who can’t go into smaller classes with teachers and support staff who are experienced in delivering this kind of support. Working with the needs not against them, a lot of outside time, a lot of free movement. Inclusion for all other areas of school life, if appropriate. 30-50% of children don’t cope in traditional classes but we can’t build 1000’s of new schools so reorganise. It can work.

When DD13's school issues a daytime detention, they are not permitted to join their next 2 lessons, even if the lessons are core subjects such as maths and science. These missed lessons are not made up. The thinking behind this is so the child has time to self regulate, I don't know about anyone else, but I would get more and more pissed off as the day went on, my emotions would not be regulated! An example of why DD was sent out once is not looking directly at the teacher when he was talking to the whole class (tracking the speaker), not using a ruler or her finger to follow the text she was reading, and then going in her bag to get a small fidget toy (she has ADHD and permission to use it). She didn't need to self regulate as she was perfectly calm to begin with. They want a disruption free classroom, but she wasn't being disruptive.

A £30 trip is obviously being subsidised some how.

I haven't seen the £850 trip but I'd expect for that price its a full week?
My kids was £350 for a Monday-Friday to an outdoor center with a load of activities thrown in.

I think you have a point, but in all honesty it's to give the other students a break from these disruptive students. It's awful having every lesson disrupted by bad behaviour.

Telling parents who think their naughty/rude/unintelligent kid is not special to anyone but them and that i do my job the best I can if their child leaves school poorly educated it does not affect me

There's very little I would change about DDs secondary school (Yr 9) BUT I would change huge swathes of the whole education sector.
#1 take it out of the control of politicians.