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.

I'd get rid of these ridiculous MATs. It's just a whole extra layer of management, and a huge expense which does not benefit students.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/education/5422913-year-6-residential-costs?page=1

And no,this camping trip isn't subsidised. Its cheap as its done completely in house on land owned by the school. The cost covers food and the stuff they need to hire like extra toilets. Its a model of what could ve achieved if there was council owned facilities fir schools to use instead on private companies charging an arm and a leg.

I would have liked the opportunity to set up some kind of monthly payment to the PTA rather than having to attend all the nonsensical events/activities.

Actually starting reception the term you turn 5 rather than all in September, as before. Some children are just too young.

No additional homework for years R-3. Just reading and maybe spellings.

Ability sets in Maths and English.

Portion sizes of school lunch meals. Serving a 10 year old the same as a 4 year old lacks common sense

£850 is a bit mental but there has to be a happy medium between a top notch centre and a tent with thunder boxes.

£30 must only be covering food, and a game of rounders.

Activity centre holidays are including climbing, raft building, kayaking etc that really couldn't be done in a school field.

A council local to me sold off their activity centre a few years ago because it was cheaper to outsource, than to keep it maintained and staffed.

I totally agree, but students are sent out for behaviour that isn't disruptive. And why miss the next 2 lessons?

Yes, I only think it's a good policy to miss lessons if it gives a break to the other students, also the teachers. I like having the really disruptive ones removed, it gives everyone a breather. I can't see the benefit otherwise.

I once spent a week in a school where in year 6 they split into ability sets for English and Maths. It really worked, I loved it.

Back in the older days, making meals and changing a lightbulb was something you learnt at home from your parents when they did these things.

Exactly. I learnt how to change a lightbulb from a housemate when I was at uni. Took 5 minutes. I never learned cooking at school, but I can read, so I just followed recipe books. Because of my age, never touched a computer until well into adulthood, however I am more than competent with technology. Who knows what the future holds? Schools educate, they don't train for specific and particular skills.

Teachers would love this!
Unfortunately there is a vast curriculum to teach and that is scrutinised, violent children and SEND without support. Outdoors would be dangerous, it’s already dangerous.

@TheNightingalesStarling we used to do this at the school I worked at before I left teaching. End of year 7, we took the whole year group camping (half the start of the week, changeover on Weds and the other half till Friday). No phones, no activity center, all organised and run by the teaching staff and TAs. It was so much fun for the kids and the staff- if not bloody hard work being on duty 24 hours a day for the whole week, camping with a field full of 11 year olds with no electricity or hot water! They all whinged about it before they went, but looked back on it really fondly by the time the left school.

HT here..I'd create more specialist state provision for pupils with high needs. The traditional school environment doesn't suit everyone and it only works because it's a game of numbers, we manage large numbers of children with relatively small amounts of adults. I'm constantly torn between how to effectively meet the needs of ND children (often undiagnosed with no EHCP and no funding) and keeping all other children safe and preventing their learning from being disrupted. I've been in London schools for 25 years and we didn't have this crazy high level of need pre-covid, I'm now regularly dealing with children who hit, kick and spit at staff and peers. There is very little support for them from the local authority and the only available provision has a waiting list of 2 years.

@Blomama what do you think has changed after covid?

I must say the idea of children having to wait 2 years for specialist provision is ridiculous. That's failing the SN children and taking teachers away from the rest of the class.

I know which lesson I would have been kicking off in, the one before double English.

Primary school: save up all the general messages you want to send out and put them in one email at the end of the day. Please stop the several messages throughout the day.

High school: to recognise the efforts and successes of musicians as much as athletes. Every football and rugby match reported in the weekly newsletter…. Year 9/10/11 performing at the Royal Albert Hall, grade exams, concerts with regional Youth Orchestra- overlooked.

If I had a magic wand, I’d reintroduce the three tier system. My little corner of Yorkshire still has it, and it has been fantastic for my dc in different ways. Maybe we were just lucky with our middle school.

No not WTF

That’s bang out of order. Sorry but I don’t want someone’s nostrils around the area where my child drinks out of. I just don’t . Thanks very much - do you do you 👍

Ha ha mine would have been the one before maths! 🤣

I prefer this idea of offering a wider range so that children can have a taster of some of the options offered at GCSE.

Thats crazy for kids to be getting detention and missing so much school.
The further behind kids fall the more bored and disruptive they'll be.

I think I'd actually argue with the school over that. So many kids really struggle in school and so many aren't actually diagnosed with anything but do have issues.

Yes to PP who mentioned appropriate thermal comfort. I’d add air cleaners/filters in too (relatively cheap and lots of evidence to show they help improve attendance, increase results, reduce illness - e.g. viral, allergies, asthma).

Agree with PP about not missing lessons where behaviour is not disruptive and for using self regulation as an excuse to send child out.

The PP who mentioned excellent pastoral care inc counsellor, school nurse, access to doctor, ed psychologist etc - is that a state school?

Schools seem so much more pressured now - for teachers and pupils. I think both are increasingly asked to be more resilient - even though a growing number are becoming more stressed - to accommodate lack of resilience in existing systems (within school and society).

I don’t know what some of the terms mean such as continuous provision and three tier.

I think it’s really sad that schools now have to ask for things like donations of soap, tissues, basic craft supplies, books etc.

Yes to more SEN provision.

I would completely revise year 9. Year 9 often have a lot of issues with boredom, behaviour, lack of respect.

Keep the core subjects, English, maths and science but then have a range of other subjects and short courses.

So tasters of GCSE subjects as mentioned 'up thread' but also all the things people say should be taught in school.

First Aid, cooking, how to hang wall paper, how to change a light bulb, basic sewing, what to do if your electricity 'blows', maybe an allotment, how parliament works. Maybe how to open a bank account.

I mentioned excellent pastoral care, in a state school but in Finland, where schools take pastoral care seriously. My teenager was missing a lot of school due to illness, instead of having a go at me or her about attendance they tried to find out the root cause (stress) and she got regular counselling with the counsellor and met with the psychologist, and had a thorough check up with the nurse and health issues were picked up on and treated. These kinds of things help stop children slipping through the cracks so is worth the investment.

That sounds amazing and so glad your daughter was able to access the help she needed.

This is so true. And so accurate .

Attendance awards - thank goodness they got abolished from our school a few years back .

I’m secondary. I would just love proper funding that covers everything properly so my school doesn’t need to make redundancies 😩
I would love to not feel guilty for applying for UPS because the school can’t afford it. I would love my department to have a decent budget so we can stop buying supplies out of our own pocket!