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.

Flexibility to match the curriculum to need, and the staffing to make it work. How can I meet the needs of the autistic child who needs routine, the traumatised child who needs space to think, the young carer who is knackered, the child who has only a few words of English, the child who has ADHD but is unmedicated because her dad doesn't believe in it, the incredibly bright and articulate child who is bored sackless and the spoilt child with no impulse control or boundaries at the same time, on my own while teaching Shakespeare?

That's just one class BTW.

Hanging wallpaper with a class of 32 year 9s? Shoot me now.

I know!!! 😂

They need more than "tasters", they need active skills builders for GCSE.
For the rest of the stuff, parliament, bank accounts etc, they cover in PSHE. There is usually a well considered programme.

Yep . And once it’s over - year six is done from all angles .

Get them prepped , prepped a bit more from now until May , then as far as they’re concerned, that’s it .
They wait for them to leave as their work is done- so it’s all chill and let them pretty much do very little.
Harsh but true 🤷‍♀️

If a parent requests a child stays in a friends class for good reason then believe it. That's can often be their safe person and taking that away can turn into ebsf in kids with ND.

The thing my DCs school does well
They have TAs trained as counsellors. So when at 5 her Grandad died on day 1 of year 1, the school have taken lots of time to work lots of things through with her (when I was trying to spin 1000s of plates including working and supporting family)....
I would love their to be more cooking- 5 and desperate to do cooking club- which is massively oversubscribed and literally if you don't book in the 5 minutes when it goes live you don't get a place.... But they only do it one day a week- bonkers ....
Yes I do some cooking with her- but work long hrs and can only do it at the weekends. ..

20 percent PPA.

More relaxed secondary school uniform.

More money, more money and more money would solve a lot of issues.

No longer a parent but am a governor at a primary school.

Secondary is not that long ago but I think so many schools waste so much time by some very senior (and less senior) staff policing uniform that I would like to see it scrapped or at least massively relaxed like primaries are, none of this sending kids home for something that’s barely noticeable.

What if the friends parent asked to keep them apart? This has happened to me in the past.

It's also unfair to put that support role on to another child.

Is that less or more than should be?
Sorry for ignorance but in primary our TA often had the entire class ( loads of kids with SEN- not their fault of course , but focus was solely on them- all other kids left to get on with it) whilst the teacher was taking PPA time.
What in your opinion, is the right amount of time?

I know all about teacher retention, funding etc.
This is not teacher bashing ( they do an amazing job) - just genuine curiosity.

The trip might not be subsidised financially but certainly is with effort and good will from the teachers. Doing something like this in house is a huge ask of teachers. You are very lucky to have staff that are willing to put those extra hours in (not just in running the event but also all the planning needed).

My school starts GCSE teaching in year 9 but the students don’t choose their options until the end of the year. Seems a nice balance to give longer for teaching and still keep the breadth.

That’s great you are a governor.

Please can you try and reduce the bias ..
I know you’re a critical friend as a governor but seriously, this girl/ boy favouritism from Primary teachers ( whom are predominantly female) can and does have a lasting impact .

My now Y7 DS has to have mental health support after leaving primary due to the effects of this.

It’s rife … and outrageous and so very , very disturbing.

Smaller classes and smaller schools.
We also need more specialist settings. Inclusion can and does work for some kids but it doesn’t for others. Remove the stigma of special schools being somehow inferior.
We also need to acknowledge that sitting 8 GCSE’s is a waste of time for some kids. Offer more courses in things like carpentry, building, plumbing, mechanics , beauty therapy etc.

DS 2 went to a junior school with 50% male teachers. The bias was still there to an extent. In yr 6 a friend's daughter thought she was being bullied by a teacher who was treating her the same as all the other pupils, she'd become very used to being all the teachers favourite.

Pay staff for extracurricular.

You don’t need to physically ‘smell’ the contents of a water bottle - you can smell cordial when a child is drinking it, and you can also tell if it’s cordial when they spill their so-called water all over the desk and it soaks into their book / drips on the carpet / over their friend’s jumper.
When I first started teaching, water bottles weren’t a thing. The number of children who collapsed due to dehydration was incredible!
PS, children aren’t born only liking cordial - their parents give it to them instead of water and they then develop a taste for it. Who wouldn’t prefer a sweet, artificially flavoured drink?

Ah yes, I have known that to happen. "Daisy needs to be in the same class as Poppy, for friendship and support".
Other parents "Please put Poppy a different class to Daisy, she is too distracting and disruptive".

I wish children would be told their score/grade when they are assessed on something. It would massively improve motivation and self-esteem, as well as helping children, parents and teachers to be clear about when they need extra practice/support with something.

That sounds like poor practise. All our students get assessments and tests back for feedback and progression purposes. All the data should be on tracking. Contact the Head of Curriculum or equivalent.

HEPA filters and better ventilation in all spaces to reduce spread of illness.

This, x 💯

I'm talking primary here. Sorry, should have said that. My dd is in Year 3 and has a weekly spelling test but never gets told her score.

Proper funding, proper salaries, less work overload for all- adults and children, smaller curriculum, more parental accountability for poor behaviour, longer holidays so the children can be children, less tolerance for consistent poor behaviour...

I'm amazed at the amazing job dd's school does considering all the challenges they face.