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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

exam cheat

97 replies

morbeus · 30/05/2011 21:27

My daughter has been accused of cheating in her BTEC Art by her teacher. The teacher has set a pretty harsh penalty and there seems to be no right of appeal or even hearing. It is a strong accusation with possible far reaching consequences and I think my daughter has a case that should be heard independently of this teacher. Has anyone else had similar experience?

OP posts:
atswimtwolengths · 30/05/2011 23:25

In the syllabus for BTEC First, cricketballs it says there are controlled assessments.

atswimtwolengths · 30/05/2011 23:28

"Centres should use a variety of assessment methods, including case studies, assignments and work-based assessments, along with projects, performance observation and time-constrained assessments."

atswimtwolengths · 30/05/2011 23:29

"The assessment should include a period of 10 hours of practical work under controlled conditions. This is to allow adequate access to specialist resources."

Original poster
morbeus · 30/05/2011 23:40

Thanks folks. Cricketballs, I think you have hit the nail on the head. There are no exams as such with BTEC. This piece of work has been coming home all year. DD was given more time to complete because she missed the first hour of this lesson due to a need to be at a different exam. The issue seems to be that she took that extra time at home. I am further confused because the class are not due to hand in finally completed work until after a further work session next Tuesday (which dd has been excluded from). I struggle to understand why a missunderstanding like this could not have been resolved in a better fashion. Nevertheless this teacher has complete control over the situation. She is accuser, prosecuter, jury and judge and seems to have closed her mind. Even now the school have not contacted me.

OP posts:
cricketballs · 30/05/2011 23:41

There is no controlled assesment in my subject areas, so if there is for art I apologise, however, CA goes against everything BTEC stands for so I would be very surpriseed if this the case was the case for this or any subject.

cricketballs · 30/05/2011 23:45

Op - as I said previously, there is a clear chain of commands with regards to decisions and this should have been made clear to all candidates at the start of the foyer, this chain leads to the exam board therefore the teacher

Goblinchild · 30/05/2011 23:45

Whatever your daughter's misunderstanding, the school and the teacher have handled this badly and unprofessionally, so go and challenge them. Make notes before you go, detailing what you have said here about the original, possible error and ask for clarification.
Then unpick the teacher's actions a step at a time, underlining the fact that at no time, as the child's parents have you been officially informed of an issue.
Give them no wiggle room, be very calm and very precise and pin them down about their reasons for their non-reaction and the subsequent actions of the teacher.
She needs to be given a clear plan about what the school actually intend to do, and why she wasn't guided better by the teacher.

NonnoMum · 30/05/2011 23:47

All this sounds very odd. Yes, you need to speak to the school asap.

cricketballs · 30/05/2011 23:47

Op - as I said previously, there is a clear chain of commands with regards to decisions and this should have been made clear to all candidates at the start of the foyer, this chain leads to the exam board therefore the teacher is not the judge and jury. But, as U said before it is in a teachers best interests to have their students pass qualifications so there must be some smoke fueling the fire...

Onceamai · 30/05/2011 23:48

You reassure your daughter this will all be sorted out. You hand deliver a letter to the head teacher which sets out exactly what has happened and your fears for your daughters performance as a result of the way in which this teacher has handled things. You require an acknowledgement by close of business on the day the letter is handed in; you allow two days for the headteacher to talk to those concerned; you state in the letter you will be coming to the school at 4pm on Wednesday to discuss the matter further and its potential impact on your daughter. You do not go to that meeting alone and you take a note of what is discussed and agreed. You keep very very calm and you set out your expectations.

cricketballs · 30/05/2011 23:57

Sorry about spelling but the bloody spell checker on my phone re-writes words without me noticing! (plus I'm drooling over Tom Cruise.....)

beesimo · 31/05/2011 07:40

OP

The more you have told us the more convinced I am there is a rat in the kitchen. I still stand by my advice to you, the reasons people want you to be calm and quiet is so they can cover it up and brush it under the carpet.

They want you to whisper but sometimes you have to shout and I think this is one of them. How dare she call your DD a cheat and a liar, when actually it sounds very much as if its the teacher who has screwed up in giving your DD permission to take work home and she is now trying to cover her own backside.

Don't let your DD be sacrificed on the altar of the teachers career.

slovenlydotcom · 31/05/2011 07:48

but you have only heard one side haven't you? you have only your daughter's interpretation of a conversation when presumably she was upset?

the comments about being banned from all subjects and the sixth form may suggest she has got something wrong

beesimo, I had some very bad teachers and some very good ones actually, I hope the op igores your advice about how to approach the situation, you sound very bitter

springydaffs · 31/05/2011 08:00

No she doesn't sound bitter - that's beesimo, salt of the earth imo.

As it happens, my dd had an art teacher who, frankly, had some very serious personality issues. This has been handled extremely badly imo eg telling her at the beginning of the week that was chock full of exams, the school not contacting you about such a serious allegation.

Your poor dd, bless her. I hope this can be resolved - you need someone like a union rep but for education iyswim - what a dreadful shock for her (hug).

beesimo · 31/05/2011 08:15

slovenlydotcot

No Im not bitter when I drive past the hoors melt in my Lexus I always give her a lovely wave and a toot. Ok yes, I still rightly dislike her intensley but I also pity her because one day she will answer for her wicked behaviour to bairns.

We didn't tell our Mams because we were too frightened and itimidated by her and you didn't tell in those days. It wasn't until she threatned to cut me hair off that I broke down at home about it. Then Mam stuck up for me 'big style'

Why can't teachers admit that in every school not only are there wonderful caring teachers there are liars, cheats, predators and nut jobs. Which is why parents have to be on their guard at all times.

troisgarcons · 31/05/2011 08:25

Beesimo - you are right in that there are some teacher who, I, having gone into secondary education, I tend to think 'bloody hell! You're ideal job would be as an archivist in the bowels of a museum where you don't have to interact with people' but they are few and far between. Anyway that is a whole different discussion.

However NO teacher will jeopardise their results and statistics lightly. It's a reflection on them.

MmeBlueberry · 31/05/2011 08:27

The teacher doesn't have complete control. All she can do is report her observations to the Head of Centre, who then passes them onto the Awarding Body. The Awarding Body decides on the sanctions, which is basically whether it affects just this exam, others they are responsible for, or all of their exams.

The art teacher and/or moderator is not in a decision making role.

ComradeJing · 31/05/2011 08:30

I was accused of cheating in my GCSE German exam. They found an old dictionary of mine that was covered in notes and concluded that I must have used it in the final exam (this was when you could still use dictionaries in the exams). I was sat down by my house mistress who told me I would be having a meeting with the director of studies and headmistress. I was asked if I used the dictionary in the exam and I said no. I said it was an old one. They dropped the issue very quickly.

The point of my post is that most teachers and schools don't want a scandal. They don't want your dd to be caught cheating and they don't want the fuss and bother.

Listen to goblinchild. She speaks sense.

FabbyChic · 31/05/2011 08:32

This happened on Monday and you haven't sorted it out yet? Why not? Why have you left it?

manicbmc · 31/05/2011 08:33

Is this an Art teacher thing? MY dd's art teacher spent a whole term putting down her style of art and making her feel rubbish. I find her whole approach to teaching (very much plays favourites) extremely unprofessional. She got so bad that dd decided not to take art at A level, which is a shame as she is damn good at it, imo.

It could be that the art teacher has said these things in spite and, having gone on to try and take it further, has found that she can't as your dd has done nothing wrong - which might explain why school didn't contact you. You need to speak to the head (or head of year) about these serious accusations.

DirtyMartini · 31/05/2011 08:37

Yet another thread that makes me quake in fear for when my kids reach the age of navigating an exams system that is totally foreign to me -- it seems from some of what I read on here that high school in the UK is a total minefield for anyone who cares about doing well. :(

OP, my kids are little so I have no experience to share, but sending strength to you and your dd to cope with all the stress. It sounds like the school have handled it dreadfully.

General question for thread: I don't get how it is logical or OK for the system to give a single teacher (even assuming said teacher is very well-intentioned) so much power to take a decision like this and finalize it? How does that allow for human fallibility? Confused

slovenlydotcom · 31/05/2011 08:44

beesimo, I am sorry that a child would have to go through what you went through, I am glad you told in the end

but not all teachers are alike and having a go at the op's teacher and then walking out before she has a chance to respond will not achieve the result she wants will it?

LostMyIdentityAlongTheWay · 31/05/2011 08:45

HI, am seconday school assistant HT and also teach BTEC amongst other GCSEs.

Pearson website will give you details on the BTEC Art - go to specification and look for details, also the examinations officer section.

SOunds to me like you have a rogue Art teacher on your hands. Sure, we all try to do the right thing - we clearly don't always - but she has no place to say that the place at 6th form is endangered. Trust me - that is bollocks. GO straight to the horses mouth.

Don't be harsh on the HT - they may have had no idea that this is going on. Why should they? They appoint other managers to take care of stuff like this...

Good luck with it. Beesimo Nothing like tarring all people with the same brush? Are you a Scots embittered old witch? No. Probably not. Just some food for thought, eh, lovey?....

duchesse · 31/05/2011 08:46

This all sounds very fishy. Accusing someone of cheating (and honestly, how would you prove cheating in art unless the candidate were flouting rules about where to complete controlled assessments, or visibly employing someone else to do the work in their place?) is never ime done lightly. Unless this teacher has some serious psychological issues (which her HT will doubtless be aware) it may be that your daughter has got the wrong end of the stick somewhere along the way. I say this as the mother of a daughter who would blow even a chance remark out of all proportion, especially at this time of her exams.

I think the most rational & calm thing to do would be to contact the school today over your concerns and make an appointment to go and discuss this today with the headteacher- not the teacher concerned, although they well be requested to attend by the HT. Try to get the facts straight from both sides before anything else. If the accusation is real, then ask them for their evidence and present your evidence to the contrary. I suggest you do not have your daughter in the room with you while this meeting takes place. It will give you time to consider what is being said and potentially save her some more upset. If you deem it appropriate, at some point bring her in to present her side of the story (if story there is).

It is inadmissible to inflict this situation upon a child without contacting home, which is why I find it all rather odd-sounding. I hope your DD got it wrong.

MmeBlueberry · 31/05/2011 08:46

The teacher doesn't have any power, dirty martini. The problem will be out of her hands.

I don't understand why people are so quick to blame the teacher. Leaving the exam room with exam materials is very serious. It was the student who did this, not the teacher.

The consequences can be very serious, as has been pointed out. If the school is an accredited centre for this subject, it can affect students in the years to come. This could mean that the teacher behaved "unprofessionally" for a few moments. She must have been livid.

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