To say thank fuck for Nicola Sturgeon

[Chippednailvarnish]

I can't stand her anti English stance, but at least one political leader is doing something for the refugees...

My ds is Dyslexic, Dysgraphic, Dyscalculic, Dyspraxic and has been assessed as having ASD.
He has had 12 half hour sessions of SfL in 6 years and 'needs no more'.

Right, but can we just go back a few years and think about what would have become of him had he been at school years ago under labour? I know of two friends(25 and 27), both dyslexic, both left school with no quals and unable to read or write. Both self taught in late teens through the explosion of social media/ texting.

You're trying to blame the school/ SNP because your son has learning disorders, chronic neurological disorders, and development disorders, and they are struggling with that?

Can you not see how thats a bit like me saying the whole NHS is failing because they didn't diagnose my DVT quick enough when actually I was a very "not by the book" case and fully understand that no system is going to be able to do everything for everyone to a budget?

How long will it be acceptable for the SNP to blame all their huge cock ups on the previous administration? If everything is so rosy in education why did Sturgeon announce last week that she is reintroducing standardised testing?

Haha, yes I was waiting for that one! Because I don't have a child in their teens I'm not allowed to judge.

Doesn't matter that I have two very close family members actually teaching child led learning right now, experience of it myself, and experience of the system in the couple of years before the changes started taking place

Let me tell you, children were royally slipping through the net (my brother was one) long before CofE was introduced and many of them have gone on to do just fine. Many of them as joiners, decorators etc who should probably have just been allowed to leave at 14 instead of forced to conform to a box made for soley for academics.

So, because children with SEN were not taught properly 20 years ago, it doesn't matter that they are not now?

Were your friends told it was 'because of their English accent'?
Did their parents have to fund private assessments which the LEA only agreed with reluctantly and belatedly?

Did Councils allow teachers to wear political badges in school or hand out 'See Me- I'm SNP' badges to5 years olds and ask them to wear them in school?
I am 'blaming them' for the fact that 'most of his class cannot subtract' (as told to me by his class teacher 2 days ago).

And the fact that my other children (NT) are also hugely behind their English counterparts.

This is not about 1 child with SEN (although they are being failed hugely).

It's about all the other children in Scotland who are being failed under plummeting Literacy and Numeracy rates.

And about Scotland's economy, when those with a 43% pass in HIgher Maths go looking for global work.

It's not 'me'. Read the Scotsman, on almost any given day, and you will see.

The pass rate was 34% not 43%.

I'll post a longer reply when I'm actually on a laptop rather than my phone but I just wanted to say I'm happy with the education that my ds is getting under the CfE and at a state school. He's now in S4 and on course to get 8 Nat 5s and one Nat 4.

The teaching he got at primary school barely changed when CfE came in as that was the way that they had always taught (it's a school that had been an exemplar of best practice for multi-language teaching as it has a high proportion of EAL kids, and "team teaching" was normal practice to it). He had an excellent foundation when he started secondary including French, the subject I had been sniffy about as I have a degree in it

So if a child has any kind of special needs they shouldn't expect to succeed at school because they wouldn't have done 20 yrs ago?

My son has also been assessed as gifted, (IQ through the roof) so I hope he wont be 'leaving at 14' but will be able to fulfill his potential whether that be as a joiner or a surgeon.

I am sure being required to sing: 'Scotland my Country and my land of Birth' at almost all assemblies, being 'able write a poem in Gaelic', and to 'discuss the First World War from the perspective of Crofters in Shetland' will be of more use to him, in either profession, than a good solid grounding in maths and English... Ditto my Dd.

It's not all about the budget (which is underspent in some areas) it is about attitude and valuing education over a highly politicised curriculum. Scottish education used to be the envy of the world ('a man o' pairts'). Not any more.

Queen NS is re-introducing standardised testing because so many official bodies are hugely concerned about the plummeting standards in Primaries and she knows there is a big problem which will follow through to High School and onwards.

And regarding the "low" pass mark for the Maths Higher, I seem to recall a thread on Scotsnet where people were wailing about how unfairly difficult the exam had been and had been reassured by others that had said the pass mark would be adjusted

It would appear the SQA can't win either way

FWIW, ds' Maths teacher (Head of Maths) apparently said that the "difficult" question wasn't actually that difficult and that his pupils had been able to answer it.

I never said that child is not being let down, of course he is! I'm just perplexed as to what you want the SNP to do about it specifically, that other govs have not been able to achieve?

What would Labour do better? I have a Lab council and the only thing they seem to do well is spend 10x more money than they say they will on fucking idiotic projects that nobody wants. The definition of incompetence.

I'm not trying to claim there is no fault with the current education system, but standards of literacy have fallen accross the border too. Would it be so inconceivable that perhaps this is down to other factors? Such as maybe austerity? The "toxic childhood" theory. Benefits sanctions, benefits cuts, bedroom tax??? You don't think there is a link between lower standards of living and rising illiteracy?

Sorry Queen my error about the pass rate. 34%. Thanks.x

pretty - that is heartening. to hear. I
know that the theory of CfE is not 'all bad' by any means.
Being able to do 'topic work' across the curriculum at primary level is great.
Teachers not being totally hamstrung by endless paperwork from tests as in parts of England atm, is sensible.

But:

I remember when CfE came in.
My ds godmother is a teacher.
She said: 'for a good teacher/school, it is what has always happened, unofficially, but for a poor/lazy one, it is a disaster waiting to happen as there is so little checking or accountability, especially for Literacy and Numeracy.
In our case, with one SEN and one NT child, that is what has happened for both of them, by degrees, in an awful school / council area.
I sit on my school's Parent Council.
I have lots of contacts in the Education Dept at the local Council and I hear and see what is happening and it is not good at ALL.

THAT is what is being raised by those concerned about the widening gap in attainment in Scotland.

It is the lack of accountability and the continual blaming of Westminster, for a system that has been fully devolved for YEARS.

Erm, the SQA should ensure that the Questions are covered by the curriculum and are at an appropriate level of difficulty so they don't have to piss around altering pass marks to 34% to cover up another cock-up?

What I'd like the SNP to do about ds?
Well, given he has recognised learning difficulties, which across the Border would mean he'd have SfL, a Learning Plan and potentially a differentiated curriculum I'd like them to ensure that this would be standard in Scotland too, so he doesn't potentially have to leave his 'land of birth' / home / friends etc.

I'd like his class of 32 to ALL be able to add/subtract/multiply and divide by the age of 11, not a small number of them.

Why is this available to him, as a disabled learner, in England but not Scotland - HIS country?

Yy to poverty and austerity.
But a poor child can still learn in school.
Even a well off one cant if it's not being taught.

Which makes it even more important that ALL children in Scotland have the same chances - you know, the equal society that SNP bang on about - the gap is WIDENING under the SNP - specifically the education gap.

I am sure being required to sing: 'Scotland my Country and my land of Birth' at almost all assemblies, being 'able write a poem in Gaelic', and to 'discuss the First World War from the perspective of Crofters in Shetland' will be of more use to him, in either profession, than a good solid grounding in maths and English... Ditto my Dd.

Sorry, I'm confused. Is this meant to be a sarcastic comment?

In that case I can see why you think your DCs needs for education would be better met south of the border.

However, I was under the impression what Gove has done down there has left teachers stressed to the hilt, and pupils not too far behind them with levels of anxiety higher than ever before.

I don't really want to get into what I personally think is wrong with the education system in England, I've already been told to shut the fuck up and would likely be fighting a battle I couldn't win, all I'm saying is quite clearly outside of MN there are many many people who actually quite like the CofE and think the SNP, and NS are overall doing a good job in gov. Its why they win elections

I'm all for child led (or any learner centred) educational practice but there are some things which it just does not work for. One is maths; it's a linear learning process and the results of cfe approaches to math is being seen in the national literacy/numeracy survey which shows a rising attainment gap between the most deprived and the most well off children and young people.

I think the resulting shocking display on the nat 5 life skills maths is linked to that.'
I'm a learning and development specialist and I'm concerned about the practicality of learner led activity in classes of 30.

Children like my dad who are academically very able, have good parental support and access to additional resources eg tutoring will be fine.

But as the snp rhetoric is about improving life chances for those who are most in need and are thus most likely to come from families where they do not have the same parental support, hamiltoes argument up there is just shit.

Read a ducking book?? What about the parents the adult literacy service I manage supports? With the greatest will in the world they can't provide that sort of support. And those kids are falling drastically through the gaps and it's getting worse. The stats support it getting worse.

The Scottish governments answer to the numeracy issue is to create more posts at education Scotland to sort it out. I despair.

Yes.
I would like the Curriculum to focus more on ensuring all children leave primary school with a good understanding of Maths and Literacy and less time was spent on politically motivated learning.
Less than 1% of Scottish people use Gaelic - what is the point exactly?
why not use that time to teach children how to read and write in their Country's modern international language?
I'd be fine with a Gaelic poem class if my children's classes were able to produce a poem in English too - but they are not.

Children like my dd that should read. My dad is not a child

"So sick of the attitude that the school is the be all and end all of the childs education. DD4 went to nursery in arguably one of the most run-down disadvantaged areas in the city with a high ratio of non-english speaking children and came out confident, more independent and ready to learn. If you're child is in Pwhatever and can't read a clockface, buy them a bloody watch and practice it with them. Want to know what reading level your child is at? Sit them down and read a fucking book with them. Worried they don't get enough homework? Ask them what they learned at school today and engage them in discussion. "

You don't get it, do you?

Most of the people voicing concerns on this thread ARE DOING THESE THINGS.

But we are concerned about the fate of the kids who don't have this kind of support at home--because their parents don't speak English, because their parents are suffering from chronic health problems or serious personal difficulties, because they have one single parent who is working three part-time jobs to make ends meet, because they have feckless parents who don't care. Kids with these kinds of home life also deserve to have the chance to learn. The school needs to be teaching them.

We pay schools with tax money because we expect them to educate--not just to waffle around with the kids for hours on end while parents (and tutors) end up having to do the real education at home.

The reply was aimed at the people on this thread moaning about THEIR childs education. As I said, the lowering standards of literacy and numeracy seen here AND below the border are most likely due to those things!!

Perhaps the single parent working 3 PT jobs with no time to read to their children would have more time if the tories weren't busy dismantiling the tax credits system?

Perhaps those feckless parents wouldn't have been so feckless if there was actual oppertunity for them when they left school (under previous Lab/ Tory gov).

My argument is with those who are saying THEIR own childrens education isn't good enough and blaming it specifically on the SNP.

My children won't fail Maths because of the SHIT department in my school. I have enough money and determination to find, and fund, extra help. They will be fine. They are the lucky ones - 2 parents, 2 jobs, both graduates so wanting the same for our kids as we have.

But, many, many others can't afford help. Think nothing of kids gaming 4-5 hours a night. Can't / Won't come to parents' night. These kids are being failed twice, by their parents (although the parents often have far more to worry about than just Maths) and by the school.

These are the kids being failed.

Who speaks up for them?

Feckless? Jeezo, now using Tory rhetoric!

To add, problems so deeply entwined in this country like the ones mentioned above aren't something thats going to be fixed in 5 years, or even 10. The generation having children now are the same generation who were allowed to leave school with absolutely nothing and no life skills what so ever. At least when I was due to leave the programs for getting these kids SOMETHING (even work experience in the bakers across the street) had started.

And there you have it, while I agree that maths is definitely an example of where you have to learn at a set pace and structure, getting children exceited about learning themselves using their own means (INTERNET!) is the way we have to go if we ever want to break the cycle and ensure no child is left behind because of the parents curcumstances or skills.

But the snp are on power in Scotland, have been for much longer than the Tories nationally, and are responsible for education. At some point they have to be accountable for the way they use or misuse that responsibility.

They can't continuously bleat about how a big boy did it and ran away.

I cannot express my disgust at the word "feckless" deeply enough. And both of you used it.

There are a tiny time percentage of parents who may not care but in general 99.9 percent WANT to be good parents and want to do well for their children.