What advice can I give my poor friend

[pleasemothermay1]

My friend is beside herself as its now looking like her son will fail all of his exams

At 14 he went into a studio schooltechnical collage as he's not very academic

He studies English ,math,it science along side construction

He on course to gets An E in all subjects Barr construction however last year 9 out of the 12 months he has not had a construction teacher who also doubles as his form tutor and the IT teacher has been covering just doing the thorey bit

My friend was not happy however the school reassured them that they were looking for Somone in June they hired Somone however she rang me in tears saying he's leaving and next weeks his last day 😳So he only lasted a few months So yet again no teacher

She has already contacted the school
But there a bit shit tbh

I suggested if she gets no joy she should threaten ofsted and DofE

I also told her as he's 16 in 3 weeks there may be a chance he could leave the school and attend collage

This year is so critical and he's pretty much had no partical lessons and 70% of his mark will be practical

Any advice you can give me to pass on will be more than welcome

If must be so diffcult thinking your child may fail

Not much advice for you, not heard of 'School studio tech college'. Is he in yr 10 or 11 ? College of further education maybe the answer?

This is why I detest GCSEs. They're based on the assumption that all children are academic and it's not the case. Some children are better hands on. Well you've just said. He looks set to do better in construction.
Like a lot of people. He'll probably flourish when he leaves school.
That's the trouble with this government. They put everyone in the same box.
Hopefully someone more clever and clued up will be a long soon.

It is so sad that young people are made to feel inadequate and a 'failure' so early. FE Colleges offer a variety of diplomas at Level 1 through to 4 in some cases (L2 is the rough equivalent to GCSEs, L3 - A Level). I have taught in secondary school and FE, and taught GCSE, A Level and Diploma - I would suggest contacting the nearest FE college and enquiring about their vocational diploma courses. These can lead on to apprenticeships. Hope this helps.

Also, bear in mind that, weherever he is eductaed he will have to continue to study for GCSE English and maths, until he achieves a C grade.

For some odd reason there was absolutley zero fuss raised over this when it was intiduced, a few years ago. Teachers shouted and screamed, irt was one of the unofficial reasons FE lecturers went on strike.

But it means that there is little escape for the brilliant vocational kid who hates exams. And absolutely no escape for the kids who simply don't 'get' either subject.

Also, you can go straight to an Apprenticeship, at L2 and L3 (GCSE and A level ish), at the moment the maths/English requirements are still Functional Skills, which might be worth considering if your local FE college has a construction department!

The GCSE are not the issue

It's the fact that the only subject he most likey would achieve he is set to fail due to the teacher being MIA and the head doing frigg all about it

Just waiting for her to ring me back now

In some circumstances kids can attend college at 16 for an unsupported subject whilst continuing to attend school for the core subjects.. It needs school and college agreement as well as time tabling actually working , but it could be an option to explore.

I would imagine finding teachers who specialise in construction is probably not all that easy though? Is it possible they have been trying to recruit and just not getting applicants?

That's there issue

The school is actually a construction and engineering studio school and there core subject they can't find a teacher for

All the local collages have no issue staffing there construction courses I personally think this is a issue with the school

Poor show indeed my friend called be back

No one is available to speak to her i am going to help her write to the governors tonight via FaceTime this is horse shit

I responded on other thread. A complaint will take time her Ds hasn't got. Is she looking for alternatives already? Pp are correct that he will need English and Maths gcse or equivalent passes to progress.

Is this a UTC please? A University Technical College? If so, I've heard of this sort of thing happening before - they cannot retain teachers.

Yes

These studio schools are 14-18 mostly for children who are not academic
In year 8 it was transformative for him really but now year 11 no teacher
The engineering and buniess studies class all have teachers she said

They used to be called 'Pathfinders' amongst other more or less twee names.

I taught a couple when they were piloted. When they are good they are very, very good, but when they are bad, as the old saw goes!

Good ones tend to be within FE colleges. The only ones I saw where the LA thought it a good idea to pull them back to schools and VI Forms (funding would then remain with them) were terrible. Something to do with the staff not having to be fully qualified teachers... FE qualifications were ignored and so issues began - just like Academies, really!

Construction courses here are usually fully booked, loads of staff - brickies, plumbers and sparks who may have been injured, found they had a good attitude for teaching apprentices, want part time other work or just want to retire from the tools early, all get to work whilst getting FE certs - which often sorts the wheat from the chaff!

As I said, if there is FE provision nearby it maybe worth scoping that out. The good staff may all work there

Can I say I am with you till you mentioned academy's

My son attend one it's started off as a oral comp then changed due to being oustanding for so long

I have to say if anything I felt the school improved my son went for being on action plan + on
To getting 7 a-grades including English , maths and science the careers advice was oustanding they did booster sessions on weekends and during the Hoildays

they made extra effort to employ teachers that reflect the cultural community of the children the displine was strict but fair I can't fault them

I mentioned academies in relation to the lack of certification/qualified teachers. Most round here are forced and bloody useless. But one is a shining light of teacheriness. None of them have 100% qualified teachers. The shining light one gets great results, has very enthusiastic, young teachers... but the strain is starting to show - all those extra sessions, weekends etc need to be paid for, in cash and energy.

Sometimes the bill is too high for health!

And sometimes the lack of qualifications means young teachers get taken advantage of. And qualified teachers get dumped on the scrap heap, too expensive!

But sometimes no one wants to hear that!