aibu to think this is bad for my dc's school to put this in their newsletter?

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it was all lovely until the end bit, not numbers and letters! that's their grades they're talking about!!! and the head wrote that.

aibu?

Lovely message.

What a wonderful philosophy for a Head to have - encouraging all children to work to the very best of their ability, whilst recognising that for some children that is going to be above the average for the year group, and for others it will be under. Sounds like the ones working above will be stretched and challenged appropriately, and the ones working below will be encouraged to progress at their own pace, noting that it is progress and development that is important, not the end grade.

I also wholeheartedly agree that kindness is far more important than any grade.

That school sounds fab.
What age are we talking?

It's a surprising piece of info, to be stating that x is working at a different year group level. Surely they could put it another way? I.e. Exceeding level expected or something?

So many people push their kids and are extremely upset that their child is working below Government expectations. These expectations have meant that what would have been expected in Year Six is now Expected level for Year Four in some areas! School is so much more than number. Our Head wrote this in a letter to Year Six with their SATs results. It's a lovely thing to say and it also makes people less likely to Mummy Boast about their high achiever next to the Mum who's celebrating that their kid learnt to read or count backwards this year.

Lovely school, I'd want my child at a school like that.

That head teacher has hit the nail on the head - it's about more than ticking boxes.

It's an attempt to shift the emphasis away from the failure of teaching staff to get kids to the minimum level for their age, to the failure of the child to be smart enough to understand

Not lovely at all

It's an attempt to shift the emphasis away from the failure of teaching staff to get kids to the minimum level for their age

Really? Age related expectations are a guideline only, children learn at different rates. It is a ridiculous system to say all children will get to this level at age whatever. Totally unrealistic and set by people who have no clue about teaching.

Fuckwit2 - of course you are right, better teaching would mean every child would be above average

OP - as you will have realised by know YABU and just read the meaning of the remark incorrectly. At this time of year it is even more likely that some kids will be working out with their standard year, especially summer-borns who are statistically more likely to be working at a level below that if their classmates who are nearly 12m older than them.

My dd struggled at primary school due to dyslexia/dyspraxia and dyscalculia....she got mainly 4's in her yr 6 SATS while her peers were all getting 5's....at her first high school SENCO told her she'd be lucky to get a few GCSEs
Fast forward 12 years and she passed 4 A levels, got MA from a Scottish Ancient University, finished MSc from top RG uni and off to teach English in China.....many of her peers from primary school who did SO well , did not go into higher education ....

Sounds like a lovely non pushy school to me. YABU

Yes! It's lovely the head says that as regardless to whether they want to they do see them as numbers and letters because of the immense amount of pressure on them.

TBH I think it's lovely. I read it as YOUR grades are important, not your friends, or classmates, YOURS. As long as you are learning, working hard and trying your best, that's fine and who you are is more important.

you do know averge means people will be below it right? otherwise it wont be averge right?

It's a pretty standard sentiment from headteachers in these increasingly bonkers times of SATs and such.

They are just numbers and letters. They don't reflect work ethic, personality, compassion, or any other positive characteristic that we should hope to be known for.

OP grades, numbers or letters don't mean a damn thing when you have a child who is unhappy and unable to cope with the pressure. I think what that Head wrote was brilliant, and very refreshing.

You don't know how lucky you (and your child) are.

I read that completely differently to everyone else...

I thought it meant that John who would usually be in year 7A but is working below year 7 level will actually be 6A (the different number to everyone else) whereas Susan is 8A as she is rather clever. So their class label has changed i.e. publically announcing their success or failure to everyone?!

In a recent report, the U.K comes top of the league for pressurising children in education. Stress and eating disorders up 236% in ten years. What an achievement. We need more parents, teachers and heads like this one to call it out and reacquaint this fucked up system with what really matters. Manners, kindness, trying your best, being a decent person. Well said, whoever you are.

The idea that everyone has different areas of strength and therefore they will better at doing things in line with their abilities is very true IMO (Thansks Albert). But the reality of life is that some strengths, skills and abilities are valued more than others. Life would be easy if we all just played to our strengths. But how many professional artists, dancers, actors does a society need. Some people are just blessed that they are better at the things that society values. That's the rules of the game and we either play by them or opt out (as some do). How many people are that Elephant who has overcome their natural disadvantage and climbed the tree better than the monkeys?

Your not a name your a number? Is there anything in schools today their not quantifying?

We need electricians, carpenters, plumbers, mechanics and so on. Not every child will do well in school, but may be exceptionally gifted in a different area. And, once they are out in the real world, working, no one will ask what their grades were anyway.

they work this way in my daughters school if you are (5) being the top preforming able student's down to ( 1) lower abilty needing a lot of support 1/5 -1/1

YABU

YABU

End of.