..to think that the school is wrong about study leave?

[gov]

I have twins doing GCSEs starting on the 14th May. I fully expected them to go onto study leave next Friday, and only be required in school when they have exams (as was the case with their older brother) but it turns out that they are expected to be in school every day, and in lessons if they are not in exams right until half term starting Friday 25th. DS has 14 exams in these 2 weeks - and he needs peace & quiet between the exams to prep for the next ones (DD less exams, and probably better prepared). AIBU thinking that the school is wrong to not give them study leave? What are other schools doing? Two other local schools that I have heard of - one starts study leave today, one next Friday.

I'm thinking that our school is doing it to keep their attendance stats higher - and that it isn't in the kids best interest.

We did lessons right up until we'd had the exam for that subject and it really helped with revision as we'd completed the syllabus so would do practice papers and exam preparation. My results were pretty good and I was a lazy 16 year old!

Of course I cannot ask that every aspect of school policy is individually tailored to my child. However, i absolutely trust that the policy will be a reasoned one, based on the collective benefit to the cohort as a whole - and therefore i support it

Yep

(I should of course add the caveat that, if my child had known special needs, I would expect reasonable adjustments to the school's policy to be made for them - but I would not expect e.g. 240 individual sets of adjustments to be made to tailor school provision to every single child. I would expect a small number of individual adjustments to be made, based on unique circumstances - so for example a child in hospital having cancer treatment would not be required to attend school during the revision period - and for a general policy to be applied to the remainder, based on the collective benefit to the cohort as a whole)

It's a school by school, not a sector by sector decision, based on what they feel would enable most of their student body to do best

Just because you know of a grammar school that doesn't have study leave it doesn't mean that they aren't more likely to vs. a comprehensive given the arguments for no study leave. A high proportion of the children will be self motivated and will certainly have parents who are interested in their eduction and therefore more able to work at home.

A high proportion of the children will be self motivated

Why? IME, a very high proportion of grammar school children are solely extrinsically motivated, often by highly pushy parents?

I would agree that a lower proportion of grammar school children come from deprived homes without space to study, or are in temporary accommodation, or are refugees, or are from families who cannot affrd computers, pencils, paper or other study aids.

However, saying that a grammar school makes better decisions than comprehensives on study leave because it has purposely engineered its intake to avoid children from deprived backgrounds is surely not something to boast about or recommend...

I don't think that people are asked to pick and mix. Just for the school to give study leave between exams to those that want it if those children are likely to work at home. Considering that many schools seem to do this, I don't see how the argument that this isn't possible is not convincing.

Most schools in my experience do one or the other not both

I onky have local experience obviously but either you are all on study leave or you are all still in school

However, saying that a grammar school makes better decisions than comprehensives on study leave because it has purposely engineered its intake to avoid children from deprived backgrounds is surely not something to boast about or recommend...

I'm not saying that they make better decisions for all children. I am saying that they make better decisions for those that are self motivated and able to work at home.
Your argument that they "purposely engineer intake to avoid children from deprived backgrounds" is quite ignorant. It is unfortunate that being able to afford tuition increases the chances of getting in but the schools themselves don't want children to have been tutored and they try to "tutor proof" the tests as much as possible. Certainly, in my area they have done a lot to increase intake from PP children.

Why? IME, a very high proportion of grammar school children are solely extrinsically motivated, often by highly pushy parents?

What is your experience?

Dungeondragon15
I used to hold that view as a teacher but my views have since changed.

Child A wants to study at home, they are the type who will do 12 hours of revision a day and are obsessed with doing well. They are very bright and well motivated. The down side is they place a huge amount of pressure on themselves and seem to equate hours revising with hard work. The reality is that their revision techniques, whikst making them feel better, aren't effective. Child A asks for study leave at home and has it granted becaude they are a hard working child. The lack of staff guidance means child A is burning themselves out for limited gain.

Child B doesn't really like school and home haven't been terribly supportive over the years. Child B wants study leave and home agree. Child B then spends their days doing not a lot because home weren't bothered bh homework and phonecalls home for the last few years so why would they chase revision?

Child C seems to be the model student. They are from a nice middle class family who are well presented and come across well. Child Cs grades are good and they do lots of extra curricular. They've stopped attending as many clubs abd staff have put that down to exams. Child C gets study leave granted. The thing is that the reason child C is dropping clubs is because they're picking up caring responsibilities at home beyond that of a 15 year old. Parents want child C at home more to help out. Does child C ge

(Accidentally hit post when scrolling)

Does child C get the study time they need? No.

Child D has a background with a number of issues. It's been a rocky road and they are known to school. Home have turned it around and are desperate for D to do well. School have a request to allow D to have study leave. They are unsure if D will thrive at home sk make the call not to because of their view of their home life.

Child D actually was in a better position to benefit than C, but C would probably get it granted.

A system of some of you can and some of you can't essentially becomes a value judgemebt based on a limited picture of a child's home life. The people who say 'let them if they seem good etc' only say it knowing their child will get what they want. There's no big picture.

I hadn't realised that study leave had remained commonplace until so recently. Y11s have been kept in school for guided revision throughout my county for many years. I can't remember teaching in schools that did traditional study leave.

Personally, I enjoyed the chance to get stuck in and revise at home and used a large range of revision techniques. Pink post-its all over my walls containing physics formulae, and recording French on to cassette and listening back on my walkman at bedtime I kept up with my extra curricular activities too as I valued the importance of a break and some exercise. I definitely did more without the distraction of my mates, travelling to and from school and the structure of the school day.

While I think staying in school would have been a disadvantage to me and I may not have got some unforseen, great exam grades with that system as I wouldn't have had so much time and freedom to go into depth where I needed it, staying in school does give a broader opportunity for pretty much everyone to get something out of it. For some, they do get a last minute wake-up call and can do a lot of catching up which would be harder at home on inadequate resources.

It does have logistical difficulties, planning revision sessions to a variable cohort who attend and miss various sessions due to their exam timetable at the end. Self-study after the majority of the exams gets disorganised. Not all students reliably make sure they have appropriate resources with them and they can be a PITA when visiting the necessary department to be bailed out.

I don't like the way our education system as a whole is so heavily focused on results to the detriment of independent learning, but staying in school to revise has a broad benefit to the majority.

OP I have come across this thread late. I have skim read and only properly read your posts but I wanted to share my experience.

I have been teaching for 12 years in secondary school. When I first started we had proper study leave, they would leave somewhere around now and only come in for their exams. The problem for the school was as follows
a) some students didn't turn up for exams. In some subjects this was worse than others and counted against the subject on their overall results. if a student expects to fail or do very badly they may see it as not worth bothering with, also some just forget. Remember also the school is graded on how many 9-1 grades they achieve.
b) Students that might be between grades (this particularly matters when they are D/C 3/4 ) often dropped a grade compared with how they were doing in the lead up, suggesting that their revision method was poor or they weren't revising.

I have always been against this system for the majority because the truth is that apart from the worst areas and schools in the country most schools have a majority of students who revise. I would say somewhere around 60-80% would revise at home and we have changed the rules to cater for the minority. Also as you have said the higher ability miss out on an opportunity to revise what they need to revise and are forced to do the topic the teacher tells them to .As a student this would have been less effective for me and I think my grades would have been lower had this been the case when I was at school. I strongly believe this will prevent the hardworking students from revising well and will force them to revise additionally therefore believe this will create additional stress for the most hardworking.

Conversely I believe that those students the system is trying to help will actually convince themselves they have revised because they have been at school so they won't do any additional revision at the evenings and weekends. I have also found that some of the students the system is set up for don't work any harder than they would have at home. iIt's the hardworking ones who work hard!!!

I do acknowledge that there are some students who live in circumstances that mean they can't revise very easily at home and totally agree with making school available to them. It's making it compulsory that I don't agree with

A few years ago a big report (don't ask me to name it) suggested that students are leaving school less equipped to deal with situations in a functional and independent way. As teachers we were asked to try and find ways to develop more independent learners. Our response was to get rid of study leave!?! Anecdotally I have seen no improvement in grades or attitudes to learning.

If you want your daughter to revise at home my advice (I doubt it will be popular) would be to let her. I suppose in theory the school could fine you though.

I know this is a very long response but just wanted to add that this has nothing to do with class. Plenty of working class children are able and plenty of working class children are hardworking. There are also loads of working class families who support their children in their revision. It is often middle class families who expect the school to offer more and more revision and after school sessions etc.

MaisyPops so child A, B, C, and D won't benefit but what about child E,F,G,H,I, and every other letter of the alphabet. Many many children do find it easier to revise at home away from noise and distractions and being able to organise their own revision timetable. I know I, DH and my children did and I don't think we are unusual. The fact that you are a teacher does not convince me that you know best because your belief that there should be no study leave is clearly not universal -many schools including my children's school still have it.

Fruitcorner123 Great post!

Thank you Fruitcorner.

Dungeondragon15
I'm explaining how and why my view has changed. Going for 'parents request and school decide if they grant it' doesn't seem right to me becauae child D would probably have benefited from study leave but probably wouldn't get it. It's all judgements and ranking students and the only people who seem to like ranking students are those who end up on the better end.

Extended study leave hasn't been common for years. I liked having full study leave as a student. I worked hard and used it properly (bright working class child in a state comprehensive). Was study leave used effectively by the majority? No.

Do I like the fact that GCSEs havebecome such high stakes that there's intervention within an inch of some students' lives? No. Does the high stakes element play a role in changes to study leave? Yes.

As I said earlier in the thread, I quite like how lots of schools in my region work because students are in school til May half term (different amounts of flexibility but most are not attending normal lessons) and then from half term they only come in for exams. It's a good half way arrangement.

No system is perfect for everyone. Schools have to make the best decision for their situation and cohorts.

I remember how much studying I did on study leave none. I'd have been better off in school!

As I said, I have academic motivated children. Study leave/no study leave makes no difference to them. That means that rhey should not figure in the school's decision making process. That should be driven by what will get the best results for the less academic and motivated. And I honestly don't want teachers wasting time deciding whether John or Jane should have study leave or stay in school.

Mind you, I would not be happy if the school could not provide a reasonable atmosphere for revision. If the library is noisy-tackle that. Don't airlift out the chosen few.

I was far too immature for study leave, I spent all my time sunbathing in the village, if I'd been in school and revising in class I could have been a straight A student!

Most schools round here have stopped study leave totally, students still go into school for study periods instead. Nothing to do with attendance, it’s been shown that the majority of students do better with revision/in their exams if study time is done in school, they remain much more motivated.

I'm explaining how and why my view has changed. Going for 'parents request and school decide if they grant it' doesn't seem right to me becauae child D would probably have benefited from study leave but probably wouldn't get it. It's all judgements and ranking students and the only people who seem to like ranking students are those who end up on the better end.

You say that you can't do that because of child D but at the same time are happy to make all children come in regardless of whether or not they would benefit more from being able to revise at home between exams.

At DD's school they just go on mock results and presumably other results with regard to revision lessons (these happen before half term). They don't involve parents in the decision. I don't see why other schools can't do that for all study leave as it certainly works in DDs' school. If you are saying it isn't possible or sensible at comprehensives then as I say, I'm glad my children didn't go to one.

"as I say, I'm glad my children didn't go to one."

Yes- some people do like to keep their children away from the hoi polloi.....

As I said earlier in the thread, I quite like how lots of schools in my region work because students are in school til May half term (different amounts of flexibility but most are not attending normal lessons) and then from half term they only come in for exams. It's a good half way arrangement.

I don't call that halfway management. I call it allowing study leave after half term. The only difference between the schools in your area and DDs' school is that in the couple of weeks before half term only those who are deemed to need revision lessons have to go in for the lessons and it is based on whether the teachers feel they would benefit from the lesson. The rest can choose. Parents aren't involved in the decision.

Bizarre that you are arguing that study leave is not a good thing but at the same time state that you like the system of schools in your area of allowing study leave.