To think this head teacher is off her rocker

[Atlantisen]

This was the newsletter. Inspiring? Or utter bollocks??

*"...All too often schools accept a gap between some students and other students. We can fall into a trap that comes to accept or simply gets used to some children dressing differently, missing more days of school, speaking to adults or one another incorrectly, being a few minutes late to everything, carelessly presenting their work, not completing homework, not giving 100% in their lessons, not reading any books for pleasure, not joining clubs at school, never seeking to play for a school team, never appearing in a school performance or never attending a revision booster.

Labelling such behaviours or choices is pointless or indeed stigmatising those students who display some or all of these characteristics. At CNS we have to regard these as symptoms of an underlying lack of ambition, expectation or aspiration. Whilst we have to be unrelenting in our demand for all students to be their best self, we also need to get to the very heart of why some students are more engaged than others – seeking to rekindle the fire within and not beneath.

Creating a school that expects and demands high expectations in all things of all students is a continuous quest and one that we shall be emphasising at all times. ..."*

I love it.

I just don't like the attitude of "turn up if you feel like it, wear what you want, try to behave but if you can't that's fine, homework is optional, don't do any revision". Low standards, low achievement, children ruling the roost and disrespecting staff who are trying to be their friends rather than teachers.

It's not about running a boot camp turning out an army of clones and locking SEN children in the cupboard where they can't cause trouble. It;s about laying down basic expectations that you try your best at all times. "Best" doesn't have to mean a string of A level passes, it's different for every child.

As JaffaCake points out there are lots of parents out there who simply do not give a shit about school, and lots of children with the same viewpoint.

who seriously underestimate the amount of crappy parents who just don't see school as relevant or important.

As with many messages, the people who it is targeting won't read it.
It's unlikely that the parent who kept their year4 child off school so he could play the Fortnite update is going to sit and read that HT message and suddenly change.

I agree piper.
It's bloody hard work working in a school with that culture too.

Parents' evenings - well I did alright without GCSEs so I'm not too bothered as long as they do their best (but their not best is writing 4 lines, talking yo their mate about who they're going to shag at the weekend and debating whether the girl who is 6 months pregnant in the year is or isn't a slag).
Behaviour incident - assaulted a member is staff but mum decides the member of staff asked for it because they should understand Timmy doesn't take well to being told what to do (in this case to not he verbally abusive to students in the class)

Some colleagues - We're watching a film that's not really related because it keeps them quiet. I'm drowning in marking (so help them if they worked at a school where kids produced in a week what their students did in a half term). No I'm not going to tell X to get off their phone because I can't be bothered dealing with it. I'll have them make a comic strip of key extracts because although they have to sit a controlled assessment, I can't be bothered trying to make them write.

SLT- Well we have a difficult intake so the solution is for the head to hide in his office, have a pastoral team at their max and then if the rest of you could just be positive and plan engaging lessons then that'll sort behaviour out. Ofsted disagreed. We got special measures overall.

Change of leadership (and change of a handful of staff who found the shift from being mates who negotiate to teachers with authority in their classroom difficult) a focus on its not negotiable to be polite and refrain from verbal abuse etc and we actually started managing to get some half decent outcomes for kids.

Sure some on here would say that was terrible of us and we should have decided that because of the catchment those kids couldn't possibly achieve anything beyond a mix of Ds and Es on a good day.

a school that expects ,... and demands high expectations

Not only off her rocker, but showing that she's got no idea what tautology is.

I'd expect an HT to be able to communicate clearly and succinctly, so she's failed my test. It reads like she's swallowed the manual on bollocky management speak and washed it down with a pint of faux inspirational guff.

And I totally disagree with a lot of it. Why should a child join school clubs or try and get on a sports team, ffs? They might be a child with a rich inner life who just prefers to do their own stuff, or bloody hates the idea of running about on some freezing cold pitch. They might have caring responsbilities that prevent them from activities stuff outside of core school hours, or (like me) be so woefully lacking in spatial awareness and hand-eye co-ordination that they wouldn't get a team place even if they were at a school for the visually impaired.

I was an argumentative, politically minded little brat who only really liked reading books and writing stories. My school dealt with this (very effectively) by steering me towards drama, the debating society and the school magazine.

Creating a climate where kids who are different are expected to conform to some sort of ideal is asking for a load of pissed-off school-haters imo.

I think it's poorly worded but the sentiment is right - teachers should have high expectations of all pupils; it makes my blood boil when people say 'oh, X won't be able to do that' and don't give X the chance to even try.

Why wouldn't children with SEN be able to join teams or join revision sessions or be in a play?

Because it often takes everything they have just to get through the day. A school day is physically and mentally taxing for those with SEN.

Also what about those who are Young carers? They are often needed to go straight home.

There are also kids who may do external activities such as sports or other clubs which clash with school clubs.

They are just 3 reasons out of many. Saying the only reason kids don't join in with whatever extra curricular events the school puts on (which in my experience are often limited to sports) is lack of ambition is utter bullshit.

I wouldn't send my kids to a school with this belief. You can't force kids to fit your narrow
minded box.

@MaisyPops

But your not talking at all about what's in this article.

Your talking about a wholesale shift in attitude by staff from head teacher down. Not surprising it has an impact.

Thats not at all what is talked about in the original HT address

I work with children in schools as an external provider.
I am told time and time again that some children won’t be taking part for whatever reason (either school or parental decision) and yet I can see that they are able, keen and would benefit from it.

It’s frustrating

Look at private schools- their sports teams, music appreciation, debating teams, dance and art opportunities.... why are private school educated adults so successful?? Because they have this exposure and their self confidence, skills and achievements are obvious.

Nothing to do with private schools being far better resourced then!

All schools should have the means to offer children those opportunities.

Your talking about a wholesale shift in attitude by staff from head teacher down.
Not surprising it has an impact.
Because the head decided they weren't going to accept mass lateness each morning.
The head decided they weren't going to accept children being verbally abusive to staff or peers.
The head decided that the school cukture was going to be consistent and firmly push the idea of aspirations (to try and break the wall we'd had for years of 'but DC doesn't need their GCSEs/ I did alright without working at school')
The head decided that he wasn't going to entertain parents who would excuse disruptive and abusive behaviour.

It was very much a case of trying to turn a school around in a community full of apathy, chips on their shoulders about school, where parents were too willing to tell their child rules didn't apply to them.

That's my point. The change had to come from the head. The head sets the agenda in a school. That's what the head is doing in the OP.

Goldmandra It is sadly common. We also chose not to send our kids to a school like that regardless of not needing SEN provision. I won't entertain sending my children into an environment where they try to actively erase anyone with SEN.

I took it to mean that give every child the opportunity and support to be the best version of themselves
and don't write off a child because they are from a certain background, have certain challenges (incl. SEN) etc

noworklifebalance
Me too.
It seems wanting high expectations and for children to access a well rounded education is somehow the most shocking thing on earth these days.

Then again I had a different view before I went to work in a struggling school. It's very easy to sit in judgement from the outside in. Seeing the implications of low aspirations and low expectations in front of you gives a different perspective.

Nothing to do with private schools being far better resourced then!

No, I don't think that does have much to do with it. It's much more to do with the fact that by default, if you're the sort of parent who is prepared to fork out for their child's education, you're the sort of parent who will encourage a child to be engaged and achieve.

That's not to say parents in the state sector aren't engaged, before anyone leaps down my throat. My kids are all in state school and their secondary has a really good reputation. It has strict dress and behaviour codes. Lots of extra curricular stuff going on which children are encouraged to get involved in to make them more rounded and give extra experiences. But also very good pastoral care and support for children with additional support needs. But overall the ethos of the school is "do your best" - can't believe posters have a problem with that.

I have SEN. As a child I found school absolutely exhausting, missed plenty of days, and really disliked being there. I also had a fairly difficult home situation and (rightly, under the circumstances) placed the needs of my family above school. I often missed homework. I flat-out refused to join extra-curricular clubs or extra sessions despite a school policy that everyone should participate in them because it was so difficult for me to even get through the regular school day.

If my headteacher had sent out a message like this I'd have interpreted it as 'people like you are not welcome here unless you conform.' I think I was left to get on with things because I was a high achiever academically despite everything else. This was 15+ years ago - I probably wouldn't be so lucky if I was at school today!

Why does every child need to be 'engaged' with every possible aspect of school? Surely it's enough to show up, be polite, do your work in class and go home when the compulsory lessons finish. All children should have the opportunity to be in sports teams, join clubs or whatever if they choose to, so it's important for schools to offer these options. But for plenty of children school isn't the centre of their lives - or even a place they like being, and that won't change by telling them that they should try harder and spend more time there.

Look at private schools- their sports teams, music appreciation, debating teams, dance and art opportunities.... why are private school educated adults so successful?? Because they have this exposure and their self confidence, skills and achievements are obvious.

The private schools that operate on this basis will take perhaps the top 10% of kids. Then then hot house them to exhaustion or success. Anyone who doesn't/cant keep up will naturally leave, be expelled or managed out.

I know at least two kids with ASD managed out at NURSERY level. Patents told that the school is not appropriate for their child.

Private schools are "so successful" because they only teach an incredibly small genetically capable proportion of the population.

What utter nonsense. In actual fact private schools across the board cater for a very, very wide ability range.

Sure, the most academic schools have their pick of the most intelligent, but there are many good private schools that specialise in less or non academic kids.

They have more focus on art, drama, sport, music, cultural activities etc, they’re very good at turning out confident, well rounded children without necessarily a high level of academic ability.

Re private schools - we are fortunate in that we have the option to pay for our children’s education but we don’t because there are no suitable schools. For example, my husband’s alma mater said that they “have a SEN list” and basically it turned out that any child who got below 75% average in their exams, got put on it!

So my children are all at state schools with support.

MaryJenson yet I can see that they are able, keen and would benefit from it.

Wow, on the basis of the snapshot you see, you think you know more than the parents? How arrogant!!!

Call it what you like. I certainly know more about what I do than the parents and through extensive training and many years of experience I can tell if a specific child would benefit from it, or not.

Of course they do!

To get in your parents have to have a certain amount of disposable income in the first place!! That only happens if you have capable parents or wealthy parents. They are selecting before you even step through the door!!!

There are plenty of intelligent parents with less academic children, and there are plenty of not massively academic parents with who are successful in life nonetheless. There are also parents with inherited wealth who are not clever at all, just lucky.

So many excuses on this thread.

Yes, there is an element of " you need to conform at school". And by conforming, it means being polite and kind to everyone, respectful of the work teachers ask you to do, and respectful of the effort that others are putting in to help your child get ahead, and recognising that school is important so your children need to turn up on time and fed and dressed appropriately. These are not big asks. This is not about SEN kids. This is not about managing out kids who don't fit. THis is about giving those kids who come from families with no aspirations, with parents who at best don't give two hoots about school or at worst are openly hostile to school, the best chance they can to get ahead in spite of the barriers they have at home, and an attempt to engage with parents and remind them why school is important. To the poster who said that the target audience won't read it - so the HT should just not bother?

For most kids, being made to do something they don't like at school is not the worst thing that will happen to them. The worst thing that can happen to them is that their school doesn't challenge them, puts up with crap aspirations and just accepts that those kids are going to just mooch along in life, and never have to do anything that even remotely challenges them or they just plain don't feel like doing. Which may or may not work out for them, but either way they'll stand no chance of exercising their potential.

There are also plenty of private school parents who are not wealthy but scrimp and save and go without to afford private school fees.