Year 11s shouldn’t have finished school early

[solarlights]

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jun/03/schools-should-not-send-exam-year-pupils-home-early-says-ofsted-head

My DD went on exam leave on April 31st only attending school for the exams that were supposedly cancelled —but not—
They finished completely on 24th May despite missing months and months of school over their GCSE course, so what’s all this about? Our year 11s have been totally let down.

@GreenTeaPingPong

Thanks OP, I posted about this a while ago (and also complained to my DC's school about it). For decades teachers have been complaining that teaching shouldn't all be about exams. And now they're all saying, the assessments are over, what do you expect us to teach them? What about, mornings doing non-exam aspects of your specialist subjects, ask the students what they'd like to learn about, life skills, relationships, social skills, mental wellbeing, enrichment areas... Then in the afternoons, PE / outdoor activities / games? It's not rocket science is it? But no, schools just chuck them out 5/6 weeks before the normal Y11 leaving date of last Friday in June, tara, enjoy your 3 months of sitting in your bedroom while your parents are at work, never mind that you've spent a large part of the last 12 months in your bedroom in front of a computer. They don't give a shit, as long as the teachers get their free lessons in the last half term like they usually do. I don't blame individual teachers, I do blame the heads, governors and LEA that allowed this.

Why don't you find something engaging for your child to do? Maybe try getting them a job. There really are jobs out there. Stop moaning about schools. You are making yourself seem rather silly.

Fucking hell, relationships , social skills and mental health wellbeing 🤣🤣🤣

As well as them having to teach other years and do all the extra marking they've had do this year?

Maybe you could do all that stuff? They're your bloody kids

@EveryFlightBeginsWithAFall

Fucking hell, relationships , social skills and mental health wellbeing 🤣🤣🤣

As well as them having to teach other years and do all the extra marking they've had do this year?

Maybe you could do all that stuff? They're your bloody kids

YES! We are teachers of our subjects. Parent your own children - I imagine those who have the energy for mumsnet discussions are not the parents we worry about as staff.

@squiglet111

I saw that article and thought, well it's a bit late now!!! Schools have been working hard to do what's right, maybe a bit of guidance before the event would have helped!

My school set 3 assessments for year 13s and 2 assessments for year 11s over the course of 5 weeks! That's a lot of marking to be completed as well as year 12 and 10 assessments straight after.... Need 11s and 13s gone to get it all marked so doesn't work them still being around. This year is worse than other years as teachers are doing all the marking for this. Ofsted can't expect 11s and 13s to still be in when schools are doing the work of exam boards this year.

Hood point about teachers doing the work of exam boards.

Now only if we had an education minister who could have come up with either a scheme to get assessments marked as exam boards are still getting paid or refunding the money to schools for doing the exam boards job to be used to buy in activities for the year 11's .......: 🤔

At least this year's year 11s knew that their marks/assessments mattered. They probably got a proper end to their year. Last years year 11s didn't realise how important their mocks would be. They had none of the rights of passage like NCS to actually do something useful with their extended break.

Some scary misconceptions on this thread. I'm a Head of English; last half term nearly broke me. My department moved mountains for Year 11. I can't get over the absolute derision for teachers coming from some of you.

On the subject of the 'free time' we get when Year 11 leave, it's gained time that enables us to prepare effectively for next year. We use it to arrange the class groups and the timetables, to revisit Schemes of Learning to make them more effective. It's desperately needed. You know, so we can teach your younger children properly.

@IHeartKingThistle

Some scary misconceptions on this thread. I'm a Head of English; last half term nearly broke me. My department moved mountains for Year 11. I can't get over the absolute derision for teachers coming from some of you.

On the subject of the 'free time' we get when Year 11 leave, it's gained time that enables us to prepare effectively for next year. We use it to arrange the class groups and the timetables, to revisit Schemes of Learning to make them more effective. It's desperately needed. You know, so we can teach your younger children properly.

Me too - HOD English. Every other part of my job has been sidelined in the past 6 weeks. Anything that could be pushed back, has been, and the behaviour at school seems to be getting worse by the minute.

I am also using gain time to put together small group intervention for years 10 and 12. That I will be planning and teaching myself. You know - the address the gaps caused by the past 2 years.

@IHeartKingThistle there is no misconception on my part. I know teachers have worked hard. But I also know my 16 year old DD will struggle this summer. She has missed so much school and she needs the social time and the structure. The teens that I will inherit in September at my FE college to resit their GCSEs - most of them will struggle a whole lot more. Ofsted are making noise but the issue is valid. Also @Viciouslybashed I suggest you try applying for a job right now with a 16 year olds CV before you call anyone silly.

@Foosterin I get it. I think what's happened to these kids this year is heartbreaking. I don't think we're talking at cross-purposes here.

@Foosterin What would she have done in a normal year? Exams end around 20th June. For many it's not much of an extra "break".

The social stuff can still take place out of school. The structure is hard to replicate but make a plan with your dd. Make her get up, do some exercise, some sort of house jobs, craft/hobby activities, see friends. It doesn't have to be a summer sat in her room. I don't know where you live but plenty of places in hospitality are desperate for short term summer workers.

Do you really think there are huge numbers of students who would choose to be in school?

We will have resitting students in sixth form in September. The worst part is we know now who they are yet can't tell them. Nor are they the sort of students that would engage in anything from now to September.

It is not a normal year...

@DinkyDaisy I think we all know that. But if your issue is a year 11 student who has no plans or structure for the summer break, that would be the same in a normal year.

No, it's not a normal year, but it can't be up to schools to solve everything relating to young people in a pandemic.

Mental health support, free school meals during lockdown, keyworker and vulnerable provision, setting, marking and grading exams, and now giving Y11 something to do once their exams are finished above the normal bridging work?

We can't do it all. We don't have the resources, the funding, the staffing or the time.

Well both my older teens have managed to find jobs so I am sure there are some. I know it's not ideal for some but fact is that school usually finishes at this time for exam year groups. They are allowed to meet up and see their friends now aren't they. Why should teens that are perfectly old enough to entertain themselves have to be in school because of the pandemic. What would you have them bloody well do at school. My oldest has finished a levels and is so pleased to not be being tested anymore he has been asked to be available for 2 weeks. After that he has plans to work as many hours and save as much before heading off to uni.

For all the talk of mental health and well being, very few on the thread seem to give a stuff about the mental health and wellbeing of the teachers.

It's normal for year 11's to finish around the end of May, pupils going in to sixth form usually go back for induction during July. Don't forget they normally have had the pressure of GCSE exams. Pupils going in to sixth form usually have some bridging work set for each subject. Kids have been treated terribly during the pandemic, have missed out on so much, let them enjoy the freedom over the next 13 weeks.

I also wonder what those saying that yr 11 should still be in school, think that those starting apprenticeships should do.

We have quite a few that started theirs as soon as they left school.

And yes that is with all the appropriate paper work signed off.

Schools can't be the answer to all the bored teen problems. The teachers at my kids school have worked so hard and will continue to be in school teaching every day. I will make sure my teens are doing something constructive everyday why can't other parents do the same?

@FrippEnos

For all the talk of mental health and well being, very few on the thread seem to give a stuff about the mental health and wellbeing of the teachers.

Absolutely.

As with all of education 'strategy' (!) recently there is no consistency. So, some year 11s finished now, some staying on to end of June etc in some capacity. Whoevers 'fault' it is, it is the pupils that are getting different experiences depending what school they are at. Always the case maybe but this covid year just extra layer of advantage/ disadvantage/ whatever...for pupils.

OP it's not the teachers or schools fault your DD has nothing to do for a few months. Why don't you as her parent find ways to occupy her time and keep her mental health in tact instead of expecting others to do it for you?

Find something she can volunteer at maybe? Our local vaccine hubs are crying out for volunteers aged 16+ is there anything like that she can do?

No one is disputing that these kids have had a tough ride, but do you know what, so has every bugger else! I doubt its been all sunshine and rainbows for anyone , it's been shit, and continues to be shit for all us, unfortunately your DD unique in this situation.

Actually reread op. April 31st last proper day? Just turning up for tests? Does sound pretty crap.

Well,, yes, except it sounds, therefore, like the OP's school gave the kids some study leave while they were doing assessments, unlike most schools where the kids had to attend normal lessons, and do assessments with none of the normal study leave.

Our year 11s left at half term and will come back for a week's induction which is 3 days longer than normal (and 4 more hour long sessions per subject for teachers to plan and provide) although in fact lots have said they won't attend the full week so that will cause disruption... They had to go then because :-

a) we have a rollover timetable so no real gained time for a lot of teachers and certainly no capacity to bring year 11 back. To get year 11s back we would have to jettison that and the year 10 and 12 exams
b) no one seems to have mentioned the workload to submit grades to the boards by June 17th. Ofqual chose this date, not schools. Extensive time is required to do this but I am sure some posters think this should be done after school every day perhaps? If Ofqual had set the date later, kids might have had later assessments, more in line with usual GCSES and left later/had study leave. But they didn't because their only concern ever seems to have been the workload of exam boards.

I didn't finish my spec for my subject, by the way. It will make not one jot of difference to A Level for the 5 kids pursuing it. And I don't see why they, or more importantly the rest, should be arbitrarily dragged through stuff just because. I do lament the extrinsic reward exam culture but we are where we are and it is often parents who focus on 'the pint' of doing anything.
Amanda Spielman also said she thought year 13 shouldn't leave.

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

They (year 11s) have had half a term’s worth of assessments but were told what to revise for each paper. I’m an English teacher so my group had their set texts with them as opposed to closed books of previous years

This is ridiculous and certainly not the case at my dds school. She had to learn the entire content for all subjects and her exams were in exactly the same format as normal GCSEs. She had no idea what she was going to be tested on and English was closed book as usual. Are your students not going to get a load of inflated grades? And not be remotely prepared for A’levels?

the point