What matters most to you about schools? Views needed for a conference on Saturday Nov 27th.

[carriemumsnet]

We've been invited to take part in a TUC conference aimed at everyone involved in schools ? parents, teachers, headteachers, governors, unions and local authorities. We're there to give the parents' perspective on what matters most to parents about schools.

It would be great to represent as many views/parents as possible so do please add your thoughts here before Saturday and we'll try to pass on as many of them as possible.

Thanks

MNHQ

I would like...

Smaller secondary schools.

Funded access to musical instrument lessons (not whole class lessons), more inclusion of classical music/singing generally.

Smaller secondary schools.

Compulsory second language (practical conversation type)

Smaller secondary schools.

Greater authority/respect for teachers.

Smaller secondary schools.

Parents to be made aware/realise the importance of education.

Lots of sport - competative.

That they remain free.

That academies are scrapped.

That teachers be allowed to teach the same syllabus for more than two years so that they can become (shock! horror!) good at it.

That they are not results driven; I want a happy, well-rounded child, not an exam-passing automaton. So what if he doesn't reach his potential at 16? Life doesn't begin/end with academic qualifications.

1. A sense of community - (I love the little things, like my Yr 1 dd being sent to show good work to her old reception teacher, or my reception dd and a small delegation being sent to the head teacher s office to show him their penguin puppets - just regular little moments of sharing and taking pride)
2. Creative teaching and regular assessment by class teacher, not external unnecessary assessment. If there is a spelling test every monday, why don't the kids ever know how they did, I think it would help them to know whether they are mostly getting them right or wrong. And me, then I could put some more effort into homework.
3. High expectations of behaviour and high standards re: dress/litter/attendance etc
4. I would prefer lunch staff not to encourage children to eat everything on their plate (I encourage them to stop when full, my dd1 will eat it just to please them but tends to over-eat a bit), or to put my dd2 off school dinners with the 'encouragement' that she finds very stressful - she has a small appetite but that's ok, she's only four and she's tiny.
5. School sports teams and as much phys ed opportunities as possible.
6. Not to show films and dvd's too frequently at school, and especially not to do this on rainy days and insist that the kids sit still on the hard floor not talking for the whole of playtime its not fair.

that all classes should be run like nursery - planning should be done based on children's interests and needs rather than a perscribed government curriculum, topic based approach rather than segmented areas of learning and that all areas of learning should be equally important not just english and maths - every one has strenths and weaknesses and it doesn't always lie in prescribed areas - we should encourage everyone's talents and skills

ps am a nursery teacher (and a parent of a preschooler) and completely agree about giving a cuddle, don't think i would be doing my job effectively if i didn'[t give a cuddle when a child has fallen over and would be mortified to think my child had bee n left to cry because someone felt it was wrong to offer physical comfort

That teachers respond to requests to meet with parents.

That teachers don't take until after half term to point out a certain aspect of your child's behaviour which would had been discussed at the requested meeting months ago.

That TA's don't talk to family members and close friends of child's parents about said child and talk to the parents instead.

I am a supply teacher-I always pick up a small child who has fallen over and give them a cuddle-the day I get into trouble for it is the day I leave teaching.

And bless you for it.

Safe, friendly and supportive environment where every child feels valued and can develop self-belief.

Teaching which really motivates- lots of real-world learning, trips and visits, cross-curricular links, opportunities for children to make their own decisions and learn about things relevant to them. And teachers not too bogged down in paperwork- they HAVE to be able to enjoy the role in order to teach well.

Skills-based learning which is relevant to the modern world e.g. lots of ICT, ability to recognise bias and selective reporting etc in the media. More on social skills and community including a wide range of moral issues by KS3. An understanding of how to keep healthy, but honestly presented- stop telling children that all fatty foods are bad.

PE sessions which actually involve cardio-vascular activity and not just how to throw and catch, and which motivate children to stay active for life- introduce them to a range of different sports/dance/martial arts etc.

The most important thing to me is that teaching is left to the experts, and we don't pander to the chattering classes.

i want schools to recognise that some pupils are simply not academic, interested in academia, care less about qualifications such as GCSEs.

i want schools to be able to offer some pupils NVQs or the equiv in trades.

whilst 13/14 yos are studying for their gcses, there are some who aren't becuase it doesn't interest them, they do not see the benefit and they don't engage. this is worse when those children do not have a supportive family behind them.

so whilst most children are learning for their future, other children are left - it's either participate in class or don't. there isn't a middle ground.

there are current schemes that allow 14yo's to do a work/college placement once a week.

this doesn't go far enough, there needs to be a qualification parallel to give these kids a fighting chance - so that when most children leave school with GCSEs these other children also leave school with a qualification in a rade that they have been learning since they were 13/14

right now, its a hit and miss approach, partnerships with local colleges - some work with schools - some don't

i would like this to be in the curriculum - an alternative curriculum. not one where a couple of lads get sent off to college aged 14 in a foreign environment. its the kind of scheme that just keeps them occupied and engaged for a short while and is of very little benefit.

two streams parallel, gcse's - or qualification for trades.

i am sure most teachers will agree that there are some kids you just know aren't ever going to succeed in gcse world.

so let them leave school with a good good qualification, not some NVQ1 - aim higher, the GCSE equiv - is that a NVQ3?

its very rambly and repetative, i hope someone reads it!

sprroy what i mean to say with my last post, is that some kids are meandering through school and then sent to learn a trade aged 16 and they have lost 3 years learning in a career path and are already at a disadvantage with their peers who have gcses

i don't know how much of a magic wand you have here, but i would like to see core subjects such as english maths and science gcse taught as a priority. In my view, with more time given to these subjects in the early years in secondary, i truly believe that most children could have a gcse int hese subjects by year by the end of year 8.

WHEN they have the core subjects, it is at this point, when one usually chooses GCSEs that the other subjects could be up for grabs as well as A-level english maths and science.

and whilst you have that wand. i truly believe that if secondary schools implemented the American system of keeping children back a year who don't pass that year. exceptions for SN.

a lot more children would work harder - simply to be kept with their friends, believe it or not, a lot of kids don't attend school for academia in the main - they go because of their peers and social life and connections and boyfriends and girlfriends, gossip, huge knots in ties,how far can i roll up my skirt, can i get away with this lipgloss, how far can i comb over my fringe...

I agree with Brandybutterpie, Granted and Pozzled.
PLus - scrap the boring, spiral, repetitive and uninspiring National Curriculum to allow teacher inspiration and creativity. I'm not saying no guidelines nor am I saying no standards - just more scope for depth and skills relating to how we deal with knowledge, not knowledge acquisition per se - after all, we can access so much information - we need our kids to be able to understand what it means... and what to do with it. The world is changing way beyond any of us parents can possibly imagine - we must let go of what has gone before - our children need new skills, ideas, imagination and empowerment to feel they can make the changes they will inevitably want to see. This takes a leap in education, innovation, courage ... look at the research and listen to the experts, ... please.

If I could choose one thing then I would choose smaller class sizes.

Smaller classes.

No homework before the age of 14. It's so unfair. Some parents do their kids' HW; other kids don't even have a work-top or paper or a quiet corner in the house where they can work.

Longer school days. Last hour of (high)school for organised HW sessions so when the child gets home all work has been done.
Possibly supervised by uni students/play workers and/or rota of teachers who volunteer and get paid extra for doing it.

More sports, music, art and drama (when else in life do you get to do this sort of thing?)

And a lot of the things other people have mentioned.

Can we have them for Christmas?

Community colleges - adults upgrading their skills in the same building as their kids.

Parents welcome in school to help with reading etc.

I want SENCO roles to be full-time positions which are dedicated only to that role. I want SENCOs to have a minimum level of training to Master's standard, which should cover all the common disabilities as well as legal aspects of SEN.

If a child in a school has a particular disability or SN, I want all school staff to receive training in dealing with that, including office staff and grounds staff.

I want teachers to receive compulsory training in SEN, particularly moderate learning difficulties, autism, specific learning difficulties and behavioural disorders.

I want teaching assistants who work with children with SEN to have a minimum level 3 training specifically in that SEN.

I want a fast-track system for assessment for SEN and greater access to educational psychologists.

I want better playground facilities in both primary schools and secondary schools, including adventure playgrounds.

I want better communication between teachers and parents, including use of email and more information to be made available on school websites, including all school policies.

I want all schools to support social skills and systems such as Circle of Friends and Buddy systems.

I want all schools to have a SEN unit available so that all parents with a child with SEN have the option of attending their local school and still get adequate support.

I want life skills to be taught as a central part of the curriculum, including shopping, cooking, financial planning, running a household, basic DIY skills and legal rights.

I want a maximum ceiling set for school uniforms and trips so that parents aren't put off applying to a school because of those costs.

I want all schools to have a minimum area of green space available for children to use.

I want schools to have greater levels of support for children with behavioural problems and fast-track support to agencies like CAMHS and educational psychologists.

All schools should have a school nurse, sick bay, specific learning difficulties specialist and counsellor on site.

I want no homework to be given in primary schools.

I want classrooms to be redesigned with the needs of pupils with SEN in mind, including those with sensory processing difficulties, ADHD and autism.

I want Open Classrooms to be a regular event so that parents are able to observe classroom activites.

I want breakfast clubs and after-school clubs to be in every school and available to all children, including those with SEN.

I want all state schools to be secular.

I want smaller secondary schools of up to 300 pupils.

I want children to have the option of physical activities which aren't competitive, even in secondary school. This could include trampolining, roller skating, skateboarding and kayaking.

Smaller class sizes, less testing for the sake of it, the arts being given some status, not a 'carousel' or 'taster' sessions, high academic standards but most of all, plenty of support in and out of class for students who find school challenging for whatever reason.

I want academies scrapped and to see secondary schools funded properly.

As Astronaut 79 said, I want a government with a long-term vision for education and our students, not continually chopping and changing policy to pacify the Daily Mail.

But most of all, I'd like to give my children a good education without having to go private to get it

I want to be able to send my children to a good, local school without my having to come up with a detailed strategic plan of how to get them in. Specifically, I want faith schools to be forced to apply the same admissions criteria as non-faith schools, so that admission is based on proximity to the school and the parents' preference for that school.

I want my child to be able to live and play in the community where their school friends live, and, as a consequence, to be able to grow up using ecological modes of transport to get to school.

Good luck with this.....

I want the schools to have a written document on when it is ok to give a cuddle and when it is not ok and I want this to be shared by teachers and parents so that everyone knows the boundaries. In other words, it is ok when the child is upset but not otherwise.

No h/w pre 7, except spelling/reading.

Prep after school for 8+, so students are tested on what they know, not parents, then during the week they can go home and forget about school and spend time on hobbies and be with family. H/W at weekend.

Smaller class sizes - v hard to treat children as individuals with class sizes of 30-32.

Whilst 60-70% of students are capable of taking and passing GCSE exams, a significant proportion are not, but they still have to jump through the hoops and ultimately fail. How dispiriting and demotivating & the source of much disaffected behaviour. Design an education - a largely vocational one, that is properly funded and skilled - for that section of the school population. This tinkering at the edges is just a means of massaging figures, probably to the detriment of all.

pastoral care, some child-led learning but mostly want old-fashioned thoroughness covering the basics