How to get child from failing primary into super selective??

[Worriedaboutchances]

Hi. Name changed as don't want to be outed.
Dd is y4, top of her class and v bright. Her primary school has done very poorly for the last few years and things have reached a head now with the LA involved and far more visits by Ofsted. Her teacher has been off with stress for several weeks, is back now, but struggling and likely to be off again which means a string of supply teachers.
The school has seriously failed getting pupils to make progress and there is a chance it could close eventually, be taken over as academy and/or current head
kicked out.
It's pointless discussing things with her teacher as he is so fragile and the LMT are refusing to engage with parents over these issues.
In the short term I can speak to governors but changes will take time.

Does she have any chance to get into super selective?

She achieved all 9 s with a couple of 8s in reception (externally moderated), got L3s ks2, knew all her tables end of y2 and is I believe L4 for everything now ( Don't know accuracy of this as huge issues with assessment in school).
She has never been set appropriate work ever ie work based on where she is at and this lack of differentiation is a big part of school's failings. Her homework is ridiculously easy and is stuff she could have done in reception. I have complained over the years and nothing has changed.
I work full time and do what I can with her and have started the odd hour of tuition but hadn't intended to increase till y5 and I'm not sure whether even weekly would be sufficient to make up for her schooling.

It is not possible to change school for reasons that I don't want to post for fear of bring outed except to say it can't happen.

It feels so unfair as its not her fault she can't change school and is at such a huge disadvantage to others. Our alternative secondary would be an awful choice for reasons not just related to their very poor academic record.

Any advice or experience to share?

[mumzy]

OP don't be disheartened I coached Ds1 and he passed 11+ for selective indie. His inner city primary school wasn't great and it was a lot of work to make up the difference. Also make sure you practice exam technique with her as this can make a huge difference if lots of dcs sitting exam.

[piggywigwig]

twoterrors
"I think the school you are talking about is in a grammar area - so you would not expect the same numbers and I think it would be called selective."

I think we'll agree to disagree on whether the Colchester schools are "selective" or "superselective" and whether they meet the criteria

OP - I'd agree with those who say don't be disheartened.

[OhDearConfused]

You DD is not bright if she is level 5 in year 4; she is super bright!
Good luck

[Worriedaboutchances]

She isn't a L5 yet. Her tutor says she is a good level 4 now and will be L5 by end of Y4. She certainly isn't getting maths work set at this level in school but does it at home and in tutoring. I only have tutor's word re L5.

[mumzy]

I would assess your dd yourself using the bond book. Fwiw school told me ds1 was level 4 in all areas at end of year 4 but when I assessed him his grasp of grammar, punctuation was shaky and his spelling and maths wasn't good enough to pass the exam.

[Worriedaboutchances]

Did some testing using the bond book. I would say, based on her having a go at L3 and L4 English, verbal r and maths that she is L4 for English and verbal r and L3 for maths. She can easily do bonds book 9-10 maths 10 minutes papers which I think is L3 so confirms this. L4 maths stuff in the bond parent's guide has stuff she hasn't come across before.

[rabbitstew]

What makes you think Bond Maths for 9-10 year olds is level 3?? I didn't think Bond Maths followed the National Curriculum levels?

[Worriedaboutchances]

It says so in the parent's guide.

[Schmedz]

Have you considered applying for a bursary at one of the independent schools in your area as well? If you don't have the means to pay fees, there are many bursaries available at a selection of excellent schools...nothing to lose by investigating and applying!

[Pyrrah]

Talk to the schools. No decent selective school wants to miss the really bright and willing to learn. The fact that your DD is doing as well as she is in a crumby primary is going to make them even more interested. They will give you as much help and advice as they can.

I rang one of the schools that I am interested in DD attending at 11+ (a London super-selective) to enquire about what I should do regarding 7+ should we get allocated a primary school that I don't like and will probably get. They were so helpful and reassuring.

A friend's daughter got offers from 5 super-selectives including scholarships to 4 of them and is now at SPGS - and she was at a pretty dire primary. Her mother is a bit of a tiger mother and she got the Bond Books and did tutoring herself. She's not from the UK either so not versed in the joys of education over here.

Regarding the private sector - check out the bursary schemes. Some are very generous (up to 100%) and your income is assessed on disposable income after mortgage so you never know. They are always very keen to bring in students who will help maintain their position in the league tables!

Good luck to you and your DD.

[loveyouradvice]

Firstly YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

My DD is at a school in special measures - we started later than I would have liked but IT IS WORKING - has interviews with Superselective Indes lined up - and I know if we had started earlier she would have been able to do the top London grammars too. What worked? She shot up 3 levels in Maths in 3 months just by working through the Bond all you need to know for 11+ Maths book (end y5) - and having done more work since (lots of inde papers and L6 from websites) is approx L6 (not quite covered whole syllabus). English was slower - definitely worth getting some of the books and studying worked examples on teachers' websites - I hadnt understood what punctuation for example was needed at each level. Bond NV & V we did "for fun" since year 3 and then upped her game in last year with wider variety of sources, including ipad downloads which she enjoyed. Mathletics was a great boon in ensuring she covered all the info she needed - and was fun - from y2 (fab website you pay a subscription to). She has had a weekly tutor group - which is really graet for confidence and working with others at this level, spurring each other on. BUt I have also had to put a huge amount in.... if your DD is keen, Id suggest doing a fun joint session each weekend (20 min bursts of different things, comprehension verbally for example) as well as the 10-20 mins a day ideally during the week. I didnt do this but wish we had - that said DD was not keen until almost the end of y5, thinking cos she was on top tables she was fine.... Most important is that you keep up your DD enthusiasm and find fun stuff to do (eg BBC just launched short story competition and lots of great entries from last year on their web to read together and discuss with DC - what liked and what might have done differently. And do recognise unless you're made of money this is going to be a huge project for you - I loved doing it, but was shocked about how much time it took! Do feel it was the best investment I've ever made in my DD - she is now really enjoying learning and writing quite extraordianry imaginative stories, and dead chuffed with herself for doing so well! Fingers now obviously crossed that some of those interviews will translate into offers...... but the fact she has been selected for interview by all so far to me speaks volumes!

[Chandon]

I think it is really helpful to visit the school you would try to get her into, and ask them what they are looking for. Lay your cards on the table, they should give constructive advice.

[loveyouradvice]

Agree... and if you are looking at the independent sector, definitely flag up to them that her primary is underperforming - they do look at them differently! We told all of ours.....