MNHQ here: Calling all Year 11 and Year 13 Parents - Tell Labour education ministers about your and your children’s experiences of education and being awarded grades this year

[JuliaMumsnet]

Hello.

We were contacted by the office of Kate Green MP, Labour's Shadow Education Secretary, about an event the Labour frontbench is hosting tomorrow morning about exam results and qualifications. Parents can join and have their say about how they think it went and what could be better. More information below:

"Labour’s education team wants to hear from any parents with children finishing Years 11 or 13, who have received their A-level, BTEC or other technical qualifications, or GCSE results this week.
We would like to hear about your and your children’s experience of education and being awarded grades this year. How you feel the results system has been managed this year and the support that has been available to you this week.

We are also keen to hear about any changes you think should be introduced in future and any changes that would have supported your children this year.

To join the discussion, sign-up here to receive a zoom link to join the discussion: labour.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUudOiqqD8iH91CxuuAW50lcAZfyc9tuIPr
On: Friday 13 August 9 – 10am
With: Kate Green MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary

Thanks

MNHQ

Is anyone on this thread and waiting for the meeting to start??

Yes

Grrrr

@Piggywaspushed

What dies teachers maybe mean??

Teachers maybe better than parents

Listen to teachers

Both A Levels and GCSEs are two year courses, so a good year after a disrupted year still means a disrupted course in total, and curriculums do not have to be taught in a linear fashion, so different schools will have missed differing content.

They need to listen to teachers, yes, and parents, and students.

As it goes, they aren't because the meeting doesn't seem to be happening...

@Piggywaspushed

They need to listen to teachers, yes, and parents, and students.

As it goes, they aren't because the meeting doesn't seem to be happening...

Nope can't get it to work

I have emailed but not even getting an auto reply. Wonder what's up at their end!

Hi @JuliaMumsnet . Any idea why the meeting was called off??

Hi everyone. We're sorry to hear this. We have contacted Kate Green MP's office to find out what happened, and will get back to you asap.

Kate Green's office have been in touch to apologise: they cancelled the event at short notice and weren't able to let us know about it in time (so we weren't able to let you know). Please rest assured though that they've seen this discussion and have taken on board the points about parents in Y10 and Y12 and might look at setting up an event for those parents soon - we'll let you know if we hear anything.

Thank you!

😂

@JuliaMumsnet sorry my children still young and cannot comment but wanted to post on a different but related topic. if you can, please could you also mention the imminent change in funding from BTEC to T Levels which will be a major change and sounds like a tanker crash that will happen, but not being publicised. I wonder if Labour (and the Libs, and most of the Conservatives for that matter) are really aware of this and whether it has been well researched, thought through or even consulted upon. Very worrying, there is an ongoing thread about it.

@Coronateachingagain

Thank you for raising that, could you please link the thread?

Here it is

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/4311626-Gav-scraps-level-3-BTECs-in-an-act-of-educational-vandalism

And the link to the petition

go.mumsnet.com/?xs=1&id=470X1554755&url=petition.parliament.uk/petitions/592642

Link to petition again (not sure the go Mumsnet link works)

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/592642

@JuliaMumsnet

Kate Green's office have been in touch to apologise: they cancelled the event at short notice and weren't able to let us know about it in time (so we weren't able to let you know). Please rest assured though that they've seen this discussion and have taken on board the points about parents in Y10 and Y12 and might look at setting up an event for those parents soon - we'll let you know if we hear anything.

Term wil, be starting in a fortnight or so

By which time it will be pretty much too late to amend anything about the exams in ways that will be fair (ie all teachers in all schools knowing which will be 'core' and which will be options, and his many options are going to be needed)

Because teachers need to plan for the autumn term, where nearly all of the teaching in exam years takes place. Last years y12s, about to start y13, need to have that learning time optimised. Changes to the exams, to try to even out the worst of the pandemic inequalities, are needed now.

That the opposition response seems to be 'oh it's something we'll be looking to do something about' suggests that they have no grasp whatsoever on the realities of schooling timelines. And that they aren't going to be doing anything useful in the time left.

So the class of 2020 (GCSE) will also be the double-whammied class of 2022 - A levels completely interrupted by major disruption during 2021, no sign of mitigations even now

And it's clearly not featuring as strongly on the opposition's Education priorities as looking at the effects on year groups who faced one set of disrupted exam years. Even though there had been time to urge action - but instead it was all squandered.