Outstanding secondary sch

[brainsbrains]

Son in a local outstanding 2ndary sch and they sent their result/assessment few weeks ago and I was pleased and thought he was s among the top performers
I only just found out today that he isn't and I am not too happy maybe because I thought he was doing so well when in reality he isn't as good as I thought he was and I am a bit upset that I should have known because he is a bit laidback with school work because but I was not too bothered because I thought he was doing extremely well

What can I do to push him up there? Extra tutoring? More discipline at home with sch work?

Seriously get a grip. You were happy until he isn’t in the top set.

There is also no English system for sets. Some schools set for some subjects, some don’t set for any, some stream. It’s up to the school. Also outstanding is not the same as academic.

And sometimes it's not even sets. We have groups in KS4 English that are intentionally mixed. However, the timetabling software insists on giving them a number. My first information to parents every year is to point out we don't have sets.
Basically, no two schools are the same on this. And it varies within schools between subjects as well. If you want answers you're going to have to ask the school.

Not sure what you mean by outstanding school ?

That's an Ofsted grading and does not mean you will get outstanding performance from pupils any more than a good school

I think you may be putting this worse than you mean too. It is annoying that top set seem to get priviliges - they get experiences like competitions and visits to 'stretch' them whilst the others slog in school.

I can understand you want that for your DC - I also understand from talking to European friends what an outlier UK is on how we view education. As parents we can be fairly laid back and view education broadly rather than a determinist springboard for life. So I can understand you want him to do the best he can and you want to know how to get him there.

Have you asked him what he thinks? Tutoring will help obviously. But which subjects do you want to push.

Im a laid back British mum - and I was mad as hell to find that my v bright DS was struggling in top set maths at end of Y7. Teacher did a 'not everyone is good at Maths' thing. True - but he is, he just also has some slow processing. He dropped down to set 2 with a more sympathetic teacher and is predicted 8/9. Still annoys me though.

In what way is he laid back?
Does he do all his homework and does it well?
Does he revise for tests if teachers give warning/provide material?
Does he do as much as he can as well as he can in most of his classwork, puts his hand up, participates in lessons etc?

The reason to not be too hung up on grades is because it’s not a deterministic springboard for life. I was very academic but I don’t do too well career wise. I see many Oxford graduates with not great jobs either. Then I see those who went to ex poly who are in much better careers than me. There are a lot more skills than being top set.

What were his KS2 SATS results like? Has he taken a CAT4 test at the start of Y7? I work in secondary and these are the only two things which control who is put in what set.

Is he in a very competitive school? I have worked in one of the highest achieving grammars in the country. It’s notoriously difficult to get into. There were 8 ability sets even there. The children in the bottom set were all A/8/9 grade students and ultimately achieved all 8s and 9s/ As and A*s. These things are very relative.

If you aren't happy and you know he can do better academic then work with him. Set goals. Find a tutor or do it yourself. Few work very hard that age on their own.

My DC's secondary is "outstanding", and they have set by general ability from day one, four levels, based on SATs and I think CATs results and I believe there is small scope to move at the end of each term. At the start of year eight they reset maths now they had assessment data. DC was among no more than 15-ish in their 10 form entry year to get a maths achievement prize in the end of yr 7 assembly. At the start of yr8 they reset maths. DC told me they were now in set 2 and I admit I was like "excuse me!?!" thinking there must be a mistake 😆 It turned out yr8 has 12 sets, set 1 being a very small group, and set 2 followed the same scheme of work. I was happy with that explanation.

My point is, all schools do these things slightly differently. I was and am proud of DCs achievements, and all that matters is they are reaching their own potential. If 100 people in their (non selective, all comers) school get better results then I'd be thrilled! OP, year 7 is a tough year. If he is settled well and doing his work then I'd be happy with that. You can start to gently ensure he is putting in his best effort and gets the results he deserves, but try not to measure that against other people especially at this early stage. All the best.

There’s not one British system. It’s different in every school.

A2 doesn't mean anything to anyone outside your school. It might mean he is in set 2 in the A timetabling strand. It might mean he is in group 2 (no sets). It might be that the school's "A" strand is all the top sets.

If you are not happy with your son's level of effort, then by all means encourage him further. Don't compare him to his classmates. He might never be top regardless of how hard he works. You are setting him up for a life time of never feeling good enough if your standard is "must be top". It sounds like he loves learning and is enthusiastic about things he is studying. These things are more important than marks in Year 7.

I know for sure 100% that if he was not laid back he would actually be in top set

So you know the ability of every single child at his school? I don't think so. Even if you know the ability of his primary schools friends, this won't necessarily persist into secondary school.

Every school sets differently )if they do at all) . At my child's school each year has two sides to the school, one half of the year is group Aand the other half group B. It is split evenly and the two Half's never share lessons. The top set for English is eng1 in group A and to top set in group B is eng 2. The top sets are equal to each other in terms of ability. Maybe this is the same in your school. Or maybe you need to come to terms that your son carnt be best at everything.

AH OK @brainsbrains is he is in year 7 – so he has been at the school for six months – then I agree you need to chill a bit.

Are you basing “he is not in the top set” purely on the A2 designation? If so I agree with @shepherdsangeldelight that this may mean a number of things, including one of two parallel A sets, a random grouping or top set in the second term! No one can tell you except the school.

Is this setting for every subject (not super common) or just maths?

Either way, it sounds as tho your lad is enjoying his new learning and that’s great. Just encourage that and he will do well. That’s a whole lot more important than what set he is in. I never understand ppl who are desperate for their child to be in top set anyway. If it’s not the right place for them they will not do well – and as a teacher I have certainly seen that. Trust the school to place him in the best set for his ability and work ethic. Encourage him at home by offering to practise with him for tests; ask the school at parents’ eve what you can do to support; and relax a bit. He is doing well and is engaged. Exactly how well other kids are doing is not crucial.

And yes, “outstanding”, if that is a Ofsted judgment, does not tell you anything about the ability of the school’s intake, far from it. A school may well be judged outstanding bc of the progress it facilitates with a weaker cohort.