Once the food is sorted let's.....

[happymerryberries]

.....keep the pressure on the government to sort out schools.

Let's have an end to kids who's behaviour is out of control, wrecking their chance of education and that of everyone in the classroom along with them.

Let's have an end to the pretence that inclusion can work for every child and stop the closure of special schools.

Let's have an end to education for SN on a shoe string budget, a policy that leave the most vulnerable out in the cold and adds to their problems.

Let's have a return to the realisation that rights come with responsibilites.

Let's have real funding for schools so that they can afford little luxuries like books.

Let's have specialist teachers in every school that can work with kids with EBD so that we can help them, and in doing so help all the other kids that suffer their behaviour.

Let's stop pretending that all kids will get 5 A* to C grades and get them literate and numerate and able to interact with other people in a reasonable way....then teach them French and Science.

Once Jamie has sorted out the food, lets sort out the rest!

Hear hear, hmb...

lets forget about the total rubbish that is 'parental choice' and actually have a school in the locality that your child can

a) get in to

and

b) you'd be happy to send them there

let's go back to the 50's and 60's - it were fab! (from a pupils point of view!)

Good post Happymerrieberries! Oh, wouldn't it be nice.

Let's stop sending our children to school at the age of 4 when they are not ready for structured, formal education, just because it's cheaper than providing proper, universal education in an environment that's suited to a younger child's age and needs.

Definitely smaller class sizes. I found out at Christmas that ds1's Reception class has 30+ children in it.

Smaller class sizes and classroom assistants for every class.
Internet capable provision in every classroom.
SN department staffed with specialist staff in every school.
EBD unit in every school, with real funding, not just a sin bin.

Message withdrawn

• Don't teach writing (numbers or letters) at ALL until children are 6.

• Do teach/encourage reading at these ages if they are ready.

• Beyond 6 teach writing, but not incessantly. Find ways to measure learning that don't always involve writing. Don't judge everything by presentation and writing.

• Teach critical and creative THINKING in primary schools from age 5.

• In KS2 teach children to love books, teach them the POINT of reading, not just how to read. Talk to them about the books they read, and encourage them to talk to each other.

Stop banging on about bloody SATS and league tables
Agree with everything here, esp school at 4yo. ffs
Pay teachers properly
Get rid of pointless paperwork so teachers can teach
Make it illegal to sell off playing fields
Take business/commerce OUT of schools.
Ban Coke machines and any other attempt to teach children brand names young (remember Jamie and the kids that recognised Dominos and McDs but not real food?).
Make sure schools have enough computers and books so that Tesco, Walkers et al don't even think about persuading parents to buy stuff/shop there because of some scheme because it's pointless, all the stuff is there already
Feel my blood pressure rising so will stop!

hmb for PM!

Seriously though, very good points - the party that promised to implement those ideas would be the ones that got my vote...

Don't agree with not teaching them science....it's a very important subject for all kids, even those bumping along the bottom of academic achievement.

Ameriscot, I am a passionate science teacher. I love to teach my subject.

But would you like to exlain to me how I am supposed to teach a child of 14 who has a reading age of 6 about photosynthesis? How is he or she supposed to access that? And what will it do to enhance that child's life? For them to sit in the lessons, and fail to even complete the most basic KS2 SEN work sheets? For them to learn, yet again, that school is about failure for them? How do you think that makes them feel? I know what I would feel. I'd feel 'Fuck this I'll be a pain in the arse, a hard kid and that is why I fail, not because I'm thick'

If you want to teach a child exciting science, fine. But the NC is inaccessable for children unless they can read and write.

If all this gets sorted I may even reconisder never teaching again. Being a school teacher is all I ever wanted to be as a child, and I loved it at first. Now, after 4 years as a poor school (in special measures - pupil behaviour a v. big factor) I have nothing left to give. Although I am glas and already less stressed, after a week out of the system, I still feel sadened about the end of an era^ bit of my career.

And it says a lot when you are less stressed teaching in a prison eh? at you getting out, hope that it all goes well, at least you'll not have to supervise detentions again!

Quite - and I was very very clear to the Head and senior management about why I was leaving, and made the very same point too.

Good on you girl. they had it coming to them

And at secondary level, let's provide schools to suit all abilities and talents: grammar-type schools for the more academic, technical schools for the more practical, mixed courses which include apprenticeships, etc. I don't understand why, when there is such a mix of children going through the education system, there is such a limited choice of the type to school to attend after the age of 11.

You can't just drop a subject from the curriculum because it's hard to teach. There are a variety of methods you can use with SN kids, especially with help from the SEN dept.

Kids that don't have literacy and numeracy skills still deserve to learn the life skills that the science curriculum can deliver.

No shit?

I'm quite good with sn kids as it happens. However there comes a point where it becomes counterproductive to try to teach children topics when they are so far behind their peers.

What do you teach, and what age?

But not the exact same curriculum surely? I have taught ICT at KS3 and 4 for the past 9 years. Especially recently it is very prescriptive what has to be taught. Not all kids can access this curriculum, regardless of different learning and teaching styles.

A one-for-all curriculum does not work IME and IMO.

It doesn't benefit the kids, and it doesn't benefot the teachers.

A rounded, but more appropriate curriculum is what is needed for each individual child.

Moi?

I'm a SAHM, but have been a secondary science teacher in a former life. Working on getting back into it for September .

So, as a teacher, do you propose that all children should be taught exactly the same thing, regardless of ablity and inclination?

There is growing evidence to suggest that it isn't currently working in it's present form.

I thought we were talking about hypotheticals, Hulababy.

The NC for Science is not ideal for all pupils, so there is certainly scope for making it more flexible - although, to be fair, there is a some flexibility at GCSE, but perhaps the schools aren't so willing to exploit this flexibility for individual pupils.

I like Freckle's idea of having different types of schools for different types of pupils.