Primary teacher here ask me anything...

[Bearnecessity]

Reception to Year 6 fire away...

Hi, I am getting more & more worried about my yr2 August born boy as each week passes about missing out on his education. I am doing my best with him school work wise at home. He did practice Sats at the start of March & he scored 39/60 in his maths and 36/40 please could you give me an indication of these results? We didn’t manage to have parents evening before lockdown, thank you 😊

Hi there, I assume the last score was for English? These scores taken at literal face value with no knowledge or understanding of your child reflect he was Working Within the expected achievement level at the time of the test in maths and was Working slightly above in English also at the time of the test. I am sorry you are worrying, try to remember that all parents/children are in the same boat, I am a teacher who does not agree or believe Year 2 SATS bear any reflection on a child or their ability per se. These are tricky times and your child will find their way in the new normal; children will go back soonish, they are masters at adaptation.

Thank you for getting back to me, yes sorry the 36/40 score was for his reading. Our school have emailed to say that they don’t have space for other year groups so I doubt we will be back before September. We are doing around 1.5 hours work with him a day. Will this be enough? I have struggled to motivate him & myself the last couple of weeks!

My reception aged child is not “meeting the required standards” - he wasn’t even before lockdown. I’m not worried about this, quite happy for him to catch up later on. He’s just not remotely interested in school work yet.

But I’d like to understand what will happen if he goes straight into year 1 in September, or whenever schools reopen. What kind of assessment/catch up work should we expect for children who are behind?

Hello TCMcK I feel so sorry for parents with young ones at the moment. Being a parent is hard enough at the best of times without the pressure of feeling responsible for their learning as well. One and a half hours is great of 'formal' learning. Children learn really well in conversation and by doing. Look at that bush which part has just grown?(Light green leaves) Which part is older?(Dark green leaves)
How many solar panel are on that house? Count how many across times how many down? ( Practises tables) Why does the mirror in the bathroom mist up when we put a hot shower on? Warm moisture in air hitting a cold surface etc etc. Don't put pressure on yourself or your kids it's counter productive.

Why do teachers do so much planning? We hear and read a lot about lesson planning and resources. Whilst I know you have to differentiate between learners surely you can generally group them.

If you teach say year 3, year in year out, given the curriculum doesn't change that much, why are teachers constantly planning and finding resources? Once you completed your scheme of work, session plans and supporting materials surely it's just tweaks? Given the amount of resources now available why is finding resources so time consuming?

Hello Gerri, I cannot say what assessment or catch up work you can expect sorry all schools, teachers and approaches are different. The best thing you can do to get your child on track is to focus on their reading. It is a critical gateway to progress and confidence for Reception/Year 1.

Hello brakethree.. to be honest it depends how long the teacher has been teaching for, how long since the curriculum changed, how the school demands planning to be done -bespoke lesson planning over generic formatted online resourcing, how long since new children joined, how long since SEN/EAL demands were required . In one Year 3 class I taught I was expected to produce maths planning for 5 different levels/groups. That is 25 individual lessons in maths alone in one week. In fairness I have learnt to streamline planning but it takes practise and experience.

Thanks Bearne, I guess I don't understand why there isn't a generic set of schemes of work and lessons plans produced centrally for teachers to use for every subjects, year group etc with embedded stretch and challenge etc. If teachers then wanted to amend them, and I am sure many have their own resources they love to use, they can. If we had this the lockdown situation would have been so much easier.

Hi there, I assume the last score was for English?

Not sure why you are assuming that since there isn't an 'English' test.

Thanks @Bearnecessity.

Hello Brakethree... there are tons of schemes of work not produced from one central place mind you...more individual companies, websites etc. White Rose, Hamilton, Twinkle,TES etc Teachers do use and amend them as do lots of parents now.Generic schemes of work don't work for teachers because children aren't generic and no two classes are the same. What works for one class will not necessarily work for another class, too many individuals and too many differences in group dynamics and learning styles.

I meant Reading Feenie thank you.

Also, you clearly haven't worked as a Primary teacher for nearly two years, so weird thread to start.

Gerigeranium, if your dc was already identified as not at ARE then I'd expect some extra phonics/number work, depending on what they needed. However, no one knows at the moment what Sept is going to look like in any school - Y1 is going to have to start as continuous provision because Reception ended so abruptly. Your school will have to reassess all the children, because effectively they are all 'behind'. have wouldn't worry either.

I wouldn't worry either.

Feenie why don't you start your own thread instead of jumping in on mine with your bullying and unsolicited advice.

You said 'ask me anything' - why have you started this thread when you haven't taught in a Primary school for years? It's a bit disingenous, no? You could have said 'I used to be a Primary school teacher, ask me anything'? It's strange and a bit attention seeking, imo.

I can't give advice to other MNers?! Really?! Oh my goodness.

Sorry to jump in, also a teacher (post primary)...when referring to “planning”, what we are actually talking about is “planning, preparation and assessment”. Courses, curriculum and qualifications change and are subject to review constantly, moderation, verification, paperwork, differentiating, marking, photocopying, finding a particular resource for that wee fella with a vulnerable background who hasn’t developed typically because of his home life and therefore physically cannot learn in the same way with the same methods as the others...but his parent has a lot going on and she hasn’t done the expected requirements to try and get him assessed or doesn’t support the school trying to do it...this happens WAY more than you think. Then you have training, PRSD, CPD, conferences, trying to learn more about how to do it better. Getting to grips with remote learning, converting your library of resources to digital platforms and learning how to share them. Worrying about the kids who never miss a day because they come in relentlessly for the breakfast club and FSM... different kids with different needs each year, new syndromes you’ve never heard of before, learning what it means and how to help.... That’s just off the top of my head, Bearnecessity... if I have a think I’ll write a proper response. 🦸‍♀️

Yes you can on your own thread or without sneering at me and my advice on my thread.You know nothing about me...I created the thread to do a little bit to help parents who are quite capable of a)Deciding whether they want my help or B)The quality of my replies. Now you have hijacked the thread and made it about you and your need to police other teachers.

I didn't 'sneer' - I gave factual information. I also pointed out that you weren't being entirely truthful for some odd reason.

Are you also going to tell Derrymammy off for advising other posters?

Thanks @Feenie, yes I guess they’ll need to be teaching at lots of different levels as everybody is home educating differently.

Bearne, sorry me again! I understand the need to differentiate and no two children/groups/classes are the same however do you think we've reached the point (SEN excluded from this because they clearly have their own special needs) that it's gone too far? Have outcomes improved sufficiently to justify this relentless drilling down to accommodate everyone? The curriculum seems full to exploding with facts really and doesn't seem to give room for breathing space and creativity. I know your're primary however one of my children has already been through GCSE and I was horrified at the amount she had to do compared to what I did. I just can't imagine how much work that is for a teacher to prepare for.

Thanks @Feenie, yes I guess they’ll need to be teaching at lots of different levels as everybody is home educating differently.

Exactly! Every school will first need to re-establish what the starting points are.

Well done Derry, you have now probably alienated the majority of parents with your over the top teacher-speak 'proper response'. Apologies parents I didn't start the thread with this in mind over and out.