Teachers - what is your view of this

[northernterritory]

I am looking for a teacher's view of this. I am a Governor at my DD's school. I have my doubts about some of their practices. The teachers don't seem to work much directly with te kids. Big classes etc. But they ave special help at the top and special help at the bottom. The 'average' group seems to be left to it until they slip through the net at occasional assessments.

They have just assessed the kids to find out who the 'bottom group' is.

This 'bottom group' will now go on an hour a day intensive literacy course for the next 16 weeks with a TA to 'get them up to scratch' for the time the school take their 'optional' external marked SATS in May - all Juniors take them.

Is this an effective way of teaching? Is it par for the course to see, every so often, who's falling beind and then apply a bit of resources to catch them up for SATs time.

They seemed to do exactly the same every year.

I'd seriously like your opinion!

Thank you so much for your helpful replies.

RupertTheBear - I'm sorry but at our school our optional SATs are not internally marked. They are sent out to be externally marked by a private company.

Goblinchild - I am a new Governor, finding my feet, I am not afraid of raising these issues but I wanted to know whether this was 'normal practice' as it is very hard for a non-teaching professional to know.

The children are not very far behind average goals. This is a very middle class, ofsted 'outstanding' school which produces all the right data on 'progress'.

But I do genuinely worry (a) that SEN provision in only ever seen in terms of literacy/numeracy catch up (b) the pastoral side of schooling does not exist and (c) that everything is geared to the pursuit of SATs

Wow - how lucky are your teachers! I didn't even know that was possible. I wonder how that would go down if I suggested it to our head...

"at our school our optional SATs are not internally marked. They are sent out to be externally marked by a private company."

What a waste of money! I hope they are of a better calibre than some of the English markers we've had.

Our reading score went up 20% after the re-marks the year before last, and it took ours of paperwork to change it to what we already know. Happens all the time.

Lucky? Why?

We mark ours ourselves - and last year I ditched the mark scheme as I felt the writing was coming out far too high. I just level them myself using APP now. Not sure I would want to take the word of an external marker.

Lucky as in time saving

Exactly - why pay money for what may very well be an erroneous view of a total stranger, when you know your children best?

I just thought it must save a lot of time - it takes me hours to level a class set of writing

Not worth it, imo! And how insulting, if your Head didn't trust your assessment. How can a teacher know what to teach next, if their assessment isn't accurate and known inside and out? [confused} Not having a go at you, Rupertbear, just baffled by the OP's school.

I cannot possibly see that external marking of optional sats can be good practice. For a teacher marking and levelling the papers is valuable at both an individual and cohort level.

We swap and mark internally.

"it takes me hours to level a class set of writing"

Yes, I agree, but 'tis a necessary exercise and very useful.

We level as a year group team. Six times a year. If someone offered to do one set for me I would bite their hand off!

But it wouldn't inform your teaching anywhere near as well.

I'm not sure I necessarily agree. But it is Friday night after a long week and I can't think straight let alone have a discussion about levelling writing!

I can talk about writing till the cows come home (2 large glasses of wine down now ), but that's Literacy co-ordinators for you, never shut up.

Ah you see I am maths leader. Much rather discuss that!

We work slightly differently as in upper KS2 we have subject specialists for English, Maths, Science and MFL but our Y5 6 writing is levelled every week.

I'm double edged here as Literacy coordinator and Senco

Ah, but how many glasses of wine, mrz?

I will win on the glasses of wine I bet

Back to the OP - all the kids that enter year 3 on a level 1 are taken out during literacy to learn how to read and write. This seems sensible to me. Once they have caught up they go back to class.

DDs friend will be in one of these groups for half a year, during which time he'll make a years progress. DD on the other hand is predicted to be in this group for a year and a half. During which time she'll miss a lot if literacy - but hopefully will learn to read and write.

We give that kind of intervention to children at 2c or below entering Y3, Indigobell - but never at the expense of their existing Literacy lessons. The work in thise lessons is differentiated so they can access it, and intervention groups are extra on top.

Am a bit horrified, actually. This is teaching to the test, which is just crap for the kids. Sounds very public, very demeaning and very pressurising for them. At the very least, it's dodgy if they're going to be missing the same things every day, as so many on here have pointed out (though haven't time to read it all.)

Sounds like you're itching to say something generally about the pressurised environment, OP, and the overall distance between pupil and their teacher. Where the hell are the positive relationships here?

And am totally appalled at the comment on here (katiestar?) about TAs being better than teachers. Where do you start with that one??!

And someone else said on here that LSAs should be working under the teacher's direction in class to help deliver differentiated lessons. That's their most appropriate role. And if it were going on all the time, then this approach would, surely, be unnecessary.

Sorry, OP, but I'm glad neither of my children go to that school.