How many Mums are dissatisfied with their DCs primary school?

[CrosswordAddict]

There seem to be a lot of dissatisfied Mums on MN and primary schools seem to be particularly disappointing. Any strong views? And if so, how can Mnetters become a force for change/improvement?

Sorry I abandoned this thread last night but I was busy with family stuff. Surprised at the response tbh and no I'm not a journalist in case you're wondering.
My DDs are in high school now but I still follow the primary school threads and think about how it used to feel. Some of the Mums on Mn really are anxious about their DCs and it's not fair because they only want a decent education for them and that is their right after all.

I have no problems with the primary school my DD3 attends.
People who are unsatisfied are more likely to post surely, so not very representative.
Having had 2 other children go through the school system and having been in to listen to children read I have the utmost respect for the primary teachers.
Some of the children start school, and to put it mildly are feral, no social skills or manners. Parents need to look at the way their children behave , not expecting teachers to do all child raising

I've gone through the whole spectrum, from lovely cuddly infants school where every child was nurtured and every parent felt welcomed to a junior school where a disabled child was made to get out of her wheelchair and crawl on her hands and knees because the school wouldn't let her use the disabled toilet or change the maths sets so hers was on a ground floor. I no longer have an opinion on The British Primary School. But I have plenty of opinions on individual teachers and headteachers. On the whole, the good outweighs the bad, and ime just the removal of one person can make an enormous difference.

My state school is absolutely fantastic in every way.

I was unhappy with the way my last school dealt with my childrens SEN -so I moved.

The reason my new school is fantastic is because we have a brilliant caring head who cares about every single child, and who hires fantastic caring staff.

The OP has started lots of threads like this and never explained why. She always claims she is not a journo or part of a govt think tank thingy - so I guess the next most logical explanation is that she's a troll.

Anyway, to all the teachers who are brilliant, both here and in RL - thank you for doing a terribly hard job fantastically well.

I love my DD's small primary school. She is only in foundation so time to annoy me yet, but for now, they have proved to be entirely nurturing, supportive and positive for my DD and the other children. A forces based school, with about 15% transient population, which has had many years to adopt a wonderful family feel which ensures ALL children are known, and loved by everyone, so that losses are mourned with support and new additions are welcomed with open arms. There is already a lot of cross year learning (called 'families' in this school, not sure what it is called on others - horizontal learning or something?) and has demonstrated a wealth of knowledge that is being passed down to the younger children from the older ones.

As for individual learning, probably too early to tell, but so far my DD has gone from little interest in reading and numbers to absolutely flying and wanting to read everything and count all the time. AND she now knows a lot about Italy.

One thing I have learnt from experience is never to say "this person has got to be right because she is a teacher" or "this person has got to be right because she is a parent and has a mother's instinct". Mothers and teachers are both people. The majority of people are sane. A small minority are bonkers. They won't suddenly stop being bonkers because they give birth or achieve a teacher's certificate.

annapolly, couldn't agree more. I would expect my children's teachers to have perfect grammar and spelling. A typo or two is acceptable, but not the butchering of English that I've seen on here.

what cory said (twice)

I got out of teaching because it was wearing me down.
JenandBerry. I have taught from KS1-KS3. The job is very different at secondary level. There is far more marking but you are way off the mark if you think an infant teacher can prepare a day's resources before school starts. Where would they put them for a start? In most primary schools teachers spend the first half hour of the lunch break preparing resources for their afternoon lessons.

Bad spelling and grammar do make me cringe but I don't confuse typos on the internet with bad spelling. I have spelt something incorrectly before on the whiteboard only to step back and notice (or have a Y6 point it out to me! ) It's certainly not that I don't know how to spell the word, rather I've been writing quickly and made a mistake.

There have also been occasions when I was teaching where I've stopped and said aloud, 'I'm not sure how to spell that.' I've then, in full view of the children, double checked using my dictionary. I don't think this is weak or bad practice at all.

But don't get me started on people who can't distinguish between practice and practise!

With Anna & Blacktype, I completely agree actually.

As I said on the other thread, raise the bar!

Pay teachers more and ask for better qualifications on entry.
It did annoy me that I had 3 good Alevels, a degree from a RG university, PGCE and was earning the same as a colleague who got 2 Es at Alevel and went to TT college because she couldn't get in to do anything anywhere else.

I didn't enter teaching because it was the best I could achieve with my intelligence or qualifications and I hate the fact that some people do. I still cringe remembering a conversation with a colleague who said she had hated school and wanted to leave at 16 to be an estate agent but her parents paid her to stay on to Alevels. She got a C and a D and went to college through clearing to do a BEd as she thought the holidays would be cool. She taught N/R and wouldn't dream of even going into Y1 because she was worried she wouldn't understand what she needed to teach.

I believe that primary teachers, whilst able to specialise, should be capable of teaching at least up to the brightest Y6s and preferably beyond.

cory- your point about the 'single point of failure' ie coming down to one person is sadly true across many public services- this is going to be a serious issue over the next few years as public sector workers are being 'let go'... how many of those that will take VR, VER or get P45s will be those lynchpins?

Indigo- sorry, cba to search, but if that's true about the OP I would suggest that if they are not a journo or Govt stooge, then they are Private Sector company trying to get a handle of what people want from newly privatised education services (coming soon, to an authority near you) or Free School/academies or pressure group (from tone of today's post).

Anyone who uses the term 'mums' in that way gets my back up straight away, as if we were a homogenous group with a common goal and ideals.

Anyway , I obviously got out of bed on the left side today...

OP - sorry. I think I've got you confused with some one else. It was not you starting the other suspicious threads I was thinking of....

jenandberry so are you saying you can set up the classroom for an afternoon of art or practical science without working at lunchtime? I know I can spend half my lunch break covering tables, putting paint pots on tables or organising so that pre prepared resources are on each table for children to use.
I'm also on the SLT and still teach a class full time in addition to my role as SENCO and CP designated person which further eats into my lunch break.

BettyDouglas you seem to be of the opinion of many teachers and some parents that is easier/requires less skill/knowledge to teach younger children actually it's easier to teach Y6 than Reception if the teachers in previous years have done their job IME.
Your colleague may not be up to speed on quadratic equations but how's your knowledge of child development?

No, not at all. I certainly do not think that it is easier to teach EYFS than Y6. I have taught in an EYFS setting and only managed one year-it nearly killed me! Not because I couldn't cope academically though, just physically.

However, I have often come across EY teachers who are not academic and could not (and would not) teach Y6. IMO (and it is only my opinion) I believe that all primary teachers should have an excellent standard of education and be able to teach to at least the standard of able Y6s. Otherwise they should not be legally qualified to do so.

If you want to make it two separate jobs with two separate quaifications, that's fine with me.

However, I'm quite sure said teacher would take a Y6 job if that was all she could find and needed to pay mortgage a
nd she could, because she is legally able to do so. I simply disagree with that, however good her knowledge of child development is.

Oops Indigo!
Sorry OP heheh.

But I've also met Y6 teachers with much lower academic qualifications than some nursery and reception teachers.
I recall a meeting in a Y6 classroom, the teacher had created a word wall and as we sat my nursery colleague and I spotted spelling mistake after spelling mistake which we discretely pointed out at the end of the meeting. The response... why do you teach early years if you can spell?

I have also supported Y6 teachers who had very limited knowledge of history/geography/science but happily believed because they work with big kids they are "better".

Some of them even think they should be paid more!

Oh I agree that some junior teachers are also shocking! My criticism wasn't reserved for EY teachers. I was talking about EY simply because I was remembering a conversation with one particular EY teacher.

I would certainly never assume that because a teacher chose to specialise in EY, that they were less able or academic. However, lots of teacher who aren't academic do tend to chose N/R pathways.

Re the pay issue, it's not so much that I think I should have been paid more, rather I don't personally think you should be teaching with such minimum qualifications.

but with the teach first system it only takes 6 weeks for someone to become a fantastic teacher ...

I do set up for practical lessons in my lunch time, it would not take me the whole of lunch time - but we do have an hour. As you say you take half your lunch -there is the other half left.

I accept that in a secondary environement perhaps the pracicalities are easier. I can get a student to help, another teacher etc. In some secondary subjects preparing for a day of teaching is not a quick job. Our staff car park is very busy by half seven in the morning so they can get things ready in advance.

As I said that was not my major issue, but rather the way the poster sopke about parents.

I do think the academic bar needs to be raised for teaching, although individual schools do that already.

the other half is for making phone calls to outside agencies while grabbing a cuppa and sometimes I have time to wee!

I get the having to wee thing, the number of times I have started a lesson or a meeting and thought - crap I need to wee.

I know usually that is what lunchtimes are for, although as a senior teacher I am on duty every lunchtime - but the poster said this was an unusual situation because her TA was off school. In that situation - which would be a one off- you would just work through the whole of lunch. I am very surprised that in that situation another teacher or TA would not help.