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?

I'm not quite sure what you are getting at, Indigo. Yes obviously not all children learn at the same rate. But presumably you are not suggesting that learning outcomes are likely to be the same regardless of whether children get to read for 20 minutes a day or for 5 minutes a week? That would make reading an extremely unusual skill compared with all others.

My point in any case was only that where children are at the early stages of learning to read, it doesn't help if what they are learning in their phonics sessions can't be put into practice when it comes to their reading books.

Children have more chance of making progress if the school and parents work together but unfortunately it isn't a guarantee that all children will succeed.

Yes mrz - children definitely have more chance of making progress if the school and parents work together. That's the biggest grievance I have with my DD's school. They shut you out as if you're not important anymore. If I was looking at schools again, I would see this as one of the most important pieces of criteria! My other grievances are more to do with class sizes and expectations in the state sector (not important quite yet as my DD is only 5 but later on..).

I can only see class sizes increasing I'm afraid with fewer TAs

Dear god - this is an outrage! How on earth can teachers teach effectively with huge classes and mountains of paperwork? Am sure the curriculum will be changed for the 100th time too.

That does sound frustrating, magdalene. Dd's school was very frank from the start that they rely on parent volunteers to hear reading in class - the teachers and TAs simply don't have the time to do this on any sort of regular basis.

It's all very Big Society round here [hollow laugh]

x-posts. Yes that too.

yes we are getting a new curriculum in 2014
www.telegraph.co.uk/education/8272021/Michael-Gove-I-want-the-political-correctness-out-of-national-curriculum.html

www.facebook.com/educationgovuk?v=app_149850251731869

I wonder what gove means when he talks about taking 'political correctness out of the national curriculum'. Do you think that Gove's ideas will raise standards mrz? What do you like and dislike about the national curriculum? Chris Woodhead says that National Curriculum had been diluted of all educational content (or something along those lines).

I think the NC has become over stretched all kinds of things added at the expense of the core needs. Schools have taken on the role of parents and this has been added to the curriculum too.
Very young children are expected to write using different genres - recount, instructions, reports, explanations, persuasion, discussion, narrative before they have had time to master writing basic sentence.
Having said that I don't think Gove's view of education is right either there needs to be a middle road.
I want to be free to teach and not spend time on paperwork that adds nothing to children's education. The last government's solution to teacher's paperwork was to take us out of the classroom for half a day a week to do it! I want to be in the classroom with my class teaching!
I had full agreement with Robin Alexander's Independent review but it was completely ignored

Can I join the thread?

I worry deeply about my DD's school and the attitude of teachers towards parents (who appear to think that we are a bunch of feckless no-hopers whose children will go nowhere). Only when threatened with ofsted have the school actually provided any activities other than a heap of bricks in the centre of the class (for 23 children) - this is reception, so suppose that this is supposed to be 'learning through play'. Making a huge fuss has improved matters for DD but not for others in her class.

Teachers on here have been very helpful in response to some specific queries and I know that most work hard. I echo other posters: those who are happy with their child's education are unlikely to post.

(I do however fail to see how a primary teacher can excuse bad spelling 'because it's late' - if you can spell, you can spell anytime .)

I wish there was an edit facility when I make typos

I didn't mean you mrz (if you thought I did) - a couple of typos I can handle, and I'm certainly guilty of too. But an earlier poster (a teacher) couldn't spell for toffee and kept making excuses (which is why I mentioned it).

I agree that teachers need to be in the classroom teaching.

But they cant.

The assessments alone are so time consuming, and there are so many forms to complete for just one child - multiply that by 30. A lot of the time the teacher has to spend one-one with each child - therefore not teaching.

If teachers listen to children reading every day, then 29 other children are not being taught during that time. If a teacher only spends 10 minutes with each child, x 30, thats 5 hours not teaching.

Then they have to have conversations with parents every morning/night - might only be 5 minutes, but multiply that by even just 6 parents a day, thats 2.5 hours lost in a week.

And if you actually spent time looking at every single line of the curriculum that they are expected to cover, even just in maths and literacy, its a wonder they have time to teach anything else.

I think teachers do a fantastic job in the constraints that they have.

No I didn't think you meant me but i always notice mistakes just after I hit post!

I hope Gove keeps his promise to free teachers to teach but I won't hold my breath.

I would not be a teacher for all the tea in China because of the whingeing parents

I agree teachers are overstretched. But that is why I don't understand the attitude in the school DD is in which does not foster good relations between parents and teachers.

The inequality in schools shocks me. That is both between the secondary and primary sector and within the secondary sector.

Our staff do very little paperwork, every department has assistants that do that for us. If one school can do that why can't others? The impact on the quality of teaching is immense when teachers are freed from the bulk of paperwork and administration tasks.

Ahh! I agree jen, if only! But on a tight budget someone to do our paperwork takes a teaching assistant from children. Most of my colleagues still do some of the how ever many it is "tasks" that we should delegate because if we each get 10 hours of TA time a week we'd rather they were actually working with the children, rather than photocopying, doing displays etc. We feel, as teachers we can do that ourselves after school and use the limited teaching assistant hours for the benefit of the children (just don't tell my union

Also, how do assistants do the paperwork that relates so closely to each indvidual child if they don't teach them? It would take longer for me to make the notes and explain it than do it myself.

I suspect the type of paperwork is different in a secondary. Our assistants do displays in some departments, they do all the admin behind running a trip, they collate and check reports, do photocopying, enter marks onto electronic markbooks, sort out rewards. For things like IEP updates we woudl email in the general information and they would enter it into the correct format.

Work life balance is a big issue in our school and I suspect each department having an assistant pays for itself in the fact we have a very low rate of sick leave - especially related to stress. Having said that the carpark is full from half seven until half five and most staff leave with work.

Was enjoying this until I got hijacked by the dreadful spelling...how come the worst spelling on the thread is from a primary teacher?

I can see that she might have other fabulous skills and might be a brill teacher but it really concerns me that she cannot seem to spell at all.

I mean, teaching spelling is surely part of the job...and if you can't do it, that's a bit difficult isn't it?

I wonder how these things should be addressed. It would be a shame to filter out some fantastic teachers just because they fall down on one element.

But in real life when at work,I bet she does spell correctly.

I make all sorts of errors on here, it is not a reflection of me in the classroom.

It is pathetic that one spelling mistake is being constantly targetted. This whole forum is full of spelling mistakes, its a general chat forum, it is not an exam. Big deal, she made a mistake, she apologised. End of.

People are writing as they are thinking, and dont always go back and check their content.

The OP asked a question, that is what should be discussed, it should not be about personal attacks on any member