Should I be annoyed at school gate politics or school?

[Eggrules]

Or neither?

DS came out with a certificate on Friday and was very excited. He has no idea what the award is for other than literacy. A few parents have contacted me by fb/ text over the weekend to ask about it . I have had very limited contact with all but one of them. They have my contact details from a DS's party or must have searched fb for me. A few were very pushy and fishing for details which I have shrugged off. One lovely mum has said he has was given an award with Y1 and 2 children. I presume it was for a one off piece of work.

My DS really struggled in nursery but has settled into Reception really well (thank goodness). Normally the teaching staff mention beforehand that a certificate is being given out so that you can go to Assembly to see it being presented. School are normally very good about mentioning things. I will ask tomorrow to see what all the fuss is about. Probably a storm in a teacup.

School is a big secret as far as DS is concerned; IMO, I am happy with his progress. I have no idea what work groups he is in and am not sure Parents Evening/ Consultation will illuminate this. Looking at the EYFS chart he is working well at Reception level and no further.

I hate school gate politics and am friendly but stay out of cliques and gossip. The school is very small and a number of parents attended as children. I understand that we all have concerns. Comparing work to see how DC are doing will lead to no good. The poor reaction of a few individuals has made me worried about any future instances where he may be singled out.

I am frustrated, will this nonsense go on until Year 7?

Egg you be proud and little eggy can be proud. His efforts have been recognised. The rest are a bunch of daft nosey parkers. The idea of FB stalking is most bizarre and as a bad person I would have been tempted to put up a pic of a large celebratory cake (but I don't put pics of DS on FB).

learn and say I'd assume it meant that there are a number of parents who also grew up in that village and went to the school as a child.

iseenodust you need to do a status on fb along the lines of "teacher called me aside this morning to say how proud they are at littleisee's amazing progress in literacy. I am very proud of him too."

Sorry the bit to iseenodust was actually to Egg I was just enjoying the name.

Sorry - A number of parents attended as children and now their offspring are at the same school. Should have been attended although they could do with going back.

I will explain what it was for tonight and let little eggy know how proud we are. I am only fb friends with one couple and will not be looking to expand new friendships. A group of parents use fb like a parents list. I don't use status updates to update on educational progress; a lot of people do (shrug). I was surprised to see a message but am glad it wasn't accompanying by a friend request (awkward) .

It is a great name DeWe

Glad you could translate my agitated typing.

Little eggy's friend is having a few minor problems in school. I like his mum and know this would concern her so will not update facebook.

I am not friends with the annoying parents.

Why thank you.

Am a bit taken aback by people putting educational progress on FB. Never come across it.

Well done for going up a reading level type of thing. Just a few people, it may be the excitement of Reception?

DS is in yr3 and I genuinely do not know the reading levels of any of the other kids or their rate of progress. I have a vague idea who is on DS's tables for different subjects because he will say X and I (or more likely me and X ) made a whatever in D&T today. It's a long haul to proper exams. I wouldn't have the energy.

I don't know what level my DS is at with reading. He is on the ORT but they seem to be mixed up between colours and levels. I don't know how they can tell?

I agree this will be exhausting for them.

Crazy! I have never come across this at my DCs school! How very odd

Some of my good friends have their children in welsh school where they don't even start reading English until year 2 it is lovely to spend time with parents where there isn't even a chance of comparing levels because I am sure the children pick up on it and then start to put pressure on themselves and start competing with their friends.
I just tell mine that everyone is good at different things and as long as she tried her best that's all I care about.

I think it is worse because a lot of parents attended as pupils. The teacher attended as well; she was in the same class as the dad of my DS's bf. The current headmaster taught them all. They have grown up together and it has made them a bit more competitive than usual??

I have spoken to a close friend living in another city. There is a class in her daughters school that sounds just like my DS's.

Round these parts we have various levels of time commitment from the quick 'accidental' progress peek - 'Oh I seem to have picked up your daughters bookbag and noted her current reading band '

to the full CRB check in order to infiltrate the classroom every week in order to update their class IQ rank chart.

- that made me laugh, especially CRB check.

If a child came to tea, I wouldn't look in their book bag. I can imagine some of the parents having an inquisition. Hypothetical, since my DS isn't close friends with the children of the parents concerned.

Other than examples of writing on display, my DS's school don't have information available. Who knows if zebras are better at maths than snakes?

I need to start an anti-competitive parent support group.

Scaffold, I had a stalker that did exactly that. She was in there every week and would sidle up to me in the playground to get me to. Try and share my amazing hot housing secrets that were responsible for my dd's cognitive profile.

She even had an alter- ego. Half of the school knew her by one name, half by another. She answered to both. I presume it was some sort of decoy thang.

Weird punctuation. Fecking iPad.

In DS old school, the table names constituted a verbal reasoning test in themselves. Zebras would be above snakes, but below ladybirds; octopi would probably be top group, "G&T" would be centipedes. When the son of the maths professor arrived, he'd go into a group of his own called millipedes.

Another year they changed it to vehicles based on the number of wheels; ranging from bicycles to trains. I suppose we could have had sleighs and unicycles if they needed more differentiation.

What wound me up was that most of the time they were doing the same work anyway.

(and I won't put it on the other thread, but the answer was 'you know she has brain damage, right?)

choccyp1g that naming system makes sense. I only know one of my DS's group names. I am not entirely sure what my DS does in school and have no idea what the differentials between the groups are.

outofbodyexperience That is taking matters to a different level of . Thank goodness my DS's school don't allow parents to help out in the same year as their children; your problem explains why. That example of competitive parenting goes all the way up to 11.

School is a massive secret and the first consultation isn't until March. Maybe the lack of feedback is why people are trying to gauge progress by measuring children against each other?

I have spoken to the teacher and this award will be given each half term from now on. They also have a half term star for pupils making great progress and trying hard. My son was the first child from Reception to get this new award and went up with children from Y1 - hence the fuss .

Old news now. Off to sort out the great jumper swap of 2012 .

emmash2010 - perhaps you could start a thread about your survey, instead of spamming the board with requests?