10 things you probably would not expect about primary schools

[meredeux]

Come and help me make a list for all those parents out there who are about to send their children to school for the first time. What did know one tell you but you learned through experience?

Here is my first one:
YOU (the parent) will teach your child to read. The school will provide reading books and someone (probably not the teacher) will listen to your child for a few minutes at a time in the first couple of years maybe once a week but your child will learn to read because you will teach them that (using the school's reading books which the teacher will issue).

"Are the people who say that I have no right to say that you will be required to teach your child to read and to sort out any problems that may crop up, the same as this mother I used to know?"

No.

I"m saying you have no right to say that you will be required to teach your child to read because, as a statement of "fact", it is incorrect.

mrz.

don't recognse my 4 childrens experience in your list. if you despise it so much then home educate

whilst you soupdragon have the right to say how it is?

kilmuir - can't be bothered to repost again but if you look back I have repeatedly said that I am very happy with my children's school. Thanks for your input though.

I have the right to say how it might be.

Do you see the difference?

Large classes are no more disruptive than small classes if the teacher is in control.

Mrz - I'd be interested to hear your experiences of what intervention happens when a teacher isn't in control. What help would s/he get from his/her colleagues and senior management?

yes, soupdragon I do. But do you see why it would be wrong to say that I should not post if my views are not in accordance with yours?

hear hear, soverylucky!

Usually they would be given training to learn strategies for controlling behaviour. In extreme cases behaviour support would be involved and an additional "expert" would work alongside the teacher to resolve the problem. I'm fortunate to work in a school with no real behavioural problems as the children love learning.

I hope I am not pestering you but just curious. Is this the only school where you have worked or were you in another school previously? If yes, was the same thing applied there?

I ask because classroom control was a real issue for my son's Y2 teacher and I saw nothing being done to help her despite the consequences it had for behaviour and learning (and SATS). It was the final straw for me and prompted me to find a new school even though I was concerned about the effect the disruption would have on my children.

To tell you the truth, I'm not sure what you're expecting to see...
A school isn't going to announce the training courses that teachers are sent on, and they aren't going to announce extra classroom help to anyone except the parents of the relevant children.

"But do you see why it would be wrong to say that I should not post if my views are not in accordance with yours?"

Of course it would be wrong. Which is why I didn't say it.

I used to help out in the school so much that I was around to witness what they would do. For some reason, I was often seated right outside the classroom door.
So I'd have seen anything that happened in the classroom and if there had been intervention away from the classroom, I'd have seen some improvement back in the classroom as a result. Instead I witnessed a gradual deterioration in behaviour and it was very, very noisy!

anyway, I am not trying to suggest that one headteacher's failing to manage a situation like this are likely to be experienced by parents who send their children to other schools. Sorry for the digression.

No I've worked in other schools (I did supply when my father was terminally ill across three different authorities). The only one that had real problems had a weak head and some very odd ideas which I thought rewarded bad behaviour and was closed down

meredeux, I helped in my school too. For 2 years.

I really did give it a fair chance, I thought it was great to start with. But the more I saw, the more I worried. I was quite often shocked. Shocked at violence, at the teacher leaving the classroom crying, about kids hitting the staff, about bright kids being ignored as long as they were no trouble, about the continuous noise and disruption. This in a very nice school really (not a rough area at all).

I don't blame the teachers for this AT ALL.

But something is rotten in the current education system. Too much bureaucracy and box ticking maybe? This particular school was excellent at the box ticking and sound bite bit For example: for every 10 minutes I read with a child I had to write a commentary in duplicate (one in child's reading book, one in the teacher's file).

IMO there is lots of room for improvement. Teachers need more help and less admin.

Saying State School is brilliant does not actually help. Saying State schools SHOULD be brilliant and there is no reason it should not be, might lead to some much needed improvement. Too many bureaucrats, reports, tests, and not enough time for actual teaching. We (or The Government) should trust teachers more to just get on with it and not demand a written evaluation of every 10 minutes spent.

Hint for the pre-school parents - if you find when the sprogs get to school that it is you that has to teach them to read, then move them pronto because you've chosen a shite school - there are plenty of schools out there that are more than glorified day-care with "a lovely family feel"...

Chandon - i could not agree with you more.

Most everyone I knew back when DS was in Reception at State Primary had taught their child to read (at least a little) before starting school.

It was a competitive sort of area though, and was done for oneupmanship, rather than out of necessity.

I did get fed up of waiting weeks for his reading scheme books to be changed. They listened to the children reading once a week, most often with the TA, and I sent his reading book back several times having corrected her spellings. I wasn't inspired by it, but I am a bit particular like that.

The class teddy will be far more widely travelled and lead a much more exciting social life than you!

Sewing, basic arty/crafty skills, stain removal and ironing are more an integral part of parenting a school-aged child than I could ever have imagined. To my horror .

Thankfully I enjoy baking so that part at least isn't too much of a chore .

CP I always thought that we never had one, but thinking back we did in reception. Thankfully there was no reporting to be done; the child brought the teddy home for the ngiht and that was it.