School 'winding down' before hols and half terms

[MrsTruper]

My daughter's school seems to do a lot of winding down prior to every holiday and half term i.e. one week before each hol or h/t. In this time they do lots of colouring/"activity village" sheets etc and none of the usual numeracy/literacy classes. This is in addition to the usual mufti/sports/celebrate this and that days, which again are, as my daughter says 'just playing'. My dd says she wants to do more learning.

She has just completed year 2 at (state) school.

Are all schools like this? Is it just the state sector? Does it get less as they get to older primary.

Please do not tell me that "children learn from everything that they do blah blah" as I know that. She does lots of puzzzles, colouring etc at home - I expect her to be TAUGHT at school.

I would actually like a link to the statistics.

What %age is that of ALL children who left primary that year?
How many of those children had EAL or had SEN?
A RA of 9y is between 1-2 years behind the expected range for the primary leaving age - so I would be very interested to see the breakdown of the data to see how this fits in.

"I also don't recognise the picture of school reading that you describe - we do guided reading for every child every week focusing on specific objectives, and the 50% on the SEN register get daily reading every day 1 to 1 plus additional work on whatever is causing the barrier to their progress in reading.

How much time do you spend in schools to see what is really happening?"

guided reading is not one to one reading, I've done both over many years in schools

why only 50 per cent, why not all? why not all children? the time ought to be made for that, especially when children don't read at home

some children don't read at home.

What you hear on the media isn't necessarily what is happening in schools. In my class this year most children knew teh 2x3x4x5x19x10x11x tables.
There is no need to read with a TA or teacher each day. I really like group reading - you get to cover vocabulary and punctuation problems within the groups and there is a free discussion with what is happening. Also, I find the more reticent children shine in group reading, as they are willing to discuss and answer questions within a small group.

In addition to this, all YR and KS1 classes are learning phonics. Whatever the shape or form of the lessons and disregarding all arguments about it - all children are engaging in READING in their phonics lessons. That's what it's all about!

I think we have to put everything into perspective as the tens of thousands of children reaching level 3 (i.e. can read The Sun) at the end of primary school would have been totally illiterate 40 years ago. There is a greater necessity to read these days - more FORMS to fill in, more desk jobs, more tests, etc - than there was 40 years ago.

Just as an example: When I was young I rolled up at a shoe shop on a Saturday morning where my mate worked, said I'd like a job and they took me on. A year ago, my son also wanted to work in a shoe shop on a Saturday. Unlike me, he had to send a detailed application form to Office; he was called for interview and he had to give a presentation about how he'd sell a pair of shoes.

i also think we need to be clear about what we're comparing from country to country. The PISA data, for instance, looks very questionable when you look at the cohorts they are testing in each country.

BTW - Y2 class

children not reading at home is no excuse for them leaving school without being able to read

that is one of the things schools are for: to lift underprivileged children from their circumstance and offer them the opportunity of social mobility

will just read your post flexy

"There is no need to read with a TA or teacher each day."

not if you're happy with a certain level

sorry i still haven't read it all and now I'm not able to for another hour or so but I will definitely do that

It very much depends on how guided reading is done. Often it may be that the children read the same book in a group but take it in turns to read a page or two each - therefore they are doing individual reading for 2-3 minutes each if not a fair bit more, as well as then discussing the book after. Phonics also includes children reading - again often individually but within a group.

It is much better use of school time to use that daily reading time to TEACH the skills than practise them - this can easily be done at home by parents. The teachers are often in a better position to do the actual teaching of the skills instead. Liken it to learning to drive a car - lesson time to learn new skills, practise in your own time to put those skills into practise a few times.

In most schools, ime, it is known which children don't read at home and they usually get additional individual time in school with the teacher, TA or other class volunteers. This is the case in schools I have worked in or know of.

"this can easily be done at home by parents."

not all parents

if you want an elite passing knowledge to their offspring and excluding the rest you can rely on that philosphy but not otherwise

sorry I'm skim reading and picking out bits but there are two big posts to read and do justice to and I'm not really doing that right now so I'll just go off for a bit and come back later when I can look properly

Agree with you on the jobs flexy - I merely walked down the high street for a Saturday one, no CV or form filling, they just looked at you and asked which school but DS has to have a CV, fill in a form and have a series of interviews just to stack shelves in a supermarket! You can have 100 apply for one job.

Accuracy in fairness, I think hula covers that point by saying that children who aren't heard read at home are heard read at school. That happens at my school too.

I would like to see some actual statistics rather than the type of rubbish you read in the Daily Mail.

If I hear every child read for just ten minutes that's 290 minutes where each child is not getting any teaching input from me. No TAs, no parent volunteers to hear readers. What do you suggest I do with the other 29? Plough through tasks and worksheets ingraining misconceptions because I am too busy hearing readers to spot difficulties and correct any errors? Hence guided group reading with focused learning objectives is the most effective and economic use of my time.

I also teach 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 times tables to children in year 2. The few that don't achieve it usually enter the year struggling with numbers and place value, so need intensive daily intervention to close the gap and achieve 2B.

I feel you must have had some very poor experiences of schools and/or limited understanding of education and how children and classes learn to make sweeping statements like this. Or is it a subtle start of the holidays teacher bashing?

(Following on, ds didn't get shoe shop job as he made a bloody awful job of describing a pair of shoes with kitten heels..... or actually, should it be ???)

Agree Abigail. I think it's all a throwback to the time when teachers heard readers (lined up at the desk) whilst the rest of the class got on with copying something off the blackboard.

It is indeed. When I started teaching there were no TAs and no help of any sort. They had to be able to get on by themselves while I heard readers or I tried to fit in to my lunch break.

When I was newly qualified I remember one older teacher who could hear two children at once. One standing on each side of her desk, each reading a different book. . The comment in their reading record book was always the same and each child read two pages a day. So much for precision teaching and the child being able to discuss the text to deepen comprehension skills!

Flexy and Hula, thanks for long replies and yes it's good that children who are not heard at home are heard in school. However all the help that all children receive at home should be additional, and not a requirement if children are to learn. Not listening to children read, sending tts in the bag with the instruction to learn at home, are simply not good enough. My experiences are not singular and uncommon .. my approach to one primary head (very well regarded school) to establish a parent reading rota because the children were being heard by the teacher only once every half term resulted in me being told that the Ofsted inspector had been impressed that the school managed it that much. This is very poor. Blanket denial that things have ever been like this and that all the different schools my children attended are unusually bad does not help. Likewise times tables.. claiming that at every school the children are taught all their tt's by y3 and twas ever thus undermines your case. It is not true. Blanket claims that the education of British children is stellar and impressive are not believable.

I don't have much patience with the argument about time for reading. The deriding of the value of one to one reading and its replacement with guided reading is almost universal. Look at this thread. One parent is happy that her child spent an entire week on fun, creative activities about healthy heating and the Olympics. Guided reading on paper sounds marvellous. Guided reading in reality is a different thing. Miniscule individual attention, overemphasis on non technical comprehension ("how do think Billy felt when he saw the man"), few controls on the attentiveness or distraction of children in the group, the admin and gaps occurring because of the turn by turn style can reduce its value to zero. Half an hour of guided reading with five children is better spent doing five minutes one to one reading with each of them even if the rest of the time is spent copying out, practising letter formation or even drawing. The !! over "copying off the board" is very revealing, indicating a complete dismissal of the value of quiet work. If the noise levels in your classroom don't allow it, then reduce the noise level. If reading is pushed out by other activities, reduce the other activities. If interactivity between children is too distracting, ameliorate it. These are your classrooms. There's no need to imagine this produces a roomful of glassy eyed robots ; there are thirty hours in the school week - that's plenty enough time for creativity, enrichment and extensions.

Thankfully the emphasis is growing on enuring that children have sounder abilities in what are dismissively referred to as the "basics". It can't grow fasxt enough for me.

I would just like to say also that I recognise the difficulties which face many teachers. I recognise that many are faced with trying to teach children to read when the children can't even speak properly and need to be helped to speak before they can even begin with letter formation and phonics. Also that there are children who have no home support with the most basic personal activities, never mind acadademic support.

wait

Every class should have a reading rota for parents and if this is not possible one of the primary foci of any PTA should be reaching out to older people in the community or those who are not parents to come into school and read with chidlren. This will never ever happen while the value of one to one reading is devalued.

Also \I'm not teacher bashing. I'm very happy to bash individual crappy teachers but \i haven't come across very many, if any. In my experience they've been kind, thoughtful, hardworking and attentive. But also in my experience they are hamstrung by the NC and by their faith in it.

I know you've said you're not teacher bashing Accuracy but I must say that as a teacher that's how it feels. I read it described in the guardian as the "drip, drip denigration of teachers" and that phrase has stuck with me. Teachers work incredibly hard to do what's best for the children in their class and are bombarded with negativity from parents, the media, ofsted etc. The guardian article outlined how teaching faces a "talent drain" if this continues. At my school two wonderful NQTs have just started. They both have honours degrees from good universities, as well as a PGCE from an excellent teacher training provider. They are young, talented, creative people. One is a children's book illustrator in her spare time. Although that's gone on hold because she spends literally all her spare time on her class and their learning. But after the negativity and difficulties they have had thrown at them this year I would NOT blame them if they walked. They won't, because they are dedicated. What I am saying is, if we want graduates to consider a career in teaching we need to support teachers and stop presenting them I this negative light. Show a bit of solidarity and if you're not happy with something at your child's school, join the PTA, join the board of governors, organise a parent help rota, offer your services. Get involved and support the school instead of relentlessly finding fault!

Well said, washingo. I find Accuracyrequired terribly negative and quite unaware of how things happen in many schools. As a supply teacher my first question was 'who have I got helping me?' and it was very common to have a parent in - in addition to a TA. If the DCs come from a deprived background it has been common to have more than one TA. The more adults the better in the classroom.
She is also very patronising, as in 'if interaction between children is too distracting, ameliorate it. These are your classrooms'. (I rather think that it is teaching your grandmother to suck eggs).
Quiet work is valuable- but where is the value in copying from the board? I don't think the logistics have been worked out. If a class of 30 have to have 5 minutes as a one to one with the teacher that is 2 and a half hours. (assuming that every child is ready immediately) which is rather a long time to do 'copying out, letter formation or even drawing' - even the letter formation needs the teacher guiding it. If this is daily that is the child wasting 12hours 5 minutes in order to get 25minutes reading! I think that I prefer the guided reading and spending the rest of the time productively.
Perhaps Accuracy would like to explain why she doesn't like time wasted at the end of term but would be happy for children to be given tasks during the term that are to simply keep the DCs quiet and occupied but have no educational value?
She also seems to think that suddenly 'things are improving' - teachers have always gone on quietly doing their job despite all the interference from government as they come up with one initiative after another. The 'emphasis on the basics' isn't growing- it has always been there. I was teaching long before the NC and have seen it all. The only good thing is that schools were gaining more freedom to do what works for them - the tried and tested- however we now, unfortunately, have Michael Gove.

How do you know they have faith in NC - have you asked them their opinion?

Whilst every child is heard to read individually every day, what will the other 29 children be doing?